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| Aliens!! |
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Date : 9th May 2010
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Leader : Pauline Hughes |
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Report by : Phil Bedson |
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Photos © : Phil Bedson |
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| Going down the sunken lane after lunch | |
Bright sunshine in a blue sky bathed 11 members of Hyndburn Ramblers as they began the third Panopticon walk of the year to The Halo. Leaving the car park the group went up Plantation Street towards Arden Hall and proceeded through the trees. Joining the cobbled track past Arden and Owl Halls the track was followed round towards New High Riley farm where, due to renovation, a wonderfully surfaced diversionary path had been created. At Old High Riley a brief pause was made to admire the building with its early 17thC date stone before going on under the A56 bypass via the underpass.
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left:
Through the trees at Arden hall |
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right: Old High Riley |
Emerging the other side the lane was followed uphill past West’s Farm to where it joined the ancient King’s Highway. There has been much speculation as to the age of this route but the most common perception is that it was the main ecclesiastical road from Manchester to Clitheroe during the 13thC. We followed the King’s Highway for the next 1½ miles, passing through the quarries near Mitchell House Reservoirs and along the small road towards Stone Fold, to take a small lane at a bend just before the hamlet. Once again we were going uphill and at a wall stile we entered a field where, with a wall on our left, we continued on through fields to a (very randomly placed) picnic bench where a welcome break was taken.
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left:
Joining the Kings Highway |
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right: ...and further along |
With the sky now frustratingly clouding over slightly the field paths continued through to Brow Edge and then on to Cribden Side where we were greeted by a very large St.Bernard. Thankfully the wall prevented it from getting near us and possibly licking us to death. As we cleared the buildings we got our first real view of The Halo although some of the group were more interested in the model aircraft buzzing the skies between us and the artwork. Joining a track the way forward went round Cribden End and after passing through Cribden Fold farm went down through the fields to join a track. This track then led us along past the dry ski slope where numerous people, young and old, were balancing on two long strips and occasionally perfecting their ability to fall graciously. Slightly further on we joined the route of the Shoe Trail which is way-marked with attractively moulded clay bricks bearing different types of shoe. A point of note however was the fact these were placed around every 50 feet or less and had definitely increased in number from the previous year!
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left:
Heading down from Cribden Fold Farm |
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right: A montage of the Shoe Trail shoes! |
The track continued on around Height End where we began the steady rise up towards The Halo just as the clouds parted again. As we entered the disused quarry at Top O’ Slate, now the home of The Halo, the sheer size of the structure is astounding. Affectionately called ‘The Flying Saucer’ due to its blue illumination at night, it was constructed in 2002 as one of the four Panopticons in East Lancashire. The others are The Singing Ringing Tree and The Atom which the group have visited already this year and Colourfields, which hasn’t. After a group photo under the structure a brief stroll to a sheltered spot out of the breeze was all that was required before settling down to lunch.
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left:
The aliens have landed... |
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right: ...for a picnic!! |
Saying our goodbyes to The Halo we followed a sunken path down past Slate Farm and crossing a small lane another track took us round to Acre. We followed the small lane all the way to Stone Fold and after turning left downhill the road went back under the A56 just as a few drops of rain began to fall. As we went through a play park the drops seemed to get heavier and just when everyone was considering the waterproofs it stopped! We continued along a back road for a while before the Dog and Partridge very rudely interrupted our journey with its open door. After the refreshments everyone was in good spirits for the final part of the walk which is a marvellous ending to a walk and to those who are unaware of what is around the corner. Going through a housing estate is bland to say the least unless you’re doing it via a wonderful little wood call Laund Clough. With its small stream cutting a gorge through the tree lined slither of land one easily forgets the surrounding 1970’s housing estate and for a few minutes everyone was in awe of this little gem. A small industrial area and then some college grounds were traversed before we arrived back on the streets near the point we had left some 6 hours earlier. Everyone thanked our leader for a great walk and especially for the days finale.
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| Through Laund Clough | |
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES IN THE GALLERY
| OS EXPLORER |
WEST PENNINES 287 |
START POINT |
SD 763 284 |
| WALK LENGTH |
11.5 mls / 18.5 km |
TIME WALKING |
5 hrs |
| MAX HEIGHT |
359 mtrs |
MIN HEIGHT |
145 mtrs |
| HEIGHT ASCENDED |
535 mtrs |
HEIGHT DESCENDED |
535 mtrs |
This map is for reference only and MUST NOT be used to do the walk.
Please use the correct OS map for all these walks.
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