~Pendle 50!~
10th December 2011
Pendle Summit
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk....
Izzy The Dog
Today's walk started from Newchurch-In-Pendle, the roads being a little slippy and I wasn't sure if I could get safely into Barley. Isabella belongs to Liz and Keith and I've long since offered to take them all up Pendle. Today I managed to get one of the family interested. The photo is full colour, do not adjust your monitors.
Pendle Hill from Fellwood
We walked through Fellwood. I'd wanted a cold, crisp, blue-sky occasion for this 50th ascent of Pendle in 2011, but we don't seem to be getting those sort of days just now. This snow arrived at teatime yesterday and was topped up overnight.
Walkers
I met this couple who had walked up from Barley. The intrepid duo had been on Great Gable the Saturday before, wasn't that one of the wet and windy days?
Boar Clough
On the run up to fifty ascents, I realised that it was possible also to reach an accumulation of 50,000ft of ascent. But would today's route offer enough ascent, I'm still a little short of the target?
More Walkers
Looking back down the Boar Clough route. A company of walkers makes progress past the lonely Hawthorne tree.
Dog
Izzy was well behaved throughout. She is a Blue Merle Border Collie. She's never walked with me before but I had no problems at all. Pity I can't say that about every one of the people I've walked with down the years!! No, not you.....carry on viewing....
Looking South
Looking North
Looking Chuffed! 50 Pendles, approx 50,500ft of Accumulated Ascent
There will be plenty of folk who've been up here more often than me this and every other year. Well done to all of them!
Pendle Snowman
The handiwork of others, very good. It was rather chilly up here today with frequent wintry showers.
Black Moss Reservoirs
The Steps
I was debating starting a new webiste: SlipAdvisor whereby walkers send in their comments on the conditions underfoot on their winter walks. This was slippy, I can tell you!
Fellwood
I decided to walk to the roadside start point and then across the fields to Lower Black Moss Reservoir, which has been in the news this week.
Pendle Hill
Witch's Cottage?
This made the national news this week. United Utilities had been moving earth (for no apparent reason) and "found" a very old building. Experts were called in and found the skeleton of cat, bricked up in a sealed room. Rumours abound about the possibility of significance in relation to the 1612 trials of Pendle Witches. News item highlighted below.
The Dig
Notices say "Keep Out". So, obviously I did. The dig wasn't actually in progress.
Black Moss
If you want to have a look for yourselves, walk out of Barley to the north, past the Methodist Church and then follow the "private road" to take the footpath left here, which leads to the dig site under Lower Black Moss reservoir dam. I took coffee at The Cabin, I had to sit outside because I was with dog!
Pendle Hill from the road out of Barley
Usually I would have taken Heys Lane and then walked over the fields to Newchurch, but we had relatively clean boots and feet (dog), so I decided we'd walk up the road.
Walkers: Izzy the Dog n' Me
Time taken: 3hr 17 mins over a distance of about 7.5 miles. Including brew time at The Cabin.
Route: Newchurch-in-Pendle, Fellwood, Upper Ogden Reservoir, Boar Clough, Pendle Summit, The Steps, across the field to Lower Black Moss and then into Barley and up the road to Newchurch.
Weather and conditions: Cold, occasional wintry showers.
Greetings Count: Plenty of hardy perennials!
Richard's Refreshment Review: Coffee at The Cabin, Barley.
The BBC news item: Witch's Cottage
Take me back to the start ....