For our penultimate night of the trip I'd booked a hotel in the market town of Kirkby Lonsdale which is located just south of the Lake District, on the border of Cumbria and Yorkshire. Because we didn't have too far to travel that day I suggested to Mrs B that we use the time to visit the Eastern part of the Lake District, and climb a Lakeland fell.
After breakfast at our hotel in Lockerbie we set off for the short drive, crossing the border and then exiting the motorway at Penrith. We headed towards Pooley Bridge and then onto a minor road that arrives at the small hamlet of Howtown. From here there was a easy walk up one of the Wainwright fells - Hallin Fell. A series of hairbin bends bring you to a small parking area opposite St Peters Church and from there its straight up the fell.
It doesn't take long before you get beautiful views of Martindale Common and after a few more meters of ascent the more distant fells, including Helvellyn come into view as does Ullswater.
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| Views of Beda Fell from the start of the climb up Hallin Fell |
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| Ullswater with Helvellyn in the distance |
Hallin Fell is only 388 meters so doesn't take much more than half an hour to climb. The summit soon came into view, topped by a large stone square cairn - somewhat out of proportion to the height of the fell. Although modest in height Hallin Fell has commanding views of Ullswater and the surrounding fells.
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| On Hallin Fell |
We followed a route that circled around passing some smaller cairns before descending back to the car on grassy slopes. The whole walk hadn't taken much more than an hour so before too long we were driving back looking for somewhere to have a cup of tea. Pooley Bridge was quite busy and parking was very expensive so we carried on and I remembered that Dalemain House had a tea room. We headed there to see if it was open - which it was - and suprisingly was pretty quiet.
We didn't do much at Dalemain other than have a cuppa and read about their marmalade festival. Aparently they host a world marmalade championship each year and their own marmalade is sold in Fortnum and Mason. We contented ourselves with some fruitcake (packed with fruit) and suitably refreshed carried on to our next destination Aira Falls. We have visited these falls before but not for some years, so it was nice to revisit and follow the walks that lead from the car park by Ullswater, up to the series of cascades and waterfalls, that tumble down Aira Beck before it enters Ullswater. |
| Views of Aira Falls |
We climbed to the top of the falls. I'd have been keen to carry on up Gowbarrow Fell but knew Mrs B would have vetoed this idea, so we criss crossed from one side of the beck to the other until returning to the car.
After an energetic morning we finally made our way to Kirkby Lonsdale and found our accomodation, a small boutique hotel and wine bar right in the centre of this old market town. We've been to Kirkby Lonsdale a couple of times before. Its a lovely compact old market town, with stone buildings. The River Lune runs through a valley on the eastern side of the town. After unloading the car again we went for a stroll around the town and, as it was a warm afternoon, popped into the local brewery for a pint. We walked to the 'Devils Bridge' and plenty of people were swimming or splashing around in the pools by the bridge. Following a path along the river brought us to the bottom of the Radical Steps - a flight of steep stone steps that climbs up to St Marys churchyard. The steps were built in 1820 for Dr Francis Pearson, who had a reputation as a political radical, to divert the existing public footpath that ran through his garden.  |
| The Devils Bridge, Kirkby Lonsdale |
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| The River Lune |
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| The Royal Hotel and Market Square |
Our hotel only offered a limited menu for dinner - sharing boards of cold meats or cheeses - so we strolled to the Royal Hotel overlooking the market square and found they offered a reasonably priced menu of more conventional and substantial main courses. I had thought we'd wander around after eating but a sudden downpour put paid to that idea. We dashed back to the hotel in the rain and settled in for the evening.
After a very good cooked breakfast (for me) and pancakes for Mrs B we were on our way again for our final night away. I had booked a hotel in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire and managed to persuade Mrs B to climb Pendle Hill before we checked in. Although aware of Pendle Hill I'd never visited this area before so it was a good chance to discover something and somewhere new. Our starting point for the climb was the pretty little village of Barley. This is an interesting area but with a dark history. Events in this area led to the Pendle Witch Trials in 1612, which resulted in the public execution of 10 local women. It was a horrific period of English history in which religious paranoia, fear, superstition and mysogyny played a large part in the trial of eleven women, only one of whom was found not guilty. The other ten women were all found guilty and hanged for witchcraft.
We parked in the village car park and put our boots on for the hike up Pendle Hill. There is a well marked path from the village that took us past a couple of sleeping pigs before reaching the start of the climb.
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| The start of the walk to Pendle Hill - seen in the distance |
Once at the bottom of the hill you are faced with a choice. There's a path that zig zags up to the top, or a more direct route, called the stair case, which is a little more steeper and described as challenging. I opted for the staircase and the ascent soon had our hearts beating a little faster as we paused for breathers. This said it took less than an hour to get to the top - at 513 meters with a trig point to mark the summit. The area surrounding you once at the top is a area of flat moorland without any significant features. Apparently on a clear day you can see for miles but on our day it was warm but hazy, so views were not extensive. George Fox climbed Pendle Hill in 1652 and had a vision that led him to form the Quaker movement. Mrs B was having a vision of a more earthly type - the cafe in the car park that we'd spotted on arrival.
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| The Staircase route to Pendle Hill |
I took a descent that went across the moorland descending gradually at first and then a bit more steeply until we reached the Ogden Resevoirs and a road that passed a old waterworks, now converted into smart residential accomodation, before we arrived back at the start after a 5 mile circuit. The cafe in the car park had a menu designed to cater for hungry walkers - Mrs B had a bacon roll and I had an enormous bowl of cauliflower cheese soup which was delicious, but very filling. |
| Former waterworks building - converted to housing |
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| Ogden Reservoir |
After this I wanted to walk a bit more - and in a woodland above Barley is the Pendle Sculture Park. It is about a mile out of the village and involves another climb passing another resevoir: Black Moss. The sculture park is in a conifer woodland and is a rather spooky place. Drawing inspiration from the legends and folk tales of Lancashire and the Pendle area, artists have created a set of scultpures of mythical beasts and strange apparitions. A trail leads you from one strange sculture to another, culminating in a poignant outrline of the Pendle witches.  |
| Stranger Things: Some of the sculptures at Pendle Sculpture Park |
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| The Pendle Witches |
After an energetic and interesting day we set off for the short drive to our last hotel of the trip. They were hosting a wedding but gave us a room in a quieter annex and after a good meal we crashed out, tired from our day of walking.
Before setting off on this long trip we'd made arrangements to meet our daughters in Manchester. So after breakfast we set off, calling in at a bakery called Longboi's near Fallowfield to collect a selection of buns and cakes. I was treated to a slightly belated Fathers Day lunch - I had a delicious goat curry with plantain, rice and sweet potato.
After this fleeting but lovely family catch up we made our way home reflecting on the wonderful experiences we'd had and more memories made. Over the course of a month we'd travelled about 2800 miles by road and walked about 300 miles. We'd had amazing wildlife encounters and walked in some spectacular places. The Outer Hebrides do feel different to the mainland. The constant winds mean in many places there's little tree cover and large areas are covered with peat bog. The weather and landscapes constantly remind you of how wild and untamed these places are - although modern communications make them connected to the world. For many years the native language, Gaelic, was dying out but is now having a resurgence. All road signs are now primarily in Gaelic. We visited 15 islands, Bute, Mull, Iona, Staffa, North Uist, South Uist, Berneray, Eriskay, Flodaigh, Grimsay, Skye, Lewis, Great Bernera, Harris and Scalpay but there are many more that remain to be visited. I've a feeling we will be back!
