The Forest of Bowland | Clougha Pike
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2024
- Hi, and thank you for taking time to watch my video.
This weeks walk took me to an area just 40 minutes from home, but one that I have never been to. My word, what have I been missing. The Forest of Bowland is officially an AONB and quite rightly so. Rather than me talking about it, here is a link to their website which has loads of information about the area.
www.forestofbo...
OK, here we go. Our walk starts from the car park on Rigg Lane, just outside the village of Quernmore. There are plenty spaces, enough for I would say at least a dozen cars. The path leaves the car park at the rear and we follow the track around to the right, eventually crossing a wooden walkway that has been constructed to cross the river. Shortly after going through a small wood we come to two stiles. I took the right one which took me up Little Windy Clough. There is no real path at this point and it's very much a case of make your own. Just be careful of your footing here though as you go through the rocks. After a short while you are on to Clougha scar and it's a short walk following the path up to the summit of Clougha Pike.
After leaving Clougha Pike we head east then south east following the very distinctive path to our second hill of the day Grit Fell. The summit cairn is large and on the path so you will not miss it.
The next section to Ward's Stone is very boggy in places and care must be taken in certain areas, as to not sink to your knees. Having said that the vast majority is perfectly fine. There are some lovely rock features at the top of Ward's Stone, I can only think that these are where the fell gets it's name from.
Leaving Ward's Stone we follow the fence and wall line all the way to a point where we meet up with the 4 x 4 track. This part of the walk was the toughest part of the day. It's pretty much bog all the way, but great fun nevertheless with views over to Ribblesdale and the Yorkshire Dales.
After reaching the 4 x 4 track we follow this for a fair few miles passing a shooters hut on the way until we eventually reach civilisation again at High Salter via the Hornby Road.
It's here, in the last third of the walk that I would advise if you have them to put either gaiters or your waterproof trousers on, especially if the ground is wet like it was for me. As you are crossing the fields, the grass if quite long and as you pass through the farms it can be quite muddy.
Eventually we come out of the fields and come to the road just to the east of Crossgill Farm. It's road walking all the way from here back to the car, however there is plenty to see to take your mind off the tarmac.
It must be said that this was a very long walk and there are much shorter walks you can do in and around this area, details of which are on the Forest of Bowland Website. If you do want to have a go at this route then the link below takes you to my route in OS maps.
explore.osmaps...
Thanks once again for taking time to watch and if you have any questions please pop them in the comments, I will always respond.
All the best
Dave
Wow, 19 miles is a bit of a hike. My best is 22 miles, and I was dead on my feet. The views were beautiful even with a bit of mist. And you have to love a couple of Trig Points, too. Had there been a lot of rain? Mind you, when hasn't it rained it the last few months, as the water looked dark. Or is the Lake District peat runoff like the Peak District is? Cow Fall Wood. I do have to ask the question. How many cows need to fall over in a wood to get it such a name? Brilliant hike Dave, thanks for sharing.
Hi Chris, yes I must admit I was bolloxed after I had finished this one. I loved every minute of it though. The Forest of Bowland is only 40 minutes from where I live but an area I have never hiked in. It was beautiful, very bleak but beautiful in its bleakness. Looking at the weather you wouldn't believe it was the middle of August would you? Haha
It's a very peaty and marshy. I think even in the middle of summer it's pretty soft ground.
Haha, I've never given falling cows a thought until you mention it, it makes you wonder doesn't it? I'm glad you enjoyed it Chris, and thanks for the support and for taking time to watch.
All the best mate
Dave
Exploring the serene beauty of The Forest of Bowland, with Clougha Pike as a captivating summit.
Hi there. Thank you so much for watching and your kind words. All the very best Dave
Hiya Dave, some miles done there mate, I like the way how you show the route
Great vid pal - cheers Alan
Thanks again for watching Alan. Yes I must admit, the legs were feeling it the day after. There is some great walking around the Forest of Bowland. It's only 40 mins from my house and that is the first time I'd been up there. I will be back again. It was so quiet too. Until I got within a mile of the car I only saw two people all day. Cheers again Dave.
Now that's a pretty great area to explore...really like that rocky filled river! Great stuff to begin the week. Bruce and Otis
Hi Bruce, hi Otis, thank you both for taking time out to watch the video. Yes we’ve had some pretty rainy weather here for the last six weeks so there is plenty of water in the rivers. Have a good week, all the best Dave . 😃⛰🥾🏴🇨🇦
never been to that area before but reminded me a bit of the Northumberland Moors, especially when I saw the bog and mist dropping. Hopefully it did not spoil the day for you, cheers Alan
Hi Alan, thank you so much for watching. It was lovely, A bit of mist creates a mood, in a strange way I quite like it. And the bog was fun at times, it was like playing a computer game, one wrong footing and I was losing a life! haha.
It's only 40 mins from my house and that's the first time I had been, but I will be back. The place was teeming with grouse, they were literally everywhere, never seen so many. All the very best Dave
Mate you have some fantastic places to walk your way superb 👍
Ey up Kev. Thanks for watching mate. Yeah we certainly do. We are blessed with loads of good areas up here. We’ve got the lakes, the Peak District, the Yorkshire dales all within an hour or so away. 😃
Big walk that Dave, local to me one of my escapes in lockdown times. Not done it for a few months now. Last time it was snowing and icy, in Jan. Managed to get up to the Goldsworthy statues and crossed direct to Clougha through 12 in deep snow. Carefully navigated Clougha Scar in snow and ice. Slipped just before the stiles at Windy Clough ankle one way and the knee the other. Agony but carried on, crossed the deadly duckboards and reached the gravel path to the car park, just pure ice fell twice again, 2nd time like at Windy Clough. Still no idea how I drove home. Glad I was wearing boots though, sure I’d have snapped my ankle otherwise. Ligaments weren’t right for weeks.
Hi Ged. Yeah it was a big un. The legs were feeling it on Monday. Mainly because of all the road walking at the end I think.
Blimey mate, that sounded like a very eventful day. At least you made it home in one peace, although a little tender in parts. It’s an area I’ve never been before and it’s so close to home. I’ll certainly be exploring more of the area.
Thanks ever so much for taking time to watch, and leave a comment it’s very much appreciated. All the best Dave 😀⛰🥾
Just a few miles down the road for me... although I don't walk there very often.
They'll be shooting this week I imagine 😲☹️
It's certainly boggy on the ridge.
Thanks for sharing, cheers Alistair 👍
Hi Alistair, it’s mad isn’t it. Only 40 mins from my house and I’d never been in those hills, I will be back to explore more though.
I don’t know what the grouse population is up there but it must be in the thousands, they were everywhere I went and not just the odd one. They don’t half make you jump to when they burst out of the heather! 🤣
Thank you ever so much for taking time to watch and leaving a comment, it’s so much appreciated. Cheers Dave.
Some graft put in there my mate 🫡 looked a good route with some possible wild camping spots 👀. Keep up the good work
Hi mate, cheers for watching as always. Yeah I must admit it was a good shift put in. The legs are feeling it this today. Do you know what I was thinking that as I was walking, there were some good camping spots, but with it being a conservation area there is no camping allowed. I was talking to one fella who was telling me they do a lot of grouse shooting. Dogs are not even allowed, not even on a lead. There were thousands of grouse, they were literally everywhere. All the best Dave
@@DAoutdoors FairPlay mate. tbf camping is only allowed on Dartmoor or Scotland 👀. Pitch up late leave early & leave no trace legends like myself get away with it tho 😂. I’d not camp there tho as it’s a conservation area 👍. Enjoyed the video tho
Sorry it’s taken me time to get round to these mate, been kinda busy 😂 Another belter of a video, very claggy early doors, couldn’t believe the amount of bonnie purple heather on the hillsides, here’s me thinking it was native to Scotland lol, nice one Dave,
Steven 😊👍🏴🏴
Hi Steven, not a problem mate, you’ve been on holiday haven’t you?
Yeah it was another day that the weathermen and women got completely wrong. It’s an area only 40mins from my house and it’s the first time I’ve been. I’ll be back to explore more. You’re thinking of thistles mate! 🤣🤣
Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot. All the best Dave 😃🥾⛰🏴🏴
@@DAoutdoors I drive 3-4 hours at a time to climb hills, there are corbetts an hour from me that I don’t bother with….go figure…I genuinely love your format mate, I used relive when I cycled more, it’s so simple but so effective and your photos and videos are fantastic, like I said keep them coming 😊👍🏴🏴
I know Clougha Pike pretty well. Usually do shooters path rather than this route. Best wishes on the next.
Hi there mate. Thank you for taking time to watch. Yeah I’ve seen your video of you running up, that looked tough, every credit though. I couldn’t believe how many grouse were up there, no wonder they have to shoot them! Haha
All the best Dave 😀⛰🥾
Ive never walked The Forest of Bowland , it looks nice for heather , do you know if there are any restrictions for dogs ? Ive heard rangers dont like dogs off piste away from public footpaths? Btw that was a really cool grouse butt one of the nicest ive seen
Hi Tracey, its a lovely area, it was the first time I'd been, which considering I only live 40 mins from there, its shocking! Haha
Unfortunately the signs do say no dogs on the open moorland and must be on leads on the paths. Although it does say no camping and I have seen videos of people doing exactly that. Yeah, thy are all like that with the heather on top. They are nice aren't they.
@@DAoutdoors they do look nice , I have had encounters with rangers before , they have eyes like eagles haha 😂
@@Traceyattrill-Essexgirlinwild They probably use drones! Haha