Adventures in wet boots

To catch up, after weeks of warm sunny weather I decided to climb Pendle Hill (557m/1833 feet) in east Lancashire again in the hope of seeing some of it this time (if you recall my previous visit was swamped by hill fog). Unfortunately thanks to an overnight thunderstorm, as I drove across the Pennines I hit swirling mist at around 1100 feet, suggesting conditions were likely to be soupy again.

Following the same route as last time I set off along the water company track from Barley village towards the Pendle Way at Ogden Clough, up past some half empty reservoirs. By the time I reached the turning point to head up Boar Clough and across the moor up on to the plateau of Pendle itself the mist was already rolling in thickly. Dagnabbit

The wet bracken meant waterproof pants were needed shortly, which wasn’t nice in the humidity. Again I was struck by the eerieness of the place, particularly when the clag descends it isn’t hard to imagine witches flying past and trolls lurking behind the cairns. It was much greener in summer which was nice and the going was less sticky, but the trudge to the top of the hill was pretty boring repeated in the fog to be honest. After a mile and a half or so of steady climbing I emerged on the stony summit plateau and headed in a vaguely trig point like direction, until it loomed brightly out of the gloom.

After crossing the plateau and heading down towards the cobbled and stepped ‘tourist path’ I paused for a snack before bypassing the main trail for a more organic path slightly lower down, zigzagging down the fell to reach Pendle House at the bottom. A pleasant amble through fields and country lanes led back to Barley, and my dinner, in the company of a very insistent duck who practically parked himself between my feet begging for bits of sandwich.

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I had half an hour to spare on the drive back, so I stopped for a wander on Penistone Hill to get some summer pictures.

Tags: Hikes