A short Longridge walk.

The glorious  day is disappearing under a pile of  ‘to do things’ – tax return, xmas cards, e-mails etc. So after lunch I draw the line and decide to get out. I’ve, like many of you, a library  of guide books, some international, some national but many local. Looking for inspiration I delve into a  local one and come upon a walk passing by ‘The Written Stone’ on Longridge Fell.  Somewhere I’ve not visited for years, perfect for this short afternoon.

Having no need for the car I walk up Mile Lane [though it’s less than 1/2 mile!] …

Looking back down Mile Lane.

… over the tail of Longridge Fell, past Craig Y Longridge and onto bridle ways leading to Written Stone Lane in Dilworth.Here near the eponymous farm in a curve of the lane is The Written Stone. An eight foot by two foot by one foot stone set into a wall and inscribed thus – Ralffe Radcliffe laid this stone to lye for ever AD 1655

Many legends and myths surround this stone, woe betide anyone who tries to move it. Tales of ghosts and boggarts abound….

The Written Stone of Dilworth

Safely on my way I pass the CORPORATION ARMS pub, formerly the BLACK BULL INN, built in the 1700s. It was bought by Preston Corporation Waterworks and renamed in about 1865. It is reputed to be the only pub in the country to be owned by a waterworks!

As I return home via the village shops the ice on the shady walls has not yet melted. Spooky.