Friday 15th January. 6.75 miles. Longridge.
At the risk of becoming repetitive…
Again I set off from home on familiar paths to Gill Bridge where I skated up the icy road before I took the path along Elmridge.
Elmridge is a small eminence in the Vale of Chipping between the Bleasdale Fells and Longridge Fell, its position giving it good views of the area. These views are better on the road across the top rather than on my footpath along the southern side, but I’d not walked this way for several years. A friend has moved into a little house along here, so I was able to have a few words in passing. The family have adopted lots of stray kittens and have some fine fowl.
The next farm along, again owned by a friend who has recently died is surrounded by woodlands that he planted over the years, a fitting memorial. 
It wasn’t the clearest of days but Longridge Fell was always there.
In Hesketh Lane I passed the site of an old mill now strangely used as a depot for a local coach firm. The mill stream is clearly visible and a notice tells of recently installed fish ladders to allow fish and eels access higher up the stream.
The Dog and Partridge is sadly closed, like several other old inns of the area. Notice the cheese press stone, a common sight in this area of Lancashire. 
I took the curiously named Judd Holmes Lane through frozen fields leading me back to the Knott Farm where I was the other day..
This time I made the detour to visit the little church at Lee House. Be sure to have a look at – https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Chipping/stwilliam/index.html for some interesting history.
I then joined the crowds walking along the pavements to Longridge. We should all be a lot fitter after this pandemic is over.
Bleasdale Fells.
*****
I like those tree icicles. Never seen anything like those before. My sister lives in Cowark and she has recently been visited by some stray kittens. She fed them but they moved on two days later.
The icicles were on a bush right by the road and every time a car passed wiuld be drenched in water so rhey must have kept growing. A good photo opportunity.
There aren’t many people living in Cowark, you would wonder where the kittens came from
Probably from nearby farms. My sister and niece also found a black kitten in a trap put out for gamekeepers. Luckily they managed to free the kitten and it whizzed off unharmed. Then they found the same trap placed next to a pond so my sister unset it, incase a duck waddled in. Not sure what it was trying to catch.
That is the nastier side of gamekeepers. They often use them near pheasant breeding grounds to catch stoats and rats, but I’ve seen rabbits and other birds trapped.trapped. Apparently they are legal if used correctly, but should be checked every 24 hours. I don’t like them and usually trip them with a stick [I know I shouldn’t] – mind they have a vicious mechanism.
*by gamekeeper.