Bowland fells and Chipping Vale.

I haven’t been up here for two months. I was rather depressed after my last visit when I discovered one of my favourite trees had been uprooted by recent drainage operations. The lovely leaning Scots Pine which I had Christened ‘Grim up North’. I have a selection of trees that I admire in the area but this one I probably had visited most.

Today after some drier weather I set foot once more on Longridge Fell from the Jeffrey Hill car park. Please note the obvious signage on the gates.

Between March and July on open fells the ground nesting birds are in residence, Lapwings, Curlews, Skylarks and Pipits that I know of. There is an obligation on dogwalkers to keep their dogs on the lead to avoid disturbance to the nesting birds. Hence the obvious signage. The first two people I meet coming off the fell have their dogs running loose. I pass the time of day with them and politely mention about dogs being on a lead. Both reply that they hadn’t seen any signs to indicate this, that advertising line ‘you should have gone to Specsavers’ crosses my mind. Perhaps next time they will think again.

All the boggy areas from Spring have at last dried out and it is a joy to walk on the springy turf to the summit trig point.

White patches of Cotton Grass stand out. In the past it has indeed been used to stuff pillow cases and as a wound dressing.

I pause at the summit to chat with a cyclist who has come up from Clitheroe via Kemple End. A steep ascent mad easier by the electric motor on his bike. I head into the plantations for an alternative way back. A small area that was replanted a few years ago has greened up nicely. The tree blocking the way is still down and a devious route around and under it has been established. This is in fact a Public Right of Way but Tilhill Forestry whom, I think, manage the land are slow to clear fallen trees. On I go down that tree tunnel.

Now I am walking down alongside the wall towards my fallen tree. I’m pleased to see it still looks alive despite loosing more than half its roots. A sad sight but let’s hope it survives and in the coming decades puts on growth towards the sky.

Coming off the fell I meet up with a friend just finished exercising his well behaved dogs, I can’t resist a photo.