Barley, Pendle Hill and Ogden Clough 10th May 2025

The Pendle Inn - our hostelry of choice fr the after walk meal and drinks.

The path leading to Pendle Hill.

We can only agree!

Pendle Hill ahead.

A Mistle  thrush near Brown House.

The start of the path across the flank of Pendle Hill.

Looking south east towards the reservoirs.

At he start of the gentle climb up to the Beacon /Big End on Pendle Hill.

Dinosaurs at the trig point.

Nigel's selfie at the trig point on Pendle Hill.

_In his words "It's the nearestwe could get to the trig point."

At the Ogden Clough Path Way marker stone.

The path leading to Ogden Clough.

Bog cotton near the path leading to Ogden Clough.

On open moorland.

Efforts to preserve the peat moorland.

Distant views of a Red grouse.

The start of our descent into Ogden Clough.

Ogden Clough.

Ogden Clough again.

"Can we take the path to the Nick of Pendle?"

Crossing the stream in Ogden Clough again

The Upper Ogden Reservoir.

Bluebells in the wood south of the track from the Upper Ogden Reservoir.

More Bluebells.

The bridge, steps and footbridge that we should have taken to et to Fell Wood.

The path through Fell Wood.

Looking over Newchurch in Pendle.

The delightful woodland path north east of Newchurch in Pendle.

Distant views of Pendle Hill from the path leading to Hey's Lane.

Hey's Lane leading to Barley.

Distance: 7.7 miles. Climb: 1640’.Time: 5 hours 48 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.0 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.3 m.p.h.Temperature: 7.2 Celsius to 22.5 Celsius
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 – 4. Mainly Light air, although it did gust to a 12.6 m.p.h. Moderate Breeze at the Big End trig point on Pendle Hill
Group: Martyn, Mike and Nigel.
This was probably the best weather conditions we have experienced on any of our Pendle Hill walks.
Perhaps a little on the warm side, with lots of Sun. Definitely a day for wearing a sun hat and putting on the sun block.
Birds seen or heard today: Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Common blackbird, Carrion crow, Chiffchaff, Willow warbler, Mistle thrush, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Winter wren, Skylark, Meadow pipit, Eurasian curlew, Barn swallow, Common pheasant, Common kestrel and Red grouse.
As ever, this proved to be a poplar hill for walkers, sponsored events and the annual 14-mile Pendle Hill race.
We first encountered the fell runners as we headed down the path to Ogden Clough. This slowed us own as e had to frequently stop a step aside to allow the fell runners to take priority.
We stopped for lunch at 11-55 when we had only walked about 3 miles. This must be a record for HH a HH walk. Lunch was taken just after crossing the stream in Ogden Clough for the first time. No picnic table today, just sitting on the grassy bank above the stream.
The path down Ogden Clough was clear to follow and gave dramatic views down the steep sided clough as far as Upper Ogden Reservoir.
We did however, make one mistake, when we crossed a stile, that led to the wrong footbridge and a difficult climb up bank to Fell wood. We won’t make the same mistake the next time descend Pendle Hill down Ogden Clough!
The surprise of the day was seeing lots of Bluebells in the wood south of the track from the Upper Ogden Reservoir.
The path from Newchurch took us through a wooded area, that gave us some welcome shade.
He final part of the walk took us along a stony greenway that eventually joined the road in Barley, a short distance from the car park.
We arrived back at the car, having had a superb walk, but feeling much more tired than we expected.
However, we were soon revived at the Pendle Inn where we indulged our self with a pint or two and ate one of their Pendle Pies before setting off home.

Tegg’s Nose and a Walk in the Forest 7th May 2025

Macclesfield Forest Saddlers Way.

Tegg's Nose from Hacked Way Lane.

Time to discard some of their outer clothing.

Lambs basking in the warm sunshine.

The start of the delightful path through this part of Macclesfield Forest on the way to Charity Lane.

Not Bluebells, but a variety of Forget-me-nots.

Bluebells in Macclesfield Forest above the path to Charity Lane.

More Bluebells above the path to Charity Lane.

Bluebells above the path to Charity Lane.

Shutlingsloe Bluebells the path to Charity Lane.

Descending Charity Lane.

St. Stephen's Chapel in the Forest.

Leaving the Trentabank Picnic Site after lunch.

Looking across Ridgegate Reservoir towards Tegg's Nose.

So many Dandelions gone t seed.

Just one Dandelion head that's gone to seed - the beauty of nature.

Bottoms Reservoir from Langley.

A few ducklings on Bottoms Reservoir.

A male Mandarin duck on Tegg's Nose Reservoir

A female Mandarin duck on Tegg's Nose Reservoir

The start of the steep Gritstone Trail Path that leads up the Tegg's Nose.

A good splash of Bluebells on the south west slopes of Tegg's Nose.

At our age, you should never miss an opportunity for a rest!

Where does the Gritstone Trail start and finish?

Take a close look at this bench and you will find the answer.

Rebels at the top of the short cut.

Tegg's Nose and Bottoms Reservoirs from the top of Tegg's Nose.

No comment.

Old machinery on Tegg's Nose.

Boys' toys!

A final liik at the old quarry machinery.

The rock left behind when the quarry stopped working.

Distance: 7.0 miles. Climb: 1578’.
Time: 4 hours 55 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.1 m.p.h.
Overall walk average: 1.4 m.p.h.
Temperature: 13.5 Celsius at the start. 17.6 Celsius as we approached our lunch spot and we were walking in the war sunshine. 13.2 Celsius s we crossed Tegg’s Nose towards the end of the walk. Path.
Beaufort Wind Force: 0 – 2. Not much wind today, but it did reach a 5.2 m.p.h. Light breeze as we crossed Tegg’s Nose. westerly Light breeze.
Group: Martyn, Mike, Nigel and Fran.
Arriving at the start, I opened the boot to realise that I had left my Leki at home.  Thankfully Mike allowed me to use one of his, otherwise I don't think I would have made it up the step Tegg's Nose Path at the end of the walk.

This was a really good day for walking, not too hot, not too cold and very little wind. This walk was chosen because a knew parts of Macclesfield Forest was good for Bluebells, and we weren’t to be disappointed today.
We spent so much time looking at wild flowers and listening to bird song that the walk today was more like a stroll, but this time of year is one to take in and appreciate all of creation.
Birds seen or heard today: House sparrow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Common blackbird, Carrion crow, Chiffchaff, Willow warbler, Grey heron, Mallard, European robin, Woodpigeon, Winter wren, Skylark, Blackcap, Common chaffinch, Black billed magpie, Common buzzard, Eurasian curlew, Barn swallow, Common coot, Greylag goose, Canada goose, Moorhen, male and female Mandarin duck.
Several butterflies were seen, including Large white, Orange tip, Green veined white and Speckled wood.
Lunch was taken at the Trentabank picnic area in Macclesfield Forest, where we were able to choose from several had plenty of picnic tables. It was a little disappointing to find that the visitor centre and toilets were closed.
Some of the group hadn’t been across or couldn’t remember seeing the old quarry machinery, so a little more time was spent investigating them and reading the information boards by each machine. Distant views were very hazy, and a fair amount of time was spent attempting to identify whether or not we could see Moel Famau. On a clear day you can!
We arrived back at the car, having had a really good and enjoyable walk, having seen lots of Bluebells and other flowers
We finished the walk a little earlier than usual, which was good for me as I had The Waiting Room Prayer Meeting to go to in the evening. The others didn’t mind either, as we went straight home and they could then walk to their local Wealstone Bar in Upton.