Pudsay's Leap 26th February 2011

At the foot of the cross - where we should be!

Sawley Abbey

A stone circle made in the 21st century!

Pendle Hill from the path to Fooden hall Farm.

Walk stats: Distance:10.0 miles. Climb:884'.

Time: 5 hours 7 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.3 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.0 m.p.h.

Group:Martyn, Roger and Mike D.

The weather forecast at 06-30 suggested that we might get showers/rain around 11-00, but even that didn't materialise, a few spots was all that we got all day. I fact were were bathed in sunshine for most of the day and I regretted not wearing shorts and Roger wished he'd brought his Tilley hat!

This was a delightful walk following the River Ribble and a few of its tributaries, unfortunately they were all in spate, most of the fields seemed like that too!

The route description was in the main useless and we reverted back to first principles and followed the paths on the O.S. map.

On route we visited Sawley Abbey which must have been quite impressive in its day.

We arrive back at Bolton by Bowland to find that it was centre of  bicycle time trial, but they didn't seem to visit the local inn after completing the trial.  The beers enjoyed at the Coach and Horses in Bolton by Bowland were from the loacal Bowland Brewery. The Coach and Horses was more of a hotel than  local, but the staff were all very welcoming.
Bolton by Bowland is a lovely picturesque village on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border and like many villages in Lancashire has small car park and well a maintained toilet block.
Birds seen or heard today included: Blue tit, Great tit, Chaffinch, Black-headed gull, Oystercatcher, Mallard, Blackbird, Curlew, Lapwing, Common buzzard, Greenfinch, Nuthatch, Jackdaw, House sparrow and Canada goose.

This was a walk that we all agreed would have been a very pleasant stroll in the Summer after a long spell of hot dry weather!