Sunday 19th January 2020 - Pendle, Lancashire

This month our walks are based on Pendle in Lancashire. All walks will finish in Barrowford where there is a cafe and pub close to where the coach will park up and other opportunities for refreshments not far away. There is a lack of toilet facilities where the walks start so the coach will stop at Blackburn and Darwen Service Station for comfort breaks and to allow the ‘A’ walk to get suited and booted. The coach will leave school as usual at 8.00 am prompt. Boots are essential on all walks particularly as it is likely to be very damp underfoot. The coach will depart at 4.30pm and should be back in Formby by 6.00pm..

The cost of travel will be £16.00 for members, £18.00 for non-members, £7.00 for Leaders, £7.00 for children and students in full time education. Please make your cheque payable to Range Walking Club and ensure it is signed as it is inconvenient for the Treasurer to chase up such omissions.

Please book by email and pay online or send in your return to the Treasurer Monica Sealey before 9th January; places will be booked on the coach by the treasurer on a first come first served basis.

Cancellations: if you need to cancel or make a late booking, please contact the Treasurer on 01704 809287 (preferably by text) or by email monicatuk@yahoo.co.uk who will endeavour to substitute your booking from the waiting list.  If you cancel after 10th October and it is not possible to fill your place on the coach, regrettably, we will not be able to give you a refund as coaches will have been booked on initial returns.

Club Weekend 28th - 31st May 2020 is based on Criccieth North Wales. There will be walks on Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday and if there is sufficient support Sunday morning. Attached to this letter is a list of accommodation in Criccieth. Please book your own accomodation and notify me when you have booked so we know how many people will be on the weekend.

‘A’ Distance: 10 miles Ascent: 1,830 ft Leaders: John Vine Charlotte Spencer	This is a linear walk starting from Newchurch-in-Pendle which will bring us out at Barrowford’s Pendle Heritage Centre. The walk is approx. 10.2 miles long with the highest point of this walk being Pendle Hill at 557m. All climbs are gradual and they occur early on in the walk. The bulk of the ascent is completed in the first 3 miles meaning we can enjoy the rest of the day without losing breath. We start by heading West up a slight incline through fields and behind woods above Ogden Clough. We head from behind the woods down into the Clough above the small reservoir. We follow the Clough up a gradual and consistent incline which will eventually lead us to the top of Pendle Hill. This is a much more comfortable route than the usual steep ascent up the Eastern face of the hill. From Pendle Hill we descend down the steep east face walking towards the best of the views. This is a stepped and steep footpath but it is not a difficult descent. We then pass through numerous fields via gates and stiles to a path between the two Black Moss Reservoirs. Following this path we pass Aitken Wood (home to a sculpture trail) through Black Moss Farm around and towards Roughlee. The ground between Black Moss Farm and Roughlee was extremely wet and boggy at the time of the recce in mid-December. If the ground is still wet we would strongly recommend ankle high boots and gaiters. At Roughlee we will cross Pendle Water for the first time. This can only be done via stepping stones. The pads are concrete and very solid with a nice even gap between them. After the river crossing we meander through fields and woodland towards the Pendle Way. We will walk along it for a short stretch before taking a North Easterly path towards Pendle Water. Here we meet the Pendle Way coming back on itself and will follow this riverside path into Barrowford. The route involves a mix of gates and stiles but none were found to be difficult to cross apart from the general wetness of the ground and some slightly slippery wood. This is a picturesque walk through the best of Lancashire’s countryside.
‘B’ Walk Distance: 9.5 miles Ascent: 1100 ft Leaders: Louise Pimm Shaun Rollinson	From the Pendle Heritage Centre at Barrowford we follow the Pendle Way N alongside the river to Water Meetings and then NW to Blacko Foot Farm. Here we turn right on the road before shortly turning left to re-join the Pendle Way alongside the river NE to Admergill. Here we turn left and heading NW we steadily ascend via paths and fields past Jacksons House to reach the highest point of the walk at approx. 1250 ft. Good views of Pendle Hill now open up and continue as the path turns SW to gently descend to the road at Black Moss Farm. We now continue SW by the southern edge of the two Black Moss reservoirs and passing Aitken Wood Sculpture Trail - inspired by the Pendle 'history' of witchcraft - on our left to the village of Barley (pub and cafe). Here we take the Pendle Way E to Roughlee and then the road. After a brisk ascent we drop down steeply SE back to Barrowford. There are a few stiles on route, but not too many. When we did the recce there had been a lot of rain but the paths were generally good and even the wet fields not too bad. If weather conditions are bad though we could cut out the main climb by taking the road west before Admergill to Black Moss Farm allowing us to spend some time ascending through the Sculpture Trail.
‘C’ Walk Distance: 6 miles Ascent: 800 ft Leaders: Sarah Broad Ray Webb	Starting at the Pendle Heritage Centre, we follow the Pendle Way alongside the river but only until Higherford Old Bridge. From there we will head NE, initially along the road for a couple of hundred yards before joining footpaths which will eventually lead us to Slipper Hill Reservoir. After circuiting the reservoir we swing West, walking below Blacko Hill and down through Blacko. Having already experienced a generous amount of mud we will attempt to avoid some more by going South along Blacko Bar Road. The last leg of the walk is also likely to be very muddy as we re-join the Pendle Way, passing through Old Hall Farm and West Pasture before leaving it again to head East to Higherford Old Bridge and back along the river to the Pendle Heritage Centre. Unlike the ‘B’ walk, there are more than a few stiles on this one - we seem to recall somewhere in the higher ‘teens’. Those walkers fortunate enough to receive new gaiters for Christmas might find this walk an ideal opportunity to try them out.