Lancashire Witches Walk (2)

Wednesday 8th June 2016


Experience from heat exhaustion on last Sunday's Witches walk had me better prepared. I stowed two 500cl bottles of water as well as my flask of coffee. In hot weather sweat runs into my eyes and also messes up my glasses so I bought a neck cord for the glasses to leave hands free to mop the brow and eyes, and also a brilliant new discovery: lens wipes; Bowland Climber it seems has been using those for ages, but whilst he bought his at Aldi mine are Zeiss ( I'm not really a snob, they just happened to be what was available at Asda).

A lot of this section was across fields, but they were even surfaced providing pleasant walking, and also obviously part of the olden day ways lending atmosphere and credence to this themed walk. It was not quite so hot and dehydration was further staved off by a pleasant stop at the Freemasons Country Inn at Wiswell. This attractive, olde-worlde pub is strangely hidden away in the back streets of the village, and we saw no apparent signage, we just stumbled on it by accident, but many people were lunching well, and it obviously has no problem flourishing on its reputation.

Shortly after that we were caught briefly in a thundery shower and donned waterproofs and rucksack covers. As I walk in lightweight shorts in summer I eschew waterproof trousers - the shorts dry out very quickly and one avoids the arduous task of putting on and removing the wretched waterproof trousers and all that clammy feeling round the legs.

Our day ended pleasantly in Clitheroe with a walk up through the castle and then down to the fine church. This really is proving to be a little classic LDP.

Lots of pleasant cottages and hamlets like this, very often, now holiday venues

Unusual barn like building - fancy door and fancy gabling (click to enlarge), but open right through - see below - some kind of shelter?

What do you think this says about the person who opted for this monstrosity?

Tercet number 3 at Spring Woods- the Carol Ann Duffy poem (tercet) on the top is quoted in my previous post

BC on typical walking for this section

Unusual stile. It was the same on the other side - we went through the gate

In Wiswell, just round the corner from the Freemasons Country Inn. I think this was a right of way, but typical of the well kept and pretty villages on this walk

Huge union jack on Clitheroe Castle

In grounds of Clitheroe Castle. It was presented by some aristocrat and came from the adornments of the Houses of Parliament - goodness knows how that was allowed to happen

Clitheroe Castle - on high, stunning view of Pendle Hill, but the war memorial soldier is looking down - very poignant

Tercet number 4 in the grounds of the castle - poem below

Clitheroe church

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I have a new gripe as is my wont as a grumpy old mam. Media now talk about individual team members (particularly footballers) as having "won the FA Cup in 1960" as if they had done it single handedly.