Low Bentham and River Wenning

Wednesday 9th September 2020 - From Low Bentham - 7.5 miles. 

Both BC and I still find ourselves surprised to find this large territory on the northern fringes of Bowland incorporating the Rivers Wenning and Hindburn largely unexplored by either of us. Here we are again with Ingleborough and its neighbours providing a massive and theatrical backdrop to the north throughout the whole of this walk.

Looking across at that panorama I was constantly reminded of a massive outing back in 2004 covering much of that ground and ending in my request for rescue - it's worth a read at the post I wrote a few years after culling from notes I had made pre-blogging during that trig point campaign - it is not long and worth a read - "Don't Forget your Headtorch" :

http://conradwalks.blogspot.com/2016/03/dont-forget-your-head-torch.html

Lower Bentham has a good free car park and we were off just before ten. The town is attractive but sadly showing closed down shops, but still with a pleasant atmosphere.

After crossing the Wenning we were alerted by the roaring sound of forceful water. The weirs just upstream were being bombarded after recent heavy rain - see my little video below.

Pleasant and varied walking although a bit squelchy took us to The Fourstone of Fourstones. BC had often visited here with his children in years gone by and more recently for its bouldering attributes. This huge lump of granite has many short bouldering problems and BC was like an odds on favourite greyhound out of the trap, firstly to reminisce, and then unable to resist, to have a go. I wandered round to the foot of steps cut out on the other side - here I found perhaps my millionth discarded Lucozade bottle. BC emerged on the summit. After watching him descend the steps, not too easily, I decided to stay put at the bottom rather than risk a likely fiasco. We chatted with a motor cycling couple and the chap as a climber himself had to entertain us with a tricky boulder problem not made any easier with his unsuitable motorcycling boots.

We trogged of again now facing full on that vast view of the the Three Peaks and the other hills recalling our many individual wanderings there over the years.

Our return followed the River Wenning again - all had been enjoyment with the bonus of finding such splendid new territory not far from home and with plenty more possibilities there still to come.

Definitely worth clicking photos after reading captions to see enlargements

Closed shops in Lower Bentham

Crossing the Wenning

Strangely "gone-over" Rosebay Willow Herb making an attractive colourful display

BC surveys the raging torrent

The J Marshall massive caravan site across the river. We walked back through this superbly appointed and well kept site on our return. Here you can probably only see a tenth of its extent

Zoom back to Lower Bentham

Distant Three Peaks territory. It looked a lot closer in real life

We were buzzed several time by a pair of these monsters during the day

Embedded in a garden wall where public footpath passed. For the readable script Google's Latin translator gives : "Lo, to kill, tooth..." then next two word unreadable on stone. Your offer to enlighten me will be gratefully received

BC accelerating toward the Fourstone

Yet another.Who are these Lucozade bottle discarders? We have been here before but I still wonder if there are more of these than any other brand of frequent litter because Lucozade sells statistically more units, or is it something about the commodity and its purchasers themselves - one of life's great mysteries? 

BC having conquered the hard way now faces the intimidating descent of the steps. I am proud that my advanced years and gained wisdom held me back from  entertaining onlookers with my ability to turn something apparently benign into an epic

A serious engineering attempt to preserve the road. We wondered if they had made any provision for their effort's being undermined