It seemed like a good idea…
But the onset of a not-very-warm monsoon in the Pendle Hill area yesterday severely impacted to such a degree that I only walked something like 10% of what I had hoped.
All the same it was nice to find an not-self-chartered area at Pendle in the guise of Bootham Wood, Aitken Wood and Stang Top Moor / Moor Top (the jury is still out on the word order for that!). The initial quarter of a mile was nothing short of a doddle – owing to most of it being either flat or slightly downhill and the weather being still clement(ish). I was made up by the sight of a Roe Deer on the car park at Barley and then later deflated by the lack of clarity on my phone’s photograph (11 months now until I can get a better smartphone!).
The path up the side of the moor was of grass with no real signs of there being a path at all and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was just the one vertical style to ascend…the rest being more of a gatepost fashion. The trees at Aitken Wood were not necessarily eerie in appearance – except for those that had been upturned and their root-balls all seemed to be facing me! The sounds being made were somewhat alarming though; as some did leave me with the impression that they were almost swaying in the wind – my speed picked up immeasurably whilst traversing this particular wood for fear of a conifer falling upon me! I don’t like walking through woods, forests, glades or any collective nouns for groups of trees.
At one point I did stumble across an area that I instinctively knew would leave to a great viewing point…and it did, although the image that I captured using my mobile phone camera (and because I was being harassed by a curious bee) left a lot to be desired…take my word for it, good views are to be had from Stang Top Moor / Aitken Wood.
