Untitled Document

Walking New Ground.

Start. Birk Bank car park.

Route. Birk Bank car park - Ottergere Bridge - Land Rover Track - Three Men of Clougha (cairns) - Clougha Scar - Clougha Pike - Clougha Scar - Little Windy Clough - Windy Clough - Birk Bank - Birk Bank Quarry - Birk Bank car park.

Notes. The new ground in question was Clougha Pike, we’ve viewed it many times on many outings but never set foot on its hallowed turf, today was a first. This turned out to be a quite rewarding walk even though the weather started drab only to improve a little, what should have been one of the finest views in Lancashire melted into a grey horizon. On the other hand it was a wonderful walk over peat moorland through a grit stone strewn landscape of low heather, bilberry and bracken.

Our day started in the Birk Bank car park just off Rigg Lane near Quernmore, a wide trod left the rear of the car park, this we followed before turning left onto a wide grassy path. With close cropped grass under foot we wandered on soon passing what many commentators call a trig point, me well I think it’s a survey pillar marking the line of the Thirlmere Aqueduct, my reason, it’s in line with a squat tower near Birk Bank Quarry just up the hill and, further along the path we crossed Ottergear Bridge, which is actually an aqueduct carrying the Thirlmere pipeline.

We continued walking until reaching a Land Rover track, this we followed up hill, we left it at one point but soon looped round to re-join it a little further up. Passed many grouse butts we walked, on reaching three cairns a little way off the track we turned to head to them, these are the Three Men of Clougha they mark a fine viewpoint. The path was now a narrow trod between heather and bilberry, it guided us to the west edge of the escarpment gifting us the stunning views over the Calder Valley, Lancaster city and the vast expanse of Morecambe Bay.

This was a remarkable walk in through a grit stone scattered landscape, so impressed were we on reaching the summit we opted to re-trace our steps. After a long break on the top that’s exactly what we did, well as far as a path junction near Little Windy Clough, here we kept straight on. This path another narrow trod cutting through low heather and bilberry safely guided us to the foot of Windy Clough then over a ladder stile to access Birk Bank, we continued picking our way down hill, passed the squat tower we’d seen on the walk in, then through Birk Bank Quarry. It's amazing to think stone has been quarried here since the 16th century, all ghosts now nature slowly re-claiming the hillside and a darned good job it’s doing.

After passing through the remains of the quarry our route descended over steep ground through woodland of oak, ash, birch, willow and hawthorn, at the foot of the descent a wide peaty trod greeted us. This wide path guided us to a tract of wetland alive with rafts of bog cotton and asphodel, a boardwalk path safely ushered us across, after climbing a low rise we reached our outward path, the parked car was just a few yards away, it was a shame, this had been a walk to remember, goodbye Clougha Pike until next time.

view route map.

home.

We start by striding out across the lower slopes of Birk Bank over a track that once carried horse drawn carts laden with slate.

Make what you like of this, it's in line with the squat tower on the horizon.

Ottergear Bridge a fine structure, an aqueduct carrying the Thirlmere pipeline.

Stunning views over the rolling farmland of Lancashire.

The Three Men of Clougha.

Near Little Windy Clough looking over Fell End Fell to the summit of Clougha Pike.

Above Clougha Scar viewing the distant sands of Morecambe Bay.

Approaching the summit drinking in impressive views over Lancaster and Morecambe.

The summit Clougha Pike.

Not only do we have hazy seascapes, to the northeast, grey across the skyline Whernside and the flat top of Ingleborough.

Over sunlit lowlands the Silverdale/Arnside coast.

The poet Norman Nicholson described them as bog brushes in the sky, we know them as wind turbines, love them or hate them there's the wind farm on Caton Moor.