Pendle Hill

It's not always the highest hill in a county that becomes its touchstone.  Gragareth is the highest point in the post-1974 Lancashire and many Lancastrians don't even know the fact, let alone visit the summit.  Before the county boundary was redrawn the highest in Lancashire was The Old Man of Coniston which is far more popular and a more fitting mountain to have such status.  But possibly more famous than either is Pendle Hill, which in the public consciousness is obviously Lancastrian.  Wreathed in mystery and legend it is, probably more than any other, Lancashire's hill.

A popular day out, Pendle Hill is within easy reach of the M65 corridor from Preston to Colne Burnley as well as the cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Lancaster and even Bradford.  It is prominent but has a modest height, just 173 feet short of "mountain" status.

I stopped at Newchurch in Pendle at "Witches Galore", a shop making the most of the local history, however gruesome.  I didn't succumb to the themed miscellanea but I did buy a large scale map of Pendle Hill which was shortly to be put to good use.

I parked the car in the parish council car park in Barley and started on the Witches Trail up to and past Lower Ogden Reservoir.  The path is quiet as it is the "back way" onto Pendle Hill and a good view of the lower reservoir can be gained from Upper Ogden Reservoir.  At Boar Clough the path turns and heads steadfastly uphill on an eroded sandy path to the summit plateau.

Upper Ogden Reservoir dam

the big sky at Pendle Hill summit

The trig point stands in the middle of a cobbled circle and the summit's isolation from other high ground ensures good views.  I walked north to a stone shelter – it looked like a fairly recent construction – before heading south on the pitched path that cuts diagonally across the escarpment towards Pendle House, before following the Pendle Way back to a full car park in Barley.

On my descent I passed a lot of people heading uphill on what was the most obvious route to the summit, enjoying the sunny half-term afternoon.  Most were not what you would call hillwalkers with assorted families and groups of friends heading skywards.  In one group of teenagers a girl in goth makeup was slowly making her way up in shoes with 4-inch thick soles.  One young boy was powering his way up the path bemoaning the incline with the comment of "man, I'm diabetic!"  Obviously a hill for the people, it was good to see all ages and ethnicities enjoying the outdoors.