The Aughton Park Two

Aughton Park is my local railway station and from either the cutting where the tracks run, or the road bridge above at “ground” height, two hills can be seen.  To the south-west, the prominent summit in view is Moel Famau.  To the north-east, the rounded hill is Totridge, which rises above the village of Dunsop Bridge in the Forest of Bowland.

For some time, I thought that it would be an unusual day out to climb both of these.

From Bwlch Pen Barras, the amount of ascent required to reach Moel Famau is less than any other start point, with it being at an altitude of just over 350 metres.  The way up is obvious and on this summer’s day no navigational skills were required, with the summit tower being in sight for most of the way and the route was very popular with walkers of all ages, from babies being carried in slings or pushed in prams to the more senior in age.

Moel Famau trig point

towards Bwlch Pen Barras

After a couple of rests I reached the trig point, painted in Welsh colours, and then climbed one of the sets of steps to the tower top to take in the fullest view.  I left the summit to the masses and even taking with a leisurely walk up and a reasonable amount of time at the summit I managed the round trip in well under 2 hours.

Moel Famau tower

Moel Famau

The drive northwards, once off the M6, was through some wonderful countryside through Clitheroe, Newton and Dunsop Bridge to a car park just before Hareden, significantly less popular than the morning’s Welsh equivalent.

I walked through the farm and turned on to the bridleway leading over Riggs Plantation and up towards Mellor Knoll.  There wasn’t much of a clear path but the ground was well-shorn pasture and quite easy going under the sunny sky.  I followed the permissive path marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer map which led to open access land and the steepening slope towards the summit.

There was a path, not always clear, that zig-zagged to the summit plateau before making its way through dry peat hags to the trig point.  I also made sure to stand on the highest hag marking the true summit of Totridge, just a few metres away.

Totridge summit

Totridge trig point

From the top, the Yorkshire Three Peaks could be seen and the view towards Pendle Hill was probably the most impressive.

Pendle Hill from Totridge

Totridge slopes

the final slope up to Totridge

Neither of the day’s summits were on my ticklist resulting in an alternative day out.  The objectives, combined for a single day, were esoteric and would not make much logical sense to the vast majority of walkers, but because of my own sense of the unusual, I managed to find an enjoyable and rewarding day out.