Calder Vale Stroll

Weather: Overcast with spots of drizzle. Warm
Start/Finish: Calder Vale village, Forest of Bowland
Terrain: Good footpaths through woodland and farms
Distance: 2 miles
Height: Approx 70m climb (highest point on route 180m)

Calder Vale lies in a deep valley on the western edge of Forest of Bowland, just a few miles from Garstang. The main part of the village consists of a few rows of terraced houses, a village hall, post office (yes it's still open!) and an old cotton mill. Parking isn't easy although there are some spaces available at weekends opposite the mill.

Crossing the bridge over the river, we headed uphill, past Long Row, a descriptive name given to a fine row of terraced houses with extraordinarily long television ariels! The path continues past the end terrace, heading uphill along the river and past a large mill pond. Here there were plenty of duck wanting to be fed, but we had no bread with us so unfortunately they remained hungry.

The path climbed steadily through woods before opening out to a fine old church and a tiny primary school, which apparently has just two teachers and around 30 pupils. Both were built in 1863 and were constructed on the hillside above the village because there wasn't enough land in the valley to build on. For many years the villagers have got well used to walking this route each day to school or to church as there really is no practical alternative - the journey to school by road would cover about 5km, which is some detour!

Leaving the church and school behind, we walked through the car park and then took a substantial track off to the right, continuing more gently uphill past the first of a couple of farms. From here we soon reached the highest point of the walk, where there are good views west towards the coast with Blackpool Tower clearly prominent.

The path soon swings right and starts to descend through a second farm. Not long past here we took the right-hand path past some cottages and down a steeper slope through the trees where we saw fleeting glipses of a grouse and a woodpecker. The path emerged at the end of Long Row and from here we simply re-traced our steps to the car.

Chipping, Parlick and Fair Snape Fell

Weather: Overcast with one light shower, becoming steadily warmer
Start/Finish: Chipping village, Lancashire (110m)
Terrain: Good footpaths throughout
Distance: 10 miles
Height: Approx 500m climb (highest point on route Fair Snape Fell summit at 510m)


This walk leaves the car park in Chipping by the lane heading north-west towards Parlick, taking the left fork at the junction. The road continues for about a mile to another junction, where again the route heads left. Soon afterwards is another junction where the right turn is signposted to Parlick. Here the road continues to climb steadily to a point named Fell Foot on the map, for obvious reasons.

Going through the gate into open access land, the gradient suddenly becomes very steep, the path taking the direct route straight up the spine of Parlick. The path now climbs 180m in less than a third of a mile, and with the heart pumping, there is every need to pause regularly and admire the view behind, which improves with each step. Eventually, the summit cairn is reached, and a wide and impressive vista across the Hodder and Ribble valleys over to the tops of the Pennines in Yorkshire can be appreciated.

From Parlick, the path heads downhill to the col at Blindhurst Fell, before climbing again steadily over Nick's Chair and on to the high ground between Wolf Fell and Fair Snape Fell. Here the path leaves the boundary fence and makes directly for Fair Snape Fell, the obvious target.

Walking along the ridge means the slope is now much gentler and a quicker pace can be maintained, so soon the trig point at Fair Snape Fell is reached. At the summit though, Paddy's Pole, an unusual cairn supporting a large wooden pole, grabs more attention. The views this time are more focussed towards Blackpool and the Fylde, and it's the gliders from the local gliding club which swarm overhead here that catch the eye, silently searching for the rising thermals generated by the hillsides of Fair Snape and Parlick.

The return journey starts back along the same path, but this time a fork off to the right becomes our destination. This is a wide path, rutted by a 4x4's wheels, which seems incredulous given its steepness, the severity of the slopes over to the side and the hairpin bends.

All the time the gliders monitor your progress down the side of the fell and back into gentler pastoral countryside. The path continues its descent down to the farm at Higher Fair Snape.

From here, the route becomes much flatter, crossing fields and the fledgling River Brock until the next farm at Blindhurst is reached. From here there are a number of options to return, my preference being the main farm track which is the most direct way back to the road.

Walking along the road, the route turns right down Fiddler's Lane, past the gliding club. Reaching the lane end, a path continues in the same direction which then heads left to Handlesteads Farm. From here the road is picked up again and the signposts pointing out Chipping village guide you back steadily downhill to the car.