The Forest of Bowland National Landscape covers in excess of 800 sq. km. of NE Lancashire with a small section in North Yorkshire.
Most of the Forest is not forest as we understand it. It was created as Royal Hunting Forest after the Norman Conquest and was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (later a National Landscape) in 1964.
Beacon Fell Walk: Bluebells and Lancashire Views
The day was forecast to be warm and sunny, so I decided that Beacon Fell would be the aim of the walk. It’s only 873 feet (266 metres) high, but the views around Lancashire from the summit are stunning. The car park at Brock Valley Picnic Site provides free and convenient parking for several walks to Beacon Fell so, complete with sunscreen, off I went.
The River Brock here is in a deep valley,or clough, as it flows from its source on Fair Snape Fell, to the east, to it’s confluence with the River Wyre.
A Valley of Bluebells
For the first couple of miles the path follows the clough through quite dense woodland which was carpeted with common bluebells. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen such a wonderful display. The clough runs from the west side of Beacon Fell around to the north side before the path goes up the side of the clough and out on to the farmland above.
I took far too many photos of the bluebells, but, my word, they were beautiful.
These are, apparently, the English or common bluebell as opposed to the non-native Spanish version. Ours are a much better colour!
Hitting the Summit!!
The walk up to the summit is straightforward, involving a bit of road walking but mostly farm tracks. If you follow my blog, you will know that my energy levels are not what they once were, so a gentle stroll up the hill was enough for me. By now it was really quite hot and very sunny so it was time to head for a seat in the shade for lunch.
On the way up I had been hoping that the cafe at the Visitor Centre would be open. After lunch and a rest I made my way down and found that it was, and they had ice-cream. One over-priced tub of absolutely beautiful Wallings salted caramel later, I was on my way.
The path winds around the side of the fell to emerge at the Life for a Life Mary Bulivant memorial forest.
Back to the Start
I found the descent from the fell to the road at the foot quite hard work. It is a fairly steep slope of grass and I found my knees suffered. Osteo arthritis in my right knee isn’t helpful when descending anything, really.
On reaching the road it’s a quick right and then left on to White Lee Lane and then it’s back in the trees as you descend into the clough and back to the car park.
The Forest of Bowland
The Forest is a lovely area. I visited on a Sunny and warm weekday, not in the school holidays and I only met 4 other walkers on a fairly well known route. The Yorkshire Dales and, my favourite, The Lake District deservedly attract the crowds. However, if you are looking for a peaceful day in the country, the Forest of Bowland is wonderful. Unfortunately, the view from the top was spoilt by a heat haze to the west, which meant that the views across to the coast were lost, but still a great day out.
