~Pendle Hill~
10th February 2010
Another wintry day and the promise of a fine sunset. A quiet afternoon in the office allowed me to take an early finish and head for the local landmark. It takes me about 20 minutes to get from work to the roadside start point, I was too early for the 17:10 sunset, but if conditions were right, I'd hang around on top....
The Summit
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk
Roadside Parking
This is the shortest route to the top. It's great exercise and a good way to spend an hour. This view is looking back towards Barley and Burnley is further away.
The Steps
A little sunshine is showing on the fields. The steps are a re-made path, courtesy of the MSC, if you remember who they were, all those years ago.
Black Moss Reservoirs
The Pendle shadow lengthens as Black Moss Reservoirs enjoy the last of the sunshine.
The Pendle Hill Trig Point
Familiar territory. A recent article in Country Walking suggested we whitewash our local trig points as those responsible for their placement and previous upkeep have lost interest. This one is ready for a coat, but I'd had another idea, see later.
Me on top of Pendle Hill
That bump over my left shoulder is probably Ingleborough, maybe. After this photo, I went for a walk around as the sun wasn't due to set for 40 minutes. I did a loop across the moor and back to the stile for another stroll up to the summit.
The Stile
Pendle's summit plateau has the trig and the stile for foreground, plus a bit of wall.
The Trig and Sunset
Sunset
It was very chilly by now and behind me was an approaching snow shower, so time to depart.
Snow Shower Approaching
The wind was very brisk now and this shower, currently over the Skipton / Crosshills area has got East Lancashire in its sights. I made a hasty descent and had a tricky drive back to Burnley as the snow tried to settle on the road, but it was all over in 20 minutes, nothing to worry about.
Walkers: Just Me
Time taken: 1hr 45 minutes over a distance of approx. 2 miles + walkabout waiting for the sunset.
Route: Shortest road to summit route from the Eastern side, up right, along the top, down left.
Weather and conditions: Cold and breezy.
Greetings Count: Pleasantly Low, a few other lost souls meandering around.
Richard's Refreshment Review: Nothing to report today.
It'll wash off, hopefully.
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2010 ©