~Pendle Hill~
15th & 16th April 2010
Eyjafjallajokull is not a name I ever expected to feature on this website and I'm not going to try and say it, but its volcanic activity was one of the reasons for a double bill of Pendle ascending. Would we get the spectacular sunset predicted by the weathermen?
Sunset
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk
15th April 2010 |
16th April 2010 |
Parking and Start Point
Gas Platforms in the Irish Sea |
Blackpool Tower from Pendle Hill |
Far Eastern Lakeland Fells? |
The above photographs were taken on Thursday 15th April. It had been a cloudy late afternoon but then a few shafts of low sunlight hit our avenue and, without delay, I went in search of the glorious red sunset. On reaching the summit of Pendle I realised that the sunset was not to be. However the air was as clear as ever and it's the first time I've made out Blackpool Tower from this point.
Day Two - Friday 16th April 2010
This was different to yesterday and on the ascent I thought I could smell the sulphurous aroma predicted by the experts. The air was less clear and effectively cloudless.
The Trig Point
I was wondering if Triangulation Stations were set in any particular position. It is true that the corner we see here on the left with the sunlight on the side is pointing North and therefore the other corners each point to the compass points.
The Sunset
The Summit and Sunset
It was a little breezy on day two and I tried unfolding a map to take some bearings, but gave up as it wafted and flapped in the wind.
Microlight Man
There was a ban on all aircraft, but this man had to get from A to B and was not to be beaten. It was quite a sight and sound. This image first appeared on this website as "Peter Burgess Travels North", which has now been withdrawn.
Is this the spectacular sunset they were predicting? If so, I left a little disappointed. Of course, what I don't know is if the haze on Day 2 was due to natural atmospherics or volcanic dust. The plus side is that I got out of the house on two more occasions and climbed the 800ft or so in quick time and feel better for it.
Walkers: Just Me
Time taken: The ususal one hour plus a bit on both visits over the approx. 3 miles.
Route: Roadside parking and the shortest route to the top, up right, along the top, down left - on Day 1 and down right on Day 2.
Weather and conditions: Cloudy skies. Clear skies.
Greetings Count: Low on Day 1 and rather busier on Day 2 - folk with the same motives as me.
Richard's Refreshment Review: Nothing to report.
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2010 ©
Take me back to the start ....