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Two days exploring the edges of the Forest of Bowland access land. On Saturday we
drove down the Bentham to Slaidburn Road to the Cross of Greet Bridge
parking area (702590). From
there we climbed south west lured by a faint path to the top of Saddle
Hill (450 m). Great views
east, west and south over miles of trackless moor, but as we tried to
follow a fence-line towards White Hill it soon become a struggle though
thick heather and tussocky grass. When
peat haggs started to make progress even slower, we curled north back down
to the Slaidburn Road just below the pass at the Cross of Greet.
To the north of the road the going was much easier.
We took a thin sheep track on a rising traverse eastward up onto
Catlow Hill, then plunged off the edge southwards back to the car. On Sunday we drove down the same road as far as Slaidburn then turned northwest back to a corner of the access land at 692549 where a rough stony track follows the line of a Roman Road which continues northwest across the moors. We followed the track for five kilometres, before turning south on the Whitendale path, our first real footpath of the weekend. This followed the Whitendale River down a beautiful narrow valley to Whitendale Farm, then took us upwards and eastwards back over the moor to our starting point. <Brian Pinsent>
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