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BB2430 –
Around Barbon Low Fell
Thursday
19th September 2024
And so, after various exchanges of correspondence establishing
attendees for the outing, it transpired that Robin (with Holly), Mike B and
Martin met up on the Barbon Village Hall car park at 10.00am for a walk in the promised
early autumn sunshine.
Honesty parking contributions dropped in the box on the wall,
we set off past the now closed Cheese/Deli shop and walked through the Village,
past the Barbon Inn and Church .....
.....
and onto the drive up the hill to Barbon Manor.
Up the hill is the relevant point as this is the lower section of the renowned
Barbon Hill Climb track, crossing the start line and rounding the first Armco
barriered first bend. Already we could feel the temperature rising as we
dropped off the drive and into the shade of the bridleway running through the
trees above Barbon Beck.
Conversation skipped between cricket, the forthcoming
American election and world travel as we made our way up the dale to the
junction with the scenic road running through Barbondale to Dent. We were about
to lose the dappled shade offered by the trees and break out onto the open
lower slopes of Barbon Low Fell heading towards Bullpot Farm.
Conversation had
progressed to the existence or otherwise of alien life on other planets, Einstein’s
Theory of Relativity and how time passes more quickly with increasing age –
maybe the strong sunshine was having an effect.
On arrival at Bullpot Farm, a significant venue for those
who seek their pleasure from descending into the dark, wet underworld of potholes
and caves Robin elaborated on a previous BB visit when he had seen the plans of
the extensive network of interlinking underground passages in the locality. We
decided to stay above ground despite the reminiscences of Martin and Robin of
their recent exciting descent by boswain’s chair of nearby Gaping Gill.
Our route then followed the lane southwest towards Casterton
for a few hundred metres, bathed in the now windless, strong sunshine. We
happened upon a man and his chocolate labrador, just about to get into his Land
Rover, when all three of us, as known car enthusiasts, noticed that there was
no steering wheel!
This turned out to be a very neat security measure,
demonstrated by the owner who removed a securely locked boss over the steering
column and snapped on a steering wheel before driving off. This location, with
a splendid view down the valley, proved to be an excellent lunch point where
the conversation inevitably revolved around cars.
Refreshed, and on the homeward leg of the walk, we branched
off onto the slopes of Brownthwaite and after a full risk assessment of the
effects of the strong sunshine coupled with the building pull of a refreshing
pint, we decided not to stray from the well-defined bridleway to make a dash
for the summit. This proved to be a wise decision as Mike was stoically
marching on with an increasingly painful foot.
Down the hill we came across a flock of sheep being moved by
the farmer who pointed out that it was too hot a day, really, to be undertaking
this task. We had to agree.
The presence of sheep reminded that we were in the
locality of some of Andy Goldsworthy’s renowned sheepfold artworks. Mike had
previously sought them out but this time they were proving to be a bit elusive.
Nevertheless we did find one example as we started the final leg of our route
across the fields back to Barbon.
Whilst the path was now a little difficult to
define in places it did pass some rather splendid properties which define this
part of the Lune Valley.
Reunited with our cars we made our way back into Kirkby
Lonsdale where we visited (again) the Royal Barn bar, enjoying a selection of
their well brewed and served ales. All in all, a grand day out.
Martin,
Thursday 19th September 2024
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