Bolton-by-Bowland: January 2024

I have read about Bolton-by-Bowland several times in magazine articles, but until now have never visited.

First recorded in the Domesday Book in 1087 as Bodeton, it is a small picturesque village which, unusually, has two village greens, the smaller being home to the remains of a 13th century cross and the village stocks. Indeed, there are many historical sites to discover in and around this idyllic village, as well as miles of beautiful countryside to explore and a cosy pub to return to afterwards.

We left Bolton-by-Bowland on foot, crossing the bridge out of the village, and turning right to follow a path by the river, a tributary of the River Ribble.

The path hugged the river for a while, its pleasant gurgling and a sharp wind accompanying the sound of our footsteps.

Coming away from the river, and passing through a small Nursery, we walked for a short while along Stoop Lane, before leaving the road and crossing a stream, where we had planned to follow the course of Monubent Beck. However, the path was unpassable: very steep, wet underfoot and a tangle of brambles, so we re-routed, instead taking an uphill muddy path that followed the wall.

The narrow trail eventually opened out into a rough grassy track, boggy but passable and under the shelter of a glade of trees. At the end of the glade we continued on Monubent Lane, passing a couple of farms, and arriving lower down on Hellifield Road than our original route, but not far off track.

After a short walk along the road, we turned right onto a smaller lane and then a farm track, at one point startling a hare, which darted away at the sound of our feet, before taking a sharp left and crossing a stile to head over very boggy ground to the small village of Paythorne.

The ground so far had been heavy underfoot and energy sapping, the recent wet weather evident whenever we left the path to cross fields.

We stopped for a drink and a packet of crisps at The Buck in Paythorne, but were soon on our way again, aware that we only had a couple of hours of daylight left and not sure of the terrain ahead.

We resumed our journey, retracing our steps across a couple of fields, before changing direction where we had crossed the stile, now heading directly across saturated pastureland towards Moor House Farm. Once through the farmyard, navigated by following hand-written signs, we picked up a track, passing the appropriately named Windy Pike and taking note of an unusual pillared sheep shelter on the left.

Turning right at the T-junction, we progressed uphill until we reached a sharp bend in the road. Here, we followed a track past a house, then crossed a stile into a field of very friendly llamas. After convincing them that we had no food for them, we walked across another muddy field and through a small drier woodland, spying a group of antlered deer through the trees, before following the path down past Fooden Hall Farm, enjoying views of Pendle Hill in the late afternoon sunshine.

The path now ran high above the River Ribble, following its course for a short while through woodland. It then diverted from the river, taking us through a plantation at Scott Laithe Delf, and then across yet another sodden field towards Bolton Hall Farm.

We were now losing the light, so were grateful to find ourselves following a long access road through Bolton Park, which deposited us back in front of the church in Bolton-by-Bowland.

About ten miles in total, our walk today was blighted by heavy, saturated fields, which probably made up half of the walk. It was, despite the mud, a delightful route and I look forward to walking it again in the summertime, when I will be able to focus more on the beautiful views and plentiful wildlife, rather than where I am putting my feet.