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Lat/Long: 53.666685, -02.577614
OS
Grid ref: SD 61932 19067
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I didn’t have enough time to escape to the Cumbrian fell so
decided to revisit some interesting locations nearer to home.
The access road to the cricket field car park is now the worst
I’ve ever seen it and I would have left my car rearer the old
school if I’d known. I set off to the goit and saw two ladies
puzzling over a map on their phone. They were following a
predefined route and following a text description. The goit was
a puzzle for them and as they were heading for Drinkwaters I was
able to point the route out. They turned left and I turned right
to follow the track below Stronstrey Bank. |
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I reached the road near the Waterman’s Cottage and at the bottom
of the steep hill noticed that they’d stopped repairing the
stone wall where motorists keep crashing through. Only a post
and wire fence remains. An easy walk up the steep hill towards
the Manor House wasn't without its problems as a group of
cyclists whizzed down the hill at high speed and not giving a
sensible passing space. |
The Manor House. |
Pikestones for lunch. |
Me and Eric 20 years ago. |
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After the Manor House I reached Jepson’s Gate and over the tile
and across open ground to the Pike Stones site. The old
information board is still there but all the text and maps are
long gone. The Pikestones were a chambered cairn & have been
there for around 4,500years and are older than the nearby Round
Loaf Bowl Barrow burial mound which is about 4,000years old. I
stopped here for my lunchtime butties and remembered visiting
the same spot with my great friend Eric Bell in Apr 2005 when he
told me it was his first visit there. Eric died last Sunday 20th
Oct 2924 at the age of 91. |
Pikestones reconstruction. |
Winter Hill from the Pikestones. |
Round Loaf from Hurst Hill. |
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The weather continued fine with occasional sunny spells. I
continued north across pathless rough moor to Hurst Hill and the
cairn of stones. Without stopping I continued NE to head for
Round Loaf burial mound in the distance. The path is wide and
boggy but not quite as wet as I was expecting. I reached the
mound and stopped my the small cairn on the top. Paths radiate
out in several directions and my route was north towards the
Drinkwaters ruin I could see in the distance. Unfortunately the
path was lost in the mud and it was an unpleasant walk down to
Black Brook where i reached the gate and old bit of fence
spanning the river. |
Drinkwater's wall. |
Up through the rushes I reached Drinkwaters then turned left
to wander down to Coppice Stile House ruins. Then an easy
descent to the car and a very bumpy drive out to the tarmac
road. |
Drinkwater's |
Chorley Nab in the distance. |
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