Walking in the Forest of Bowland and Pendle. Terry Marsh

to a broad farm access track that soon runs along the course of Higher Syke. Go past the turning to Gilberton farm, and follow the track as it continues ascending the flank of Tarnbrook Fell high above Gables Clough and the upper Tarnbrook Wyre. For a while the path escapes the clutches of the infant river, but rejoins it as the two bully their way through a narrow ravine, blessed with a fine display of cascades.

      The summit of Ward’s Stone with Ingleborough in the far distance

      Above the falls, you cross the stream and ascend in a northeasterly direction to the col between Wolfhole Crag and Ward’s Stone, near a small puddle known as Brown Syke. At the col, a fenceline and drystone wall meet, and here you turn left, following the wall to a stile over a fence. Cross this, and continue following the fence uphill, channelled to a point at which fences meet, where you can cross the fence once more.

      Not far away stands a trig pillar, one of two on Ward’s Stone. By just one metre, the first trig you encounter is higher than the second, though it doesn’t look it. The summit plateau is largely bare, dotted with outcrops of gritstone boulders and littered with rocks. From the top there is a fine panorama, north and east especially, to the Three Peaks of Yorkshire, and northwest to the purple-blue uplands of the Lakeland fells.

      Continue west, past the second trig, and onwards towards a minor summit, Grit Fell – but don’t go as far as Grit Fell. Before reaching it you cross a track at SD565588. Turn left onto this and follow it as it descends past Grizedale Head and all the way down to rejoin the road near Rakehouse Barn. Here, turn left for the short distance to Lower Lee and the conclusion of the walk.

WALK 8

      Abbeystead Reservoirs

Start/Finish	Abbeystead; parking area at Stoops Bridge (SD564544)
Distance	5km (3 miles)
Total Ascent	110m (360ft)
Terrain	Woodland and field paths, farm tracks, a little road walking
Maps	Explorer OL41 (Forest of Bowland and Ribblesdale)

      This easy walk around the reservoirs at Abbeystead shows just how beautiful Lancashire’s countryside really is. The walk itself is not demanding, and enjoys a good mix of terrain, from bird-loud woodlands to clichéd babbling brooks, and fine views of the Bowland fells to the north.

      Leave the parking area and walk along the quiet lane southwards beside the Tarnbrook Wyre, soon intercepting the Wyre Way, a 41-mile recreational route that follows the course of the River Wyre from its source in the Forest of Bowland to the sea at Fleetwood and Knott End. In fact the source of the River Wyre could well be said to be the Abbeystead Reservoir outflow, as the two rivers above this point are the Tarnbrook Wyre and Marshaw Wyre.

      A lovely glimpse of wooded Abbeystead Reservoir