Thought we’d better be good this once during the plague, and started from home on an 8 mile walk, amazingly 3/4 of which I hadn’t walked, (but had mountain biked some), and half M hadn’t walked. From Brookhouse go south on the first road on the right coming from Caton on Brookhouse Road after the Artle Beck Bridge. A path carries on as the road goes left and right; follow this veering south east to cross a low hill and join Littledale Road. Turn right up this and left down Moorside road. After a dip, and a large house on the right, turn right up a track, leading past one open and one closed reservoir, then slanting left and up. A gate is soon reached which has a no walking access sign on it. This was, and still is according to the website, a permissive “tramper route”, so if you’re squeamish, turn back, otherwise go through the gate and up to cross Traitor’s Gill (Becks, Gills, Brook-house, many different groups of inhabitants have been here!). Keep to the left wall/fence, as the next gates are near it, and enter the open access land. head up to the nearest track, past the singing monsters, and down to the picnic site at the top of Quarry Road. A view of the lower Lune valley enfolds, with the Yorkshire peaks and the Howgills further right. Turn right through the odd gate onto the bridleway, a rough brick strewn track, down past Moorcock Hall, a ruin twenty years ago, and carry on down. The track proper takes a sharp right lower down, although a (newish) track with a private sign on it carries straight on, which I didn’t see once when careering down on my MTB. This leads to the Clay works, the clay destined for Claughton Brick works, via the aerial wireway. The large hole on the map cannot be seen, look on Google Earth. At present the working appears slack: previously, when building picked up after the 2008 crash, the aerial carriers were busy seven days a week. Carry on down the track, right and left by the wood, past Claughton Hall, the Oyston residence. Near the bottom, a waterfall sign indicates an insignificant but nevertheless welcome feature, partly man made. No stopping during these times for a drink at the Fenwick on the main road, but carry on down the lane and take the path signed left, leading to the Lune bank. Follow this to the cycle track on the old railway line by the main road. The flood plain pasture crossed is sterile, but the Lune is full of bird life: geese, mainly greylag, oystercatchers, and ducks, various. Carry on the cycle path till you see the Bull beck picnic site across the road, where join it and turn back left for 100 yards to take the signed path right, up across the fields to Kirkbeck avenue and the Brookhouse Road. The plague stone in the wall just beyond the Black Bull pub now has a new meaning to it, so pause here and think on.
Brookhouse and the Church from the initial path. Two more fields to Littledale Road. A “singing monster” close up. Descending to Moorcock Hall, Hornby, the Lune Valley and Middleton Fell beyond. The Claughton Beck waterfall. The Lune, looking west. The plague stone.
Cracking walk. Unfortunately the landowners collared us just as we entered the open access! They were pleasant enough but pointed out that it is private land. I mentioned the Tramper Trail, but that was for a brief period a long while ago!
Rest is superb. Glad about the warning over the ‘private track’ as sign is very faint
Can’t access water fall at the moment as a barbed wire strand in place!
John
I too shot past the tight bend on the track, on my brand new gravel bike, and struggled a bit to get back through a sea of mud to the right place.