A ten mile moorland walk in the Bowland Forest, an extension of the usual Bleadale route to take in Fiendsdale. There is just over 3 miles of peat hag moorland walking on the top, but the rest of the route is on good paths. Start from the large pull-off where Langden Brook meets the main Trough valley: it seems that the further away from the Ribble and Lune valleys you get, the more brooks and less becks there are. Take the Water Board’s track into the valley to the crude shelter called a “castle”, and carry on a short while till a footpath sign left indicates the way. As a side valley, Fiendsdale, joins from the left you will see the obvious path obliquely up the “Nab”, which you take after crossing Langden Brook easily. This is a structured through route path to the “Head”, merely a low col with sett paths joining by the fence. Turn left, easier at first on the west, far, side on setts, then higher up I think the other side is better. There are many stiles. This is the start of the 3 mile peat hag walking. Look out for an interesting patch of peat along here, with green topped poles driven in: either an alien marker area or a monitoring of peat erosion? At the summit cairn of Fairsnape Fell follow the joining fence east for 2 more miles of peaty in and out, more mirey at the watershed. As a wall appears the path improves, as does the vista from Totridge to the Hodder Valley. Keep on the path, which steeply descends the Fell in an initial zig zag not on the map, then by the fence along the top of several Lane Foot Brooks, to head left for a gate in the ridge wall, again not as per the map. Then the bridleway is as the map to Hareden, a neat little hamlet. Down the track past the houses go over the next concrete bridge and through the fields, by gate to start, not the stile, on the permissive path back up the valley.
The Langden Brook track. Fiendsdale Nab with the oblique path. Looking down Fiendsdale. Alien markers or peat erosion monitoring? A peat mound near Totridge summit, Hodder Valley beyond. Descending to Hareden.
Beware the peat hags on Totridge!! Some of these are deep and dangerous – I was lucky because I was just able to reach a fence post and haul myself out. But a lone fell runner lost his life up there when he stumbled into a peaty swamp. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to be ‘stuck’!
It’s been a dry winter, so we had no such problems. Must have been a while back you got stuck?