Plenty of Grouse at Millers House

Dorothy and I decided to try out one of the TGO Wild Walks from the November Issue. We started at Tower Lodge in the Forest of Bowland (SD614539) and set off North along a nice track. We immediately encountered a very ambiguous notice saying that there was going to be shooting on the Open Access Land and that we had to stick to footpaths. There was a very confusing map with different colours showing where the Open Access Land was. As our route was mainly on footpaths and seemed to follow the edge of the coloured area we decided to press on and see.

We turned East across White Moor following a concessionary footpath, although there wasn't really a path as such. These footpaths are a bit like the equator, imaginary. That reminds me of an old joke about the boy who thought there was a dangerous animal that circled the globe. A menagerie lion running round the Earth. Never mind...

On the way over to Millers House we could hear the hunting dogs. They sounded as if they were a couple of miles to our West so we felt reasonably happy that we weren't disturbing the shoot. In fact it was easy to imagine we ourselves were being hunted. When we stopped I put on my dark fleece to keep warm but it was going through the back of my mind that it also made me less visible.

At Millers House we stopped for elevenses next to a large millstone. It seems very unlikely that this was really a Miller's House. It's hard to imagine a less favourable spot for grinding wheat to make flour. You'd have to carry the wheat there and carry the flour back. Maybe it was less boggy then, but a more likely explanation is that this was where people made the millstones. After all, the rock here is Millstone Grit.

 

You'd still be left with the problem of getting the stones from here to where the miller really lived. You could put a pole through the middle and with a couple of people each side perhaps you could roll it down. Even if it where less boggy it would not be easy. Just making it in the first place must have taken an incredibly long time! Hats off to anyone making a living out of this.

We headed North and West to Wolfhole Crag. The shapes and colours made by the moss, the heather and the water are fascinating. Take this green pool for example. As the path is largely imaginary you need to concentrate on route finding. This could be fun in thick mist!

 

The sun came out while we eat our lunch at Wolfhole Crag and enjoyed views of Ingleborough and the Trough of Bowland. From here we went West and met some beaters. "Where are you going?" we are asked politely. "Over to Wards Stone" I said. I'm not sure they knew where I meant but we are asked to keep on the South side of the wall as they were shooting to the North. "No problem" I replied. Not sure they were happy to see us though!

 

Now the shapes and colours were dominated by the peat itself. The peat could be incredibly black like oil or a rich purple like the heather. With peat hags dominating the skyline.

 

From Wards Stone, the highest point in The Forest Bowland (580m), apart from the trig point a kilometre away that's a metre higher, you can see the Carneddau in Snowdonia and the Lakeland Hills. The TGO article suggested you could also see the Isle of Man but it was too hazy for that.

We dropped down to the gravelled track to the south of us and started to head back to our car but then we met the shooting party. Again these were beaters but they didn't want us carrying on into the area they were beating. After an amicable discussion we agreed to take a detour round them although I must admit I did find the concept of the moor being closed quite amusing. For a minute I thought the gentleman we spoke to had the wrong consonant. I can see how you can close a door but a not moor?

Anyway we all need to share the countryside and we'd had our walk while they had their shoot so no worries as far as I was concerned. It seemed like very well organised operation and I guess it needs to be. One is inclined to think 'poor birds'. However, I'm not a vegetarian although I try to eat free range food if I can. I guess it doesn't come much more free range than this. 

 

On the way back we saw a beautiful sunset over the mouth of the Mersey and the Dee. We rarely come to this area but you could easily be walking in the Highlands of Scotland and it's only an hour's drive from where we live. Up on the top it reminded us of another walk we did between Mayar and Driesh above Glen Clova. Only that, believe it or not, was a lot more boggy!