Every journey starts by taking a single step, so at the weekend, I made a start on my next book for Cicerone Press with a glorious spring walk in the Forest of Bowland.
There’s a word for these magical moments, apparently: apricity and so it was on the first sunny morning of spring, I bounced out of bed, lassooed the dog and headed into my happy place: the beautiful Forest of Bowland.
Formerly known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Forest of Bowland National Landscape is a 300-square mile tract of unspoiled upland wildness spanning rural north Lancashire and a bit of the Yorkshire Dales. It also has a southern outlier in the shape of whaleback massif of Pendle Hill – separated from the rest of the National Landscape by the River Ribble – yet sharing the qualities of its parent.
Now I love walking in the Lakes, or the Dales and pretty much every protected landscape in Britain, but when you just need to get a quick fix, driving 70 miles and searching for somewhere to park kind of takes the edge out of the experience.
I’d rather put the effort into finding a new route and breaking new ground in my backyard, and here’s the thing with the Forest of Bowland – there are always new routes to explore – and for me, this was one of them.
Admittedly, it was quite early (for a Sunday) when I parked up and headed off. During the course of the morning’s walk, we encountered a grand total of five other people, a pony and a couple of dogs.
Overhead, the calling of curlews prospecting for their nesting territory was constant, while in the valleys, the noisy bickering of oystercatchers was punctuated by indignant honking from a gaggle of geese.
Over the next 18 months or so, this will be my reality: working during the week and maybe sneaking out for the odd afternoon to recce routes for the new guidebook. I say new, but it’s actually an update of an existing edition first written by legendary Cicerone writer Terry Marsh – author of some 16 guides featuring hundreds of routes across the British Isles.
I’ll be re-walking Terry’s tried and tested routes and updating them to take account of changes to the access and adding a few new routes to keep things fresh and interesting. And it’s those new routes that will provide the real excitement.
Along the way, there will be a few false starts, wrong turns and navigational conundrums to negotiate, but that’s the deal for a guidebook writer: we put in the legwork, so you don’t need to. We’re the ones who get stuck in bottomless bogs, lost in the woods, or chased out of farmyards by crazy collies. But we also get to see spectacular new views, find new ways to connect local towns and villages and sample cake, coffee, pies and a pints.
It all goes with the territory… and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
See you out on the hill sometime…
- Got any suggestions for walking routes in the Forest of Bowland or Pendle which should be included? Get in touch!
Wild Bowland Walks 
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