Pub walk from Haslingden 04-06-2024 – leader Bernie

I am a very lucky chap.  Yesterday, against a forecast of thundery showers all day, in the morning I planted some perennials in the garden with no rain, in the afternoon I walked the family dogs for an hour with no rain, and in the evening I had a fabulous pub walk with about 3 drops of rain towards the end.  

Half an hour before the walk started, the rain battered down, but that was it, so 9 walkers and 2 dogs set off up to the lovely Pike Law in bright conditions, with cracking views wherever we looked – and cracking views stayed with us for the rest of the walk.  I asked Bernie at the outset what Pike Law means, and she did some research.  Although the research was inconclusive about the name, it is nevertheless interesting.  We did pass the quarry on Pike Law, and Joan afterwards told us that she used to play there as a child, climbing the quarry walls – what a tomboy 😉

From Pike Law we crossed over Haslingden Old Road and headed up to the Halo, which lived up to its panopticon status – views all around.  We then walked along by Cribden Edge before dropping down alongside the airstrip towards Oakenhead Wood.  From here it was a tricky descent to the lane leading to the Ski Slope, but not so tricky that we could not admire what was around us.  

Diana left us to walk home at this point, with the rest of us continuing past a very busy Ski Slope to cross a stile ‘Improved by Rossendale Ramblers’, though the lush grass and nettles at the bottom of the field meant that we exited via a broken gate rather than by the other stile.  All over safely, we went straight across and down to turn right above the housing estate built on the former hospital site and back to the pub for an hour of interesting conversation about weight loss and altitude sickness – which Bernie told us can be fatal.   

Thanks to Bernie for a lovely walk and an interesting route, to Glyn for back marking, and to the lovely group who came for their friendship.  As  I said at the beginning, I am a very lucky chap.

The next pub walk will be on Saturday 20th June starting at 10.30am from an as yet undisclosed pub.  Full details will be on this website and our Facebook page a week before the walk.