Very bright and sunny with very little wind, so off I went to Horton. I walked up the Pennine Way as far as Sell Gill Holes. Last time I passed this spot I was returning south from Old Ing along the Ribble Way, which joins the Pennine Way at Sell Gill Barn. However, somehow I lost the 'official' path, climbing too high, and had to descend to it later. Today I wanted to discover where I had gone wrong and so walked the Ribble Way northwards.
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| Upper (stream) entrance |
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| The Ribble Way crosses a deep gill |
After a few ladder stiles I came upon the deep gill which I should have crossed on that earlier journey. Here one has the choice of going straight down to a wooden bridge and a ladder stile, or taking a higher path (shown above).
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| The deep gill from the high path |
From here there are no more walls to cross and I found the reason for my mistake as soon as I neared the wood in which is Birkwith Cave. The path veers right, up the slope to the next terrace of limestone, and I had mistakenly used this higher path when going south.
I stopped for lunch just beyond the wood, and the sun, which had been cloud covered for most of the morning after starting the walk, shone warmly, but the slight breeze was cold and I had to wear mittens when eating!
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| The view from near Birkwith Cave |
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| Birkwith Cave |
I investigated and photographed the cave, more easily seen at this time of year because of the absence of leaves on the trees in front of it.
I thought of carrying on along the Ribble Way, to Nether Lodge and then to take a little-used path to rejoin the PW at Ling Gill Bridge, but I realised it would be rather too far. I therefore rejoined the PW at Old Ing using the causway just beyond the building. This links to the 'green lane' which AW waxes lyrical about. It's no longer very green at all, consisting of small cobblestones some of which are loose and walking along such a path is quite uncomfortable. Parts of the lane do have a smooth grass surface.
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| PW link path from Old Ing |
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| The causeway, formerly a muddy path |
Along the way I was glad to find almost by chance the pot called Canal Cavern, which I missed last time, and then walked on to Sell Gill where at last the sun reappeared and I stopped for a final snack.
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| Canal Cavern |
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| Cowskull Pot |
Reaching the car in sunshine, I brewed up a mug of tea after an enjoyable day on the fells.
