Sunday’s Ride to Clarion – 30/08/20

We decided to try an old favourite on Sunday and set off eastwards from Penwortham, heading for Samlesbury Church and the back roads to Osbaldeston.  Our first climb (single arrow, as most were on this ride) was from the A59 up to the village of Mellor, where we joined Route 91, the South Lancs Cycleway.  Our way followed Route 91 via York into Whalley.

We left Route 91 here, climbing past the golf course to traverse the valley of Sabden Brook and climbing again to pass High House Farm and White Hill.  We took our first break at the car park south of Sabden, at Padiham Heights.  We had already had excellent views of the Bowland Fells to our left and the Yorkshire peaks ahead as we passed York, but here we had wonderful clear views of the West Pennine Moors to the south.  A solitary car, engine idling the entire time of our break, caught our attention.  There was no-one in it that we could see (or anyone else nearby); we still puzzle as to why.

Our route continued along the ridge, dropping down to Sabden Fold before climbing up to Newchurch in Pendle.  Despite the undulations, we reached the Clarion hut in quite short time, stopping long enough to consume the first part of our lunch amidst a few friendly cyclists and walkers, as we have found before.  It was pleasant in the warm sun and the tea room was operating a sensible social distancing regime.

After our break, we passed Barley on our way up and over the ridge, passing Pendle Big End, which seemed to have attracted a large number of walkers, and returning to familiar ground by turning left and descending to Downham.  The Bowland Fells and Yorkshire peaks were again in sight, although by this time there was a bit more cloud and it was quite cool.

We crossed the Ribble between Chatburn and Grindleton and proceeded to Waddington for part two of lunch, again in the sun.  The pretty route along back roads to Cow Ark then Chipping formed the next part of our route, while some of Chipping’s “quiet lanes” as far as Broughton brought us to our finish.  It was a feeling of pleasure with which we finished, having completed a fine 62 mile and 4800 feet run to a destination enjoyed many times previously by Lancaster and South Lakes group members.

Mike Bridges