Walks in Ribble Country - Yorkshire, Lancashire, England

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
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High on the lonely, windswept, north-western flank of Cam Fell, in the Yorkshire Dales, there is a small, dark limestone outcrop. A tiny, crystal-clear spring bubbles forth from its base, trickles falteringly down a grassy slope, then snakes invisibly through extensive beds of rushes to emerge as a purposeful rivulet carving its own little groove down the rough fellside. And purposeful it certainly needs to be for, though here known somewhat prosaically as Jam Sike, this is in fact the River Ribble setting off on its momentous 75-mile journey to the Irish Sea.

In its infancy the Ribble is flowing over boulder-clays deposited some 8000 years ago by the glaciers of the last Ice Age. The moorland is dark and sombre, but there are soon signs of better things ahead, for at Thorns Gill the river has cut through into the underlying limestone to form a scenic little gorge. For the next 20 or so miles – as far as Settle – it is destined to pass through some of the most dramatic countryside in England.

‘Three Peaks Country’ is a veritable paradise for walkers, cavers and geologists. Determined peak-baggers and fitness-freaks arrive from far and wide to face the challenge of the magical trio – Whernside, Ingleborough and Penyghent. More leisurely ramblers may follow ancient green tracks over the hills, enjoying the dry, velvety turf of the limestone pastures and marvelling at the gleaming scars, spectacular ravines and gorges, fantastic pavement formations and boulder-strewn dry valleys. Intrepid potholers, meanwhile, will disappear down dark and sinister holes to crawl about in the Stygian gloom of labyrinthine cave systems.

Upon leaving the National Park our hitherto sprightly river undergoes a manifest personality change as it meanders slowly through a flood plain which was once the bed of a vast, glacial ribbon-lake. These marshy meadows, know as ‘Ings of Ribble’ or ‘Ribble Flats’ attract few walkers but provide an ideal habitat for swans, geese and waders such as lapwing and redshank.

Approaching Paythorne the Ribble enters God’s Own Country, and Ribblesdale becomes the Ribble Valley. For many folk the image of Lancashire is one of dismal terraced streets in grimy mill towns, but the rambler in the Ribble Valley will discover a Lancashire rich in natural beauty and touched but lightly by the Industrial Revolution. The magnificent limestone gorge twixt Gisburn and Sawley forms the portal to the kind of idyllic countryside that you might have thought had gone for ever – rolling green hills, flowery meadows, shady woodlands and narrow, leafy lanes through picturesque villages that date back to pre-Conquest times. The area is steeped in fascinating history, and all along the Ribble’s banks stand the hoary old halls and elegant mansions of illustrious Lancashire families.

The broad river slides sedately on, skirting the dire industrial sprawl of Preston to enter a strange, tide-washed world of saltmarshes, mud-flats and sandbanks, where huge flocks of wildfowl and waders may be seen feeding at low-tide. The Ribble Estuary is Britain’s third most important for wading birds, and is designated as a National Nature Reserve.

The aim of this brief introduction is to convey a general impression of the superb countryside which the lucky user of this book may expect to enjoy. The walks have been selected to appeal to all tastes, and range from simple valley strolls to strenuous fell expeditions which may require navigational skills in the event of mist. Researching and recording these walks has given me enormous pleasure which I hope you will share as you follow in my footsteps.

Jack Keighley

December 1998