Discover the highest point in the Forest of Bowland

Summary

Sitting on the border of the Forest of Bowland, lies the small town of Chipping and it is said to be over 1000 years old! The circular hike covers three fells, Parlick, Paddy’s Pole and Fair Snape, one of the larger hills in the area. Paths zigzag their way up to the various summits, whilst following a ridge line that offers fantastic views of the Irish Sea and Blackpool to the West, and the Lake District to the North. The fell of “Parlick” comes from the name of a cheese that is made in Longridge from sheep’s milk (which I have yet to try) It has a cone shaped steep hill, that is popular with walkers and paragliders, offering a good ridge from which to lift off.

The Hike

We began the hike from the foot of the prominent hill of Parlick, following the road as it rose steeply to the start of the strenuous climb. There were lots of people hiking to the summit, particularly paragliders as they headed on upwards with what looked like a large turtle’s shell on their backs. As we approached the foot of the climb, I could see there were a couple of options that we could take to avoid the traffic jam of people.

“I think it will be better going up that way, it won’t be as busy and away from everyone”

As we puffed our way up the hillside, it soon became apparent why nobody was going the way we did. The poor path visibility and the unforgiving gradient of the hill made it a lot more difficult than what is probably should have been. Luckily it didn’t last long. Nevertheless, it was a good way to get the blood pumping.  

Meanwhile, as we approached the large rock filled cairn, I could see why this was such a popular area. The views that surrounded us were stunning!

From here, we were guided by the fence line, along a steady inclining ridge that was full of colourful yellows, greens, browns, and emerald hills that sat below. As we followed onwards, the incredible scenes of Paddy’s Pole began to creep into our eye-line. The closer we arrived to the trig point, we were then greeted by clear views as far as the mountains of the Lake District that lay in the distance. I didn’t expect to see the fells so clearly.

I wanted to try and get a good shot of the landscape, but this was spoiled by others sat in front of the trig.

“Oh sorry, am I in the way?”

“It’s okay, I am just trying to get a good shot. It’s amazing around here!”

I took my photograph.

That accomplished, we took our leave and headed back to regain the path towards Fair Snape Fell, the last Fell but not the last part of the hike. Big slabs of stone were placed on the ground beneath, making it much easier to follow whilst we meandered our way towards the summit. We didn’t know what to expect as we approached, dark clouds were rolling in and it looked like a storm was brewing. However, the cloud formations were magnificent!

We stopped and found a spot for lunch, looking out in the rolling landscape and whilst we began to munch on some food. Suddenly, we felt light dustings of snow fall on top of us.

“Is that snow?? EH? It was bright sunshine before??

Feeling utterly discombobulated, and wondering why is it snowing, we finished our lunch and continued onwards to the last part of the hike.

From Fair Snape Fell, we began to descend slowly back towards Parlick. The ground beneath us was well maintained and felt great for hiking on. Whilst descending, we passed a group of fellow hikers that were sat on the moorland heather, admiring and looking out into the valley below.

“They definitly have a good spot for lunch. We should have done that!”

Although we were slightly envious, we proceeded onwards where the terrain began to become slightly steeper. As we followed the path, Parlick came into view and opened up to us, revealing different shades of colours as the sun dazzled high above the cone shaped hill.  

We stopped for a moment to simply take in all of its beauty.

We eventually reached the foot of the valley, crossing over many stiles and passing through open farmland fields. We were greeted by a number of sheep, that seemed unphased by our presence, keeping us amused whilst they simply bleated to one another as we approached the final leg. Clouds began to thicken a deep grey and cover the fells behind, it felt like the perfect end to a great hike, knowing that we caught the best of the weather.

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