Forest of Bowland

Forest of Bowland, AONB

Forest of Bowland

Where is it – England, North West England

Who looks after it –  Local Authority 

What is it –  Countryside, Free access 

When is it from – All or N/A

The Forest of Bowland is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland. It is a place of big skies, a lowly populated area covering 312 square miles (803km2) of sometimes bleak, peat moorland, fells and deep valleys, surrounded by softer, attractive, countryside and small settlements. Principal rivers include the Ribble and the Hodder; to the west is the Lune Valley; to the North are the Yorkshire Dales. Though mostly in Lancashire, a small part of the Forest of Bowland is in North Yorkshire. Its cultural roots lie in the long past, but the term ‘forest’ in the sense of a designated royal hunting area, rather than a large area of woodland (most of the trees were cleared during the Bronze Age), stems from the medieval period.

Managing the land for hunting, primarily grouse shooting, is still a major influence on the landscape, and several large private landowners remain. It is also an area for walkers and cyclists – but lonely in places.

Pendle Hill is part of Bowland, separated from the main part by the Ribble Valley. The highest point in the Forest of Bowland is Ward’s Stone at 1841 feet (561 metres) and one its many features is the Trough of Bowland, a high moorland pass through which the Pendle Witches travelled in 1612, bound for unjust trial and execution in Lancaster. Bowland is associated with witchcraft – possibly for tourism reasons – even today. The area includes many listed stone buildings, with characteristic mullions and lintels, as well as attractive villages – round the edges – like Hurst Green, Dunsop Bridge, Downham, Slaidburn and Waddington. So called ‘gateway towns’ include High Bentham in the north and Clitheroe in the south – the latter being arbitrarily selected for location purposes in this instance. There is even a particular Bowland Cheese, a type of Lancashire cheese, mixed with apple, sultana and cinnamon.

 


Address

Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 3BL 

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