Newchurch

It was a hot hot day and I was looking forward to this walk.  Slightly easier than Pendle Hill (but not much).  The car park at Barley was pretty full but I found a space got my boots on and set off up to Ogden Reservoir.  It was hot work climbing the track up to the reservoir banking. 

When I got there the reservoir were blue reflections the colour of the sky.  It was also very low I could see some the water markers down the embankment. 

I walked across the banking and through the stile into the rough pasture.

  Now I had the long climb up to the brow of Driver Height, here I stopped for a well-earned drink of water, looking across I could see the plumes of smoke from the fire on Saddleworth Moor. 

Felt sorry for the firemen who were there – in this heat without the fire it would be hard work walking across the moorland in their fire-fighting kit. Drivers Height at 1230ft/375mt is not quite so high up as Pendle Hill which is 1893ft/577mt, but still the views were impressive. 

From here I made the steep drop down to Newchurch.  I stopped off at the little church to see the gravestone of Alice Nutter and then moved on through the hamlet to take the turn off alongside some woods.  

Here on the horizon I could just make out the flat top of Ingleborough.  From here it was a slow sloping path through woods and pasture to an enclosed track which dropped back down to Barley.  Here I had an ice-cream before setting off back home. 

The book said this was 4 miles but I think it was nearer 4 ½ and today in the heat it felt like 5.  Good walk with good views.