Walking in Lancashire. Mary Welsh

OL2

      Kirkby Lonsdale stands on high ground overlooking a stunning bend in the River Lune. Its name is believed to be of Danish origin, as the area was settled by these marauding seafarers. Perhaps spend some time exploring the delightful town before setting off on this delectable walk, which takes you for 5km (3 miles) beside the stately river. Enjoy the abundant birdlife before pressing on to the charming village of Whittington. After a short wet walk along a stream bed, where good boots are essential if you are to remain dryshod, the way takes you down over quiet pastures back to the start.

      Park in the well-signposted car park, grid ref 609786, opposite the supermarket at the southwest end of the town. Cross the road at the north end of the car park to descend right to pass the Institute on the left. Turn left at the post office along King’s Arms Lane. Turn left again into Market Street and wind right through Beck Head. Enter the churchyard to visit St Mary’s, built between 1093 and 1130.

      The Devil’s Bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale

      DEVIL'S BRIDGE

      One of the legends about how Devil’s Bridge got its name claims that an old woman whose cow and pony strayed into the river promised the devil that if he raised a bridge so that her stock could cross, he could have the first thing to do so. Early next morning the old woman threw a bun over the bridge and her mangy dog ran after it. The devil, expecting he would gain a pony or a cow, vanished angrily in flames.

      Turn right as you leave the building, looking for the eight-sided gazebo in the churchyard which marks the beginning of the terrace over-looking Ruskin’s View. Walk along here and see where the River Lune makes its gracious curve, and where you will want to pause. Ruskin described it as, ‘One of the loveliest scenes in England – therefore the world’. Next, descend the Radical Steps to reach the side of the river. Walk right and continue along to the spectacular Devil’s Bridge where you join a narrow road (to your right is a toilet block).

      Cross the road and go through the squeeze stile opposite, just before the bridge. Take the stone steps down to the path beside the river on the south side of the magnificent 15th-century twin-arched bridge known as Devil’s Bridge.

      Continue along the footpath beside the water, walking beneath oak, hawthorn and elm. Pass through the kissing gate just before the next bridge and walk up the slope to the A65. Cross this busy road with care and descend more steps to regain the footpath – the Lune Valley Ramble – and continue downstream. The next bridge carries great pipes over the Lune for the waterboard, but just before this bridge bear to the right, go up a small embankment and over a stile. Carry on to pass through a squeeze stile, and after a few metres take another stile on the left where steps lead once more to the riverside.

      Continue along the stiled way beside the river, watching out for a waymark that directs you up a slope once more. The way then goes left beside a copse where trees slope steeply down to the river. Descend a short slope to come down to the Lune once more, and look left for a magnificent view of Ingleborough. At the water’s edge you might spot a dipper running into the shallows and then back to a shingle reach.

      Amble on along the way, sometimes high above the river and sometimes close beside it, to come to a wooden hut for anglers – across the river stands the small village of Nether Burrow. Stroll on along a grassy track with the Lune, now immensely broad, beside you. Press on along the narrow flood bank, which is edged with straggly hawthorns, to take a stile into a track called Coneygarth Lane.

      This hedged way is muddy to start with and then, after a gate, becomes grassy as it gradually bears northwest. At its end you cross the B6254 and, after a few steps right, take a stile on the left onto a long grassed track leading to the Church of St Michael the Archangel, with the houses and cottages of Whittington gathered around it.

      After a pause here, either in the church or on a seat on a terrace outside, walk on and leave the churchyard by the north gate. Turn left and after a few metres take narrow, sheltered Hosticle Lane on the right, climbing steeply uphill. The lane is walled and supports a hedge 2 metres (6½ feet) high. At the top of the slope look right for another grand view of Ingleborough. Go on past Lane Hall Farm and then descend a little to pass another dwelling. Continue on for a few steps and take a stile on the right just before the lane joins a busy road. Bear slightly right to descend gently, following the waymarks on the fence. Wind round a small wood and continue along its edge to a stile over a fence. Bear left and follow the hedge downhill, with the steep slopes of Sellet Bank to your right.

      The Church of St Michael the Archangel at Whittington

      Go down almost to the corner of the pasture and pass through a gate. Walk ahead to go through a similar gate, and then turn right to reach a signposted stile in the corner of the pasture. Turn sharp left and go through a gate beside a garage and into a narrow, waymarked track. Shortly the path appears to divide and here you take the right branch to cross a stream. Walk on along the right side of the beck – although after heavy rain you may find yourself walking up the stream bed! – eventually crossing the stream to continue a little above the water.

      After a short distance the stream disappears and the path becomes dry and good to walk. The hedged way climbs steadily and is particularly pleasant in early spring. Go past several white cottages and turn right at the road. Go past Wood End farmhouse and, just before its huge green slurry tank, turn left to pass through a signposted gate.

      Drop down the pasture to go through a gap stile, and then keep on going down through two metal kissing gates to the side of the A65. Cross with care, then walk right and then left to return to the car park.

WALK 6

      Crook of Lune and Aughton

Start/Finish	Crook of Lune
Distance	11.4km (7 miles)
Time	3–4 hours
Terrain	Generally easy walking; steepish road climb from the river to Aughton
Maps	OS Explorer OL41

      The Lune is perhaps the finest of Lancashire’s rivers. It rises in Cumbria and then idles through its fertile valley in a series of graceful meanders. The calls of waders and ducks are familiar sounds, and the peacefulness of the river is often broken by the loud splash of a leaping salmon. Fine woodlands clothe its banks, and in spring red campion and greater stitchwort contrast pleasingly with wonderful carpets of bluebells.

      One of the great bends in this meandering river is called Crook of Lune. In 1835 William Wordsworth praised its loveliness and the beauty spot was a must for all 19th-century travellers, including JMW Turner, for whom it provided the inspiration for a watercolour now hanging in the Courtauld Institute in London.

      The parking area is situated above the neck of this great bend in the river, grid ref 522648. From the first car park drop down steps to the riverside and turn left to follow the waymarks for the Lune Valley Ramble. Look back to see the five-arched bridge with its splendid wrought-iron balustrade. This bridge used to carry the railway from Green Ayre in Lancaster to Wennington. Stroll on to a waymarked gate and continue beside the water.

      Look across the river to see 18th-century Caton Low Mill, now converted into flats, which produced cotton until the 1970s. Carry on along the stiled and gated way, going by a cascading weir, then pass into delightful woodland where deciduous trees sweep down to the water’s edge. The path can be muddy, but it is stepped up and down at awkward places.

      Emerge from the