Bolton by Bowland 5.5 miles. Danny and Barbara.

     The unspoiled village of B.b.B with the parish church in the        background

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul. We were unable enter the church due to Corona Virus.

"A road opposite the church runs through the grounds of what was Bolton Hall, demolished in the 1950s. The road ends at the outbuildings of the hall, now restored as residential accommodation. The hall was the historic home of the Pudsay family. It was Sir Ralph Pudsay who gave refuge to Henry Vl, after the kings defeat at the Battle of Hexham in 1464, during the Wars of the Roses."

    The lane leading to the outbuildings of the now demolished hall.

"In a hollow, alongside the restored buildings, is a dome- shaped, small, stone building, known as King Henry's Well. This was a bathhouse built over a spring of water."

                  The outbuildings of the now demolished hall

Skirting the perimeter of the wooded grounds, we reached the bridge crossing Skirden Beck

The weir has been carefully designed, giving artistic merit to an otherwise unimaginative construction.

 A farm track led us through a field populated by sheep. The stump of this fallen tree, with a little imagination could come to life given the right conditions, but the sheep in the foreground seems unperturbed.

                      Some of the sheep were very colourful. 

Most of the sheep were of a speckled face variety. Perhaps John can enlighten us about the breed.

You would need a "Mouton-eer" to really know but "Lonks" and "Rough Fell"  seem to fit the bill and possibly "Dalesbred"  though I think they are horned. A  lot of farmers use crossbreeds to get wool and meat off one animal. I know that "Swaledales" can be in the mix.  John W.   (not an expert)  

                              Arriving at the village of Holden.

I had intended to follow the lane ahead, through Clough Wood, that runs alongside Holden Beck, but discovered that it was a private drive.

We decided to have dinner by the beck, before checking the map for an alternative route.

The weather vane adorning the Copy Nook pub. A short diversion up Holden Lane and we were back on track. Leaving the lane we turned right down a farm track leading to Hungrill Farm.

A not very modest residence we passed along the way. A sports car sat outside of it. Given the state of the long farm track leading to the house, a sports car is definitely not the ideal car for whoever resides there.

We followed the river back to B.b.B dropped of our rucksack and as the day was still young, decided to have another scout around the village. Going up Main Street from the (free) car park with the (free) toilets we passed again the Coach and Horses Inn   on the right hand side, with the unusual Cinderella type coach above the pub sign. Very charming.

Opposite the pub, on the left is the remains of the Village Cross with the stocks in front of it.

To the right, opposite the village cross is the War Memorial.

The church dates back to the 13th century. The oldest part looks to be the dark stone castellated section at the east end, followed by the centre section, built of random multi coloured stone. The most recent appears to be the tower, built of dressed stone.

"The lid  on Sir Ralph Pudsay's tomb in the Pudsay Chapel of the church of St Peter and St Paul gives a complete account of his family. Besides his twenty five children, his three wives are engraved on the cover of the tomb. In the manner of a scoreboard, Roman numerals indicate the number of children produced by each wife. The chapel also has a number of monuments to the Pudsay family."

"Another member of the family, William, was responsible for Pudsay's Leap; The story goes that he was caught counterfeiting money. He escaped from the pursuing government officials only by making his horse jump from a high cliff over the River Ribble. He rode on to London to seek a pardon from Queen Elizabeth, which she granted.

       A little further on, past the church, is a second village green.

 "Halfway along the green is the Old Courthouse, at which the Law of the Forrest was made known. As tends to happen in  villages which have been part of an estate, there are few modern structures."

The extracts in red are taken from Towns and Villages of Great Britain. Lancashire. By Michael Smout.

                                                                       DK