Bolton by Bowland

 

Our walk today began by having a look around the village, so Martin decided to join us. John was undecided whether to wear his light coloured goody hat, or his dark coloured baddy hat. He decided on the latter.

No one was in sight as we headed along Main Street, although i'm sure I saw some curtains twitching.

                                Even the doors of the saloon were firmly shut

            As we moseyed along through the village, everyone was still keeping indoors.

    We arrive at the ancient church of St Peter and St Paul. Thankfully the church was open.

At the back of the church is a 16th century font, with the heraldic shields of the Pudsay family on the eight sides.

The lid of Sir Ralph Pudsay's tomb in the Pudsay Chapel is engraved (no pun intended) with the complete account of his family. It shows his three wives and his twenty five children, in the form of a scoreboard, showing which of his wives gave birth to how many of his offspring. His third wife's score was seventeen. The tomb looks big enough to have housed all of them.

        The nineteenth century pulpit behind Mike incorporates two older Flemish panels.

An old signpost by the village green may mislead visitors into thinking that the village is in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which it was until the boundary changes in 1974 when the Red Rose County won it without so much as a skirmish.

There was ample seating on the edge of the village green for us to enjoy our morning brew in comfort. After brew we said adios amigo to Martin, and continued our walk.

Passing the church again, we come to another green.

This building in the middle of the row, used to be the Old Courthouse where the law of the forest was enforced.

Across the road from the church is King Henry Mews. A long drive leading to Bolton Hall.

Part way along the drive, we came across this very large stick insect.

As we neared the Hall outbuildings eagle eyed John spotted some rosary beads hung on a gatepost. He did put them back where he found them of course.

Bolton Hall was demolished in the 1950s. All that remains is the outbuildings, now restored as residential accommodation. The dome shaped low building on the right is known as King Henry's Well. This was a bath house, built over a spring of water. The Hall was the historic home of the Pudsay family. It was Sir Ralph Pudsay who gave refuge to Henry VI, following his defeat at the Battle of Hexham in 1464 during the Wars of the Roses.

Leaving the Hall grounds, our next destination is the small nearby village of Holden.

As we make our way down to the River Ribble, we come across an obstacle. No problem for John, he overcomes it with style.    Oh no, not that one again.

On reaching the Copy Nook we know we are not far from Holden, where we have arranged to meet up with Martin for dinner,

And here he is. He had found himself a shaded seat on a disused bridge and was having a nod. What better way is there to spend a bit of time on a warm sunny day.

Although we could easily have spent the afternoon there, we must press on, so we bid farewell again to Martin and head for the river,

An unusual weather vane sits atop the Copy Nook, which we have too pass again on our walk.

We had about three quarters of a mile of road to negotiate, most of which was a gradual rise.

When we reached a garden centre, a small gate, then a style on the right, and we were back into a green field heading down to the river

Having left the main path, it was a bit tricky in places, as we crossed back and forth across Skirden Beck.

And yet, it all adds to that spirit of adventure, which still lingers in the hearts of all good Meanderthals,

Well done Vic, you'r almost there, and so were we all, as it was only a short walk. as we rejoined a manicured grassy path back to Bolton by Bowland.

DK