The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland,
is an area of
gritstone fell
A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...
s, deep valleys and
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
moorland, mostly in north-east
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, England, with a small part in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
(however roughly half of the area falls into the area of the historic
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
). It is a western outlier of the
Pennines.
The Forest of Bowland was designated an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...
(AONB) in 1964. The AONB also includes a detached part known as the
Forest of Pendle
The Forest of Pendle is the name given to an area of hilly landscape to the east of Pendle Hill in eastern Lancashire, roughly defining the watershed between the River Ribble and its tributary the River Calder. The forest is not identical to ...
separated from the main part by the
Ribble Valley, and anciently a
royal forest
A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
with its own separate history. One of the best-known features of the area is
Pendle Hill
Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the P ...
, which lies in Pendle Forest. There are more than 500
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s and 18
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
s within the AONB.
The
Trough of Bowland is a pass connecting the valley of the
Marshaw Wyre with that of
Langden Brook, and dividing the upland core of Bowland into two main blocks.
The hills on the western side of the Forest of Bowland attract walkers from
Lancaster and the surrounding area. Overlooking Lancaster is
Clougha Pike, the westernmost hill. The hills form a large
horseshoe shape with its open end facing west. Clockwise from Lancaster the hills are
Clougha Pike (),
Grit Fell (),
Ward's Stone
Ward's Stone is the highest hill in the Forest of Bowland, England. Its flat top hides two trig points nearly a kilometre apart. The western trig point sits atop of large rocks, including one, the Ward's Stone, that is so large it attracts boul ...
(),
Wolfhole Crag (),
White Hill (), Whins Brow (), Totridge (),
Parlick (),
Fair Snape Fell
Fair Snape Fell is one of the larger hills in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. It occupies a position in the very south of the main range of fells, alongside and just to the north of Parlick, to which it is joined by a ridge. The m ...
(),
Bleasdale
Bleasdale is a village and civil parish in the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The two sources of the River Brock lie within the parish. According to the 2001 census, it had a ...
Moor (), and
Hawthornthwaite Fell ().
The area contains, by one definition, the
geographic centre of Great Britain which is close to the Whitendale Hanging Stones, around north of
Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge is a village in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, north-west of Clitheroe, south-east of Lancaster and west of Skipton. It is in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High. Historically, the village is part of the ...
. The historical extent of Bowland Forest is divided into two large administrative townships, Great Bowland (
Bowland Forest High
Bowland Forest High is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering some of the Forest of Bowland. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 163, falling to 144 at the 2011 Census. The parish ...
and
Bowland Forest Low) and Little Bowland (
Bowland-with-Leagram), but the modern-day AONB covers a much larger area.
History
A region of the British kingdom of
Rheged
Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and b ...
, Bowland was absorbed into
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
in the 7th century. In turn, as Northumbrian influence waned, the westernmost areas of Bowland became part of
Amounderness
The Amounderness Hundred () is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, but the name is older than the system of hundreds first recorded in the 13th century and might best be described as the nam ...
, a territory forged by the Norse ''hold'' Agmundr, a vassal of
Eowils,
Halfdan
Halfdan (, ang, Healfdene, Medieval : "half Dane") was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding (Skjöldung) lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who ...
and
Ingwaer, co-kings of
Jorvik
Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...
, in the early 10th century.
In 926, Amounderness was annexed by
Æthelstan
Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...
, king of the West Saxons, as a spoil of war. In 934, he granted it to
Wulfstan I
Wulfstan (died December 956) was Archbishop of York between 931 and 952. He is often known as Wulfstan I, to separate him from Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York.
Early life
Wulfstan was consecrated in 931.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Ch ...
,
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
. According to Aethelstan's grant, Amounderness at that time stretched "from the sea along the
Cocker to the source of that river, from that source straight to another spring which is called in
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
, ''"Dunshop"'', thus down the rivulet to the
Hodder, in the same direction to the
Ribble and thus along that river through the middle of the channel to the sea". As such, Amounderness encompassed a significant portion of western and south-western Bowland.
Ekwall thus describes the eastern boundary of Amounderness as "being formed by the fells on the Yorkshire border"; a description which places the ancient boundary firmly within the modern-day Forest of Bowland. While it is difficult to pinpoint ''Dunshop'', the confluence of the rivers Dunsop and Hodder at
Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge is a village in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, north-west of Clitheroe, south-east of Lancaster and west of Skipton. It is in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High. Historically, the village is part of the ...
seems a likely locale, situated as it is close to the eastern mouth of the Trough of Bowland, whose
Grey Stone marks the line of the pre-1974 county boundary.
Contrary to the popular histories, the origins of the name "Bowland" have nothing to do with archery ("the land of the bow") or with mediaeval cattle farms or vaccaries (Old Norse, ''buu-'', farmstead). The name derives from the Old Norse ''boga-/bogi-'', meaning a "bend in a river". It is a 10th-century coinage used to describe the topography of the Hodder basin, with its characteristic meandering river and brooks.
The Domesday ''Bogeuurde'' is an instance of this usage – the placename thought to designate Barge Ford (formerly known as Boward), a ford that sits on the wide, pronounced bend of the Hodder at its
confluence with Foulscales Brook, due south-west of Newton.
Before the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...
, Bowland was held by
Tostig, son of
Godwin,
Earl of Wessex
Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the We ...
. However, as feudal entities, the
Forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
of Bowland were created by
William Rufus
William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...
sometime after
Domesday and granted to his vassal
Roger de Poitou
Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in Normandy in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both England and through his marriage in France.
He was the third son of Roger of Mo ...
, possibly to reward Poitou for his role in defeating the Scots army of
Malcolm III in 1091–92. In all likelihood, it was this grant that subsumed the eastern portion of Amounderness into the
Lordship of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland is a feudal barony associated with the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. The lordship fell into disuse between 1885 and 2008, during which time it was widely believed to have lapsed; it was revived in 2008.
In 1 ...
for the first time.
By the end of the 11th century, the Forest and Liberty came into the possession of the
De Lacys, Lords of
Pontefract
Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...
. In 1102, along with the grant of the adjacent fee of
Clitheroe
Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...
and further holdings in
Hornby and Amounderness, they came to form the basis of what became known as the
Honor of Clitheroe
The Honour of Clitheroe is an ancient grouping of manors and royal forests centred on Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire, England; an honour traditionally being the grant of a large landholding complex, not all of whose parts are contiguous. In th ...
.
In 1311, the Honor of Clitheroe was subsumed into the
Earldom of Lancaster. Between 1351 and 1661, it was administered as part of the
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...
. By the late 14th century, Bowland comprised a
Royal Forest
A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
and a
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
of ten manors spanning eight townships and four parishes and covered an area of almost on the historic borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The manors within the Liberty were
Slaidburn (
Newton-in-Bowland,
West Bradford,
Grindleton)
Knowlmere,
Waddington,
Easington,
Bashall Eaves,
Mitton,
Withgill (Crook),
Leagram,
Hammerton and
Dunnow (Battersby). Pendle Forest was also part of the Honor of Clitheroe, but administered as part of the Forest of
Blackburnshire
Blackburn Hundred (also known as Blackburnshire) is a historic sub-division of the county of Lancashire, in northern England. Its chief town was Blackburn, in the southwest of the hundred. It covered an area similar to modern East Lancashire, in ...
, entirely in Lancashire.
Gradale, in the northeastern extremity of the forest, grew in population as new land was made available for colonisation. In the mediaeval period, it was a pasture of the
Cistercian grange of Rushton on the upper Hodder. In 1537, its
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
,
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded ''c.'' 1152. It was disestablished during ...
, was dissolved. Tenements began appearing in the area from the mid-16th century.
[''A Forest in Transition: Bowland 1500–1650'', John Porter, p. 48]
By 1650, the lower land of the forest had been almost completely cleared of woods, then divided into small plots, with only the higher land remaining open. Whereas their forbears of the 16th century lived in "crude timber and thatch cottages", the farmers of the following century were likely inhabiting stone farmhouses.
[
In October 1652, ]Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
had made a survey of the area, when it was an estate of the Duchy of Lancaster formerly belonging to Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
. The survey showed that the forest was not just a demesne hunting ground, and that, since the 13th century, it had started to become a place of habitation by commoners, including tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...
s, who had purchased their holdings from James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
or Charles I. As farming increased, so did the populousness of the forest. Parks were created for the preservation of the remaining deer. It was one of many such surveys of Crown lands made by the government during the interregnum. The common result of these surveys was that the land was sold off, but the Chase of Bowland (as it was then known) remained under the ownership of the Duchy for a further decade.[
In 1661, the 28 manors contained within the former Honor of Clitheroe, including the Forest and Liberty of Bowland, were granted by the Crown to General ]George Monck
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cruc ...
as part of the creation of the Dukedom of Albemarle. Monck had been a key figure in the restoration of Charles II. The Lordship of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland is a feudal barony associated with the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. The lordship fell into disuse between 1885 and 2008, during which time it was widely believed to have lapsed; it was revived in 2008.
In 1 ...
then descended through the Montagu, Buccleuch Buccleuch may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places Australia
* Buccleuch County, an administrative division in New South Wales, Australia
* Buccleuch, South Australia, a small locality and railway station
* County of Buccleuch, an administrative division in ...
and Towneley families.
Bowbearer In Old English law, a Bowbearer was an under-officer of the forest who looked after all manner of trespass on vert or venison, and who attached, or caused to be attached, the offenders, in the feudal Court of Attachment.
The bow was a renowned En ...
s of the Forest of Bowland have been appointed since the 12th century. A Bowbearer was originally a noble who acted as ceremonial attendant to the Lord of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland is a feudal barony associated with the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. The lordship fell into disuse between 1885 and 2008, during which time it was widely believed to have lapsed; it was revived in 2008.
In 1 ...
, latterly the king, by bearing (carrying) his hunting bow, but over the centuries the Bowbearer's role underwent many changes. In April 2010, it was reported that the current 16th Lord of Bowland
The Lordship of Bowland is a feudal barony associated with the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. The lordship fell into disuse between 1885 and 2008, during which time it was widely believed to have lapsed; it was revived in 2008.
In 1 ...
had revived the office of Bowbearer and appointed Robert Parker the first Bowbearer of the Forest in almost 150 years.
The Forest of Bowland had its own forest courts –'' woodmote'' and ''swainmote'' – from early times. These appear to have been abandoned in the 1830s around the time of Peregrine Towneley's acquisition of the Bowland Forest Estate. The halmote court at Slaidburn was disbanded following the abolition of a copyhold by the Law of Property Act in 1922. General forest law in Britain was finally repealed by statute in 1971, more than 900 years after its introduction by the Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
. The original Bowland Forest courts appear to have been held at Hall Hill near Radholme Laund before moving to Whitewell
Whitewell is a village within the civil parish of Bowland Forest Low and Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. It is in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yo ...
sometime in the 14th century.
St Hubert, the patron saint of hunting, is also the patron saint of the Forest of Bowland and has a chapel dedicated to him in Dunsop Bridge
Dunsop Bridge is a village in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, north-west of Clitheroe, south-east of Lancaster and west of Skipton. It is in the civil parish of Bowland Forest High. Historically, the village is part of the ...
. This chapel was founded by Richard Eastwood of Thorneyholme, land agent to the Towneley family. Eastwood was the last known Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland. An acclaimed breeder of racehorses and shorthorn cattle, he died in 1871 and is buried at St Hubert's.
Considerable areas of the Bowland Fells were used for military training during the Second World War, and there are still unexploded bombs in some areas.
Ecology
The name "forest" is used in its traditional sense of "a royal hunting ground", and rather than being covered by trees, much of the land is heather moorland and blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...
. In the past wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
, deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
, wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
, wild cat
Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the dom ...
s and game roamed the forest. The last herd of wild deer is reported to have been destroyed in 1805.
In recent decades extensive peatland restoration work has been carried out in the AON
with over 755 hectares of blanket bog being restored since 2010 through the co-operation of estates including Abbeystead estate, which is owned by Grosvenor estates, Whitewell estate, which is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster, United Utility's Bowland estate and organisations such as Natural England, Lancashire Wildlife Trusts, Yorkshire Peat Partnership and Ribble Rivers Trust, amongst others. This ongoing work has helped to undo decades of damage caused to the ecology and landscape of the area by bad land management practices.[Farming , Forest of Bowland AONB]
/ref>
Grouse shooting
Large parts of moorland are still managed for Red grouse, grouse shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...
. The Abbeystead
Abbeystead is a small hamlet located in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in Lancashire, England. Abbeystead lies close to the Trough of Bowland but even in medieval times, was considered part of Wyresdale rather than w ...
estate holds the record for the largest number of grouse killed in one day, when on 12 August 1915, 2,929 birds were shot by just eight hunters.
Protected areas
of the Bowland Fells is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The area is internationally important for its upland bird populations and under the Habitats Directive
The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...
"Bowland Fells" has been designated a Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...
(designated especially for breeding merlin and hen harrier
The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl.
It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...
).
Hen harriers
The hen harrier
The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl.
It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...
is the current symbol of the AONB, although originally this position was occupied by the goshawk
Goshawk may refer to several species of birds of prey, mainly in the genus ''Accipiter'':
* Northern goshawk, ''Accipiter gentilis'', often referred to simply as the goshawk, since it is the only goshawk found in much of its range (in Europe and N ...
, the 'queen of the Forest', a hawk that in medieval times was only permitted to be flown by nobility and therefore became emblematic of royal hunting forests such as Bowland. Because the hen harrier is under threat from illegal persecution in the Forest of Bowland and other upland areas of England, with none recorded breeding in England in 2013, this emblem was unofficially modified and adapted to represent the hen harrier instead.
The RSPB takes the view that licensing of driven grouse shooting is necessary so that, for example, crimes committed on estates managed for shooting should result in the withdrawal of their right to operate.
''Bowland Beth: The Life of an English Hen Harrier'', a 2017 book by film director David Cobham
Michael David Cobham (11 May 1930 – 25 March 2018) was a British film and TV producer and director, best known for the film ''Tarka the Otter''. He was also a first-class cricketer.
Cricket career
Cobham was educated at Stowe School, where h ...
, studies the persecution of the hen harrier on the grouse moors of the Forest of Bowland.
Partial recovery of the species
In 2014 it was announced that the Forest of Bowland would be one of the SPAs included in a European Union LIFE project designed to ensure a sustainable future for Hen harriers in England and Scotland. Called "Conserving the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) in northern England and southern and eastern Scotland", the project aimed to work constructively with landowners and the shooting community. In 2015 a single chick fledged in the Forest.
In 2018 two nests were reported on land belonging to United Utilities. In 2020–22 the work of staff from Natural England and gamekeepers from the area's estates, monitored by the RSPB, showed further progress, with 22 hen harriers fledging in 2020, 31 in 2021 and at least 53 in 2022.
Geography
Bowland is dominated by a central upland landform (generally above and rising to )[ of deeply incised gritstone ]fell
A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...
s covered with tracts of heather-covered peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
moorland and blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...
. The lower slopes of the fells are dotted with stone-built farms and small villages and are criss-crossed by drystone walls enclosing reclaimed moorland pasture. Steep-sided wooded valleys link the upland and lowland landscapes. In the north-east of the area are extensive coniferous plantations and the eastern limestone areas support high-quality species-rich meadows. Caves in the area include Hell Hole, Whitewell Cave and Whitewell Pot. It is surrounded by the Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954.
The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...
and South Pennines
The South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. In the west it includes the Rossendale Valley and the West Pennine Moors. It is bounded by the Greater Manchester ...
, from which the fells are separated by the Aire Gap
Aire Gap is a pass through the Pennines in England formed by geologic faults and carved out by glaciers. The term is used to describe a geological division, a travel route, or a location that is an entry into the Aire river valley.
Geology
Ge ...
and Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...
.
The southern part of the Forest of Bowland is divided by the valley of the River Hodder. West of the river lies a tract of lowland dotted by limestone hills, such as the New Laund and Long Knott. East of the Hodder is a low-lying area known as the Lees. Nearby, higher up, are Browsholme Moor and Burholme Moor.[
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Geology
The Forest of Bowland is formed largely from the succession of sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
s, mudstones and siltstones dating from the late Carboniferous period which constitute the Millstone Grit Group. Early Carboniferous rocks in the form of the limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
s and associated rocks of the Craven and Bowland High groups underlie the area at depth and are exposed at the surface around its south-eastern margin. The succession in stratigraphic order (uppermost/youngest at top) is this:
*Millstone Grit Group
**Silsden Formation
***Ward's Stone Sandstone (member)
***Roeburndale Member (including the Dure Clough Sandstone)
**Pendleton Formation
***Brennand Grit (member) (corresponds to the Warley Wise Grit or Grassington Grit elsewhere)
***Pendle Grit Member
*Craven Group
**Bowland Shale Formation (mudstone and siltstone)
**Pendleside Limestone Formation (interbedded limestone and mudstone, conglomerate)
**Hodderense Limestone Formation
**Hodder Mudstone Formation (limestone and mudstone)
*Bowland High Group
**Chatburn Limestone Formation (formerly a 'group')
The Ward's Stone Sandstone forms the peaks and hillsides of Clougha Pike, Ward's Stone, Tarnbrook Fell, Wolfhole Crag and Mallowdale Fell whilst the Dure Clough Sandstone forms White Hill, Great Harlow and Lythe Fell. The Brennand Grit forms Bowland Knotts, Great and Little Bull Stones, Whitendale Hanging Stones and parts of Brennand Fell. The Pendle Grit forms almost all of the fells south-west of the Trough of Bowland and all of the south-east of the Forest from Winfold Fell to Croasdale Fell as far east as Gisburn Forest. It also forms Birkett, Waddington, Easington and Grindleton fells, south of Slaidburn.
Museum and visitor centre
The Bowland Visitor Centre is located in Beacon Fell Country Park in the AONB. It is managed by Lancashire County Council Countryside Service and provides visitors with information about the AONB and surrounding countryside.
There is a display on the ecology of the Forest of Bowland in Clitheroe Castle Museum.
Amenities
One mile to the west of Chipping is Bowland Forest Gliding Club, ICAO airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published in ICAO Document 7910: ''Location Indicators'', a ...
GB-0339, which is used by winch-launched gliders.
Events
The Bowland Challenge was a fundraising event held from 2006 to 2009, and again in 2011, in which teams of walkers navigated around a series of grid references over a ten-hour period. It raised funds for the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team
Crafty Vintage
Festive Markets take place every year in December within Wyresdale Park near to the village of Scorton. Nicky Nook Fell within Wyresdale Park hosts a road stage with spectator viewing zones along the route of th
North West Stages
car rally.
Popular annual events held in the area's many villages and communities include Chipping Steam Fair
the Hodder Valley Show
Slaidburn Steam and Vintage Vehicle display
and Wray Scarecrow Festival, amongst others.
In culture
* There is a ''Forest of Bowland Suite'' by Lakeland composer Christopher Gibbs (born 1938).
* W. G. Rigby's children's tale ''The Ring of Tima'' (1998) is set in the Forest of Bowland.
* ''The Dark Legend Dossier'' by James Churchill is set in the town of Worton, located in the fictional 'Mender Vale.' The precise location of the town is never given but it is described as being 'north of Clitheroe' and some 7½ miles east of the M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...
.
* Jane Routh's 2014 collection of poetry ''Falling into Place'' is set in the Forest of Bowland.business page on ''Falling into Place'' by Jane Routh
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* Dennis Watkins-Pitchford's 1955 steampunk fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
'' Forest of Boland Light Railway'' is set in the aforementioned forest.
* Wyresdale Park featured on Drew Pritchard's '' Salvage Hunters'' in 2017.
* In September 2011, Wyresdale Park featured on Channel 4's ''Country House Rescue
''Country House Rescue'' is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand and in South Africa.
In each e ...
'', in the first episode of Series 3.
See also
*''Listed buildings in'' Aighton, Bailey & Chaigley, Barley-with-Wheatley Booth, Bashall Eaves, Blacko
Blacko is a village and civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. Before local government reorganisation in 1974 the village lay on the border with the West Riding of Yorkshire. The parish has a population of 672. The villa ...
, Bolton-by-Bowland, Bowland-with-Leagram, Bowland Forest High
Bowland Forest High is a civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England, covering some of the Forest of Bowland. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 163, falling to 144 at the 2011 Census. The parish ...
, Bowland Forest Low, Caton-with-Littledale, Chipping, Claughton, Downham
Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford.
Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...
, Dutton, Easington, Goldshaw Booth, Gisburn Forest, Goosnargh, Great Mitton
Great Mitton is a village and a civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is separated from the civil parish of Little Mitton by the River Ribble, both lie about three miles from the town of Clitheroe. The combined population o ...
, Grindleton, Hornby-with-Farleton
Hornby-with-Farleton is a civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. It had a population of 729 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing marginally to 730 at the 2011 census. The parish is about north-east of Lancaster and ...
, Mearley
Mearley is a civil parish in Lancashire, England. The parish is north-west of Pendle Hill, east of Clitheroe, and is in the Ribble Valley district. It is a small parish with no villages or hamlets and a population of 25, the second smallest in ...
, Nether Wyresdale, Newton, Old Laund Booth, Over Wyresdale, Paythorne
Paythorne is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is situated alongside the River Ribble, north-east of Clitheroe, and on the boundary with North Yorkshire. Other parishes adjacent to Paythorne are Halton ...
, Pendleton, Quernmore, Roeburndale
Roeburndale is a civil parish in the City of Lancaster and the English county of Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. Th ...
, Roughlee Booth, Sabden, Sawley, Slaidburn, Tatham, Thornley-with-Wheatley, Twiston, Waddington, West Bradford, Wiswell, Wray-with-Botton
* Bill Smith, fell runner
References
External links
Forest of Bowland AONB
visitLancashire.com – Official Lancashire Tourism information, Walks and Cycle Routes in the Forest of Bowland
Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team
Bowland Fell Runners
Walks and Pubs in the Forest of Bowland
Bowland Forest Gliding Club
{{Coord, 53.95, -2.59, dim:30000_region:GB, display=title
Geography of Ribble Valley
Geography of the Borough of Wyre
Tourist attractions in Ribble Valley
Tourist attractions in the Borough of Wyre
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Lancashire
Geography of the City of Lancaster
Protected areas established in 1964
Protected areas of Lancashire
Protected areas of North Yorkshire
Moorlands of England
Bowland
Geology of Lancashire
William II of England