Longridge Fell is the most southerly

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 Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...

in England, near the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Longridge Longridge is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated north-east of the city of Preston, at the western end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble. The nearest vi ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. It lies at the southern end of the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. As its name suggests, it takes the form of a long ridge which rises in a north-easterly direction from within the town of Longridge to its summit 4.5 miles distant. As the ridge curves towards the east, it comes to a sudden end and drops into the Hodder Valley. The fell is an example of a

cuesta A cuesta () is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology, the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer, the whole being tilted somew ...

; the ridge has a sharp drop or

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

on its northern side, and a gentler, more varying slope on its southern side.Freeman ''et al'', p.12 These features make it a popular takeoff for hang-gliders and paragliders on the relatively infrequent occurrences of a northerly wind. From the fell's 1,148-ft (350-m) summit, views are afforded of Preston to the south-west; the Fylde Coast to the west; the Vale of Chipping and the fells of the

to the north and west (including Parlick, Fair Snape Fell and Beacon Fell); the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

to the north-east (including, most notably,

Pen-y-ghent Pen-y-ghent or Penyghent is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is the lowest of Yorkshire's Three Peaks at ; the other two being Ingleborough and Whernside. It lies east of Horton in Ribblesdale. It has a number of interesting geolo ...

);

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, 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 to ...

, Pendle Hill and Whalley, to the east and south-east; and Winter Hill and the

West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separa ...

and the

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

factory at

Samlesbury Aerodrome Samlesbury Aerodrome is a disused airfield at Balderstone, Lancashire, Balderstone near Samlesbury and Blackburn in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The aerodrome is owned by defence company BAE Systems which uses the site for the manu ...

. On clear days, the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and sometimes the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

can be seen to the north-west, and the

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

mountain range to the south-west. The

River Hodder The River Hodder is in Lancashire, England. It is a County Biological Heritage Site. It rises on White Hill and flows for approximately 23 miles to the River Ribble, of which it is the largest tributary. The Hodder drains much of the Fore ...

and its

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

, the River Loud, flow eastward along the north side of the fell, before turning south at the end of the fell to join the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

, which runs westward along the south of the fell. Cowley Brook, a tributary of Stydd Brook, begins its course near the fell. The village of Hurst Green and the adjoining

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a co-educational Catholic Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing education for boarding school, boarding and day school, day pupils, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition. It is ...

lie on the south side of the fell. Longridge town lies at the south-west end of the fell. There were once extensive stone quarries at Tootle Heights, now mostly built on apart from a deep rocky water-filled remnant off the Tan Yard bridlepath, and the reservoirs. The Dilworth Upper

Reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

between the roads where Forty Acre Lane branches off Higher Road, leading from Longridge up the fell. Forty Acre Lane leads towards Jeffrey Hill, the name for a small part of the western section of the fell, via Longridge Golf Club, whose clubhouse doubles as the home of the Preston Wheelers Cycling Club. Below Tootle Heights are the Spade Mill Reservoirs.

Gallery

File:Trig Point.jpg, The

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The station is usually set up by a map ...

at the summit of Longridge Fell, looking north File:Longridge_golf_course_2_2019.jpg, A view from the northern section of Longridge golf course across the Vale of Chipping to Parlick and Fair Snape Fell File:Longridge_golf_course_3_2019.jpg, View over the Vale of Chipping File:Longridge Fell (Loud Valley).jpg, View north over the Loud Valley File:Longridge Fell, Lancashire.jpg, The western slopes of the fell, around Jeffrey Hill

Notes

References

* Freeman, T. W., Rodgers, H. B., and Kinvig, R. H., (1966), ''Lancashire, Cheshire and the Isle of Man'', Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, London

External links

Parlick and Fair Snape Fell from Longridge Fell
{{Borough of Ribble Valley Mountains and hills of Lancashire Marilyns of England Geography of Ribble Valley Hills of the Forest of Bowland Escarpments of England