Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy

THE view from the top is certainly awe-inspiring and John Fox, the 17th Century founder of the Quaker movement, gave the hill an honourable mention in his diary.

An alternative to the climbing in the hill is to stroll from Pendleton ,on the Clitheroe side of the hill to Sabden, which is on the Padiham side.

Both villages are on a bus route but the climb over Pendle is steep so you need to take your time. This route follows the ancient track once followed by the packhorses and these animals must have struggled to climb the Nick of Pendle. Sabden is a typical Pendleside village which once made a good living from cotton.

This is a fact but Sabden has more than its share of fiction.

It is said that there were once treacle mines in the area and one man's job was to deliver buckets full of daylight down the shafts!

To be honest, daylight - or at least sunshine - has been in short supply in 1998 but I did have one fine day for this energetic stroll. September is a good month for enjoying on free food from the hedgerow.

I make rose hip syrup, wine from hawthorn berries, and blackberries are a good meal in themselves.

Blackberry pie made from the fruit plus crab apples and sweetened with local honey is a joy.

The walk over Pendle and down to the village of Pendleton is fascinating because the dark millstone grit landscape changes into the lighter limestone scenery so typical of Clitheroe.

The warmer, better-drained soil means the natural history is much richer. The September flowers are dominated by rosebay willow herb, which is hated by gardeners but is still a beautiful flower.

Pendleton is a pretty village sliced in two by a pleasant brook which bubbles to way down towards a confluence with the Ribble.

Those who want to enjoy Pendleton should forget the new A59 by-pass and follow the ancient monastic route which once linked Whalley Abbey with other Cistercian houses at Sawley, Furness (in the Lake District), Kirkstall (near Leeds) and Fountains (near Ripon).

The monks were the travellers until the mid-16th century and those who follow the ancient tracks over Pendle are following in the footsteps of these holy men.

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