|
|
| Whalley Abbey | Rain Drops |
|
|
|
| Whalley Abbey | Rain Drops |
We awoke to heavy rain that looked set in for the day - the first, and only one of two times, this happened on the whole trip. We decided to plan a short cycling day, especially as the route was soon to go over fairly high moorland in the Forrest of Bowland. We cycled through the stormy rain about 5 miles to Whalley Abbey (pronounced "War-ly"). They kindly lent us a couple of umbrellas, and we walked around the ruins, atmospheric in the gloom and rain, and enjoyed trying to reconstruct in our minds how it must have looked hundreds of years ago.
We rode on to the town of Clitheroe, and stopped to dry out and have some lunch (cheese and onion pie/steak and kidney pie) at the Apricot Meringue that the B&B proprietor had recommended. I briefly clambered up Clitheroe Castle, a Norman keep said to be the second smallest in England. There was a good view of the damp surroundings from the top, but it was windy and cold.
|
|
| Lynn and Tandem | Mike and Tandem |
The rain stopped in the afternoon, but now there was a strong north wind we were riding against. The road climbed steadily to over 800 feet, through scenery of stone walls and sheep on open moors, beautiful with the heavy overcast skies and mist. Then it was down into the lovely quiet village of Slaidburn, where we stayed at the Hark to Bounty Pub. (Apparently the name comes from the Squire's command to listen to his favorite hunting dog Bounty howling.) The village seemed quite prosperous, tidy and carefully kept, and with good facilities for the residents.
By evening the weather had cleared up, and there was bright sunshine and blue skies, although it was still quite cold. We must have ridden through just a corner of the storm, because after this day the news was full of severe floods in parts of England quite nearby.
|
|
| Village Shop and Post Office, Slaidburn | Sunny Evening near Slaidburn |
Route and more pictures
Elevation
[Day-by-Day][Previous Day][Next Day]