Here are two ways a hiker can work up an appetite. Roam the moors and crash into a pub to work off a pile of carbs. Or take a gentle pastoral walk so you have enough energy to appreciate the waiting food. Because my outing in Bowland would end at the Parkers Arms – Britain’s No. 1 gastropub, its 12e best restaurant and gold medalist at the British Pie Awards – I tried the easy option. You can find that walk here. It’s a pleasant, well-worn route, but frankly lazy. How can you justify a lavish feast without burning a few calories?
So I thought about it again and decided to include Easington Fell, the beautiful hill overlooking the villages of Newton and Slaidburn. I started with the latter, because I had chosen it as a place to spend the night, and because it is a fairly small place. It lies on a bend in the River Hodder and is known as Jam Pot Corner because that was the name of the tea shop that sold day passes to fishermen; a fly fisherman was working the beat as I passed. It’s home to a YHA in what used to be the Black Bull pub, a busy archive of local history (you’ll see old clogs in the window) and the Hark to Bounty, a coaching inn that’s been here since the 16th century.e century.
You get the feeling that, apart from a few Waitrose vans and TV aerials, not much has changed over the centuries
It was called De Hond until 1875, when the village squire, who was also rector, dropped by for a pint with his hunting party. Their drinking was disturbed by loud barking from the mob outside. The howl of the squire’s favorite dog could be heard above the other dogs, prompting him to shout “Hark to Bounty!” to call.
Leave Slaidburn by road south, passing the Grade II listed St Andrew’s church, Glebe House (the old parsonage) and a school. On a bend, less than 10 minutes outside the village, stands a gatehouse to an estate called Dunnow Hall. Follow the path on the left to the banks of the River Hodder, which you follow to Newton-in-Bowland. This soft, flat area allows you to warm up your muscles. A well-used path leads through sheep fields and along the edge of Great Dunnow Wood.
Related: ‘Balm for the soul’: my beloved, blissful walk in the Forest of Bowland
After about 2.7 kilometers you arrive in Newton, where you will later have drinks and dinner. Like most places with “new” in their name, Newton is old. It is recorded in the Domesday Book as one of the possessions of Roger of Poitou in Yorkshire. Like much of Bowland, you get the sense that, apart from a few electric cars, Waitrose vans and TV aerials, not much has changed over the centuries – although the village is now in Lancashire. The Parkers Arms takes its name from a family of rangers who became landowners when Henry VII deforested the Chase of Bowland, removing hunting rights and restrictions. Part of this walk is on common land.
Cross the bridge over the Hodder and turn left to walk along the riverbank along a partially marked old track lined with wildflowers. Cross a few fields, go through a farm gate into a lane and continue to Robinsons Barn, where you turn sharp right onto a path signposted to Fellside. Cross the stream and go through the farm gate on your left into a sloping field.
From here it is quite a climb to the top of Easington Fell. The footpaths through the fields are not always clear, so use the Ordnance Survey OL41 map and these instructions. Basically you follow walls and fences all the way to the top, past woods and past a shed with a sliding cat roof. Take a breather and look back and you’ll see some of Bowland’s higher central hills, as well as Newton and Slaidburn. Close to the top the view really opens up over the Trough of Bowland – a steep gorge scoured by glaciers – and the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
I saw a kestrel soaring. Rarer birds of prey such as merlins and hen harriers also live in Bowland
Where the meadows turn into heathlands there is a strip of field sedges, interspersed with streams. This marks the boundary of dry dwarf scrub heath, acid grasslands, swampy grasslands, blanket bogs and ferns; in short, a swamp that can be troublesome after heavy rainfall. You might have to hop around a bit. Watch out for nests on the ground. A little higher up you will find blueberries and, on top, patches of heather. The waterfall has a ridge, but the official trails through it lead to a road and a quarry.
Retrieve your puff on the flat areas around the top. Easington, at 396m, is a Marilyn (standing at least 150m above anything in the area), but it’s a tougher climb than Pendle Hill – which you can also see from here. I saw a kestrel soaring. Rarer birds of prey such as merlins and hen harriers inhabit Bowland, but in vanishingly small numbers; the British Trust for Ornithology estimates that there are only 700 pairs of the latter in the entire United Kingdom. Earlier this year, police appealed for information to help investigate the disappearance of a hen harrier with satellite transmitters here.
The descent is along a wide path that passes farms and accommodation for shooters and an estate once owned by TVR owner Peter Wheeler and which operates clay pigeon shooting competitions. Outside a shed was a weird miniature tank-like all-terrain vehicle, apparently used in the Falklands.
Bowland is one of the strangest places in Britain. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty, but large areas are devoted to grouse farming, with the controversial burning and, reportedly, illegal persecution of birds of prey that accompanies it. It is sparsely populated and feels remote and wild, but much of the land is owned by the wealthy, including non-residents. As holder of the Duchy of Lancaster, King Charles owns the nearby Whitewell estate. In addition to grouse and pheasants, there are also sheep on the hills, nibbling on everything green. There is almost no public transport, so you will need a car, taxis from Clitheroe or Lancaster, or a bicycle. Discover Bowland’s Eco Escapes itinerary website is worth a look though as some corners can be reached by train.
The Parkers Arms dinner menu is one you’ll want to go to every night for a week
All this makes the region alienating or attractive, or both. Much of Bowland only became open to walkers when the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 opened ‘access land’ for outdoor recreation. You’ll see signs here and there – although Bowland is poor at signage, perhaps because game managers and walkers aren’t natural allies. Walking is increasingly becoming a political act – and the Forest of Bowland AONB seems destined to become, like Dartmoor, a walking hotspot.
Google map of the route
Begin the end Slaidburn
Distance 9 miles
Time 4.5 hours
Total increase 440 meters
Difficulty Moderate
The pub
The Parkers Arms looks different to other Bowland pubs. It’s a large, whitewashed building at the entrance to Newton, with the name in a cool font, in teal. Inside it’s more of a restaurant than a pub, with tables nicely spaced, but still cozy; there is a good bar and, in winter, a fireplace. AJ, who runs the front of house, is charming and chatty. All this would make it a great pit stop after a hike, but the food here is on another level.
It costs £50 for three courses, which is great value for this quality of food
The dinner menu is one you’ll want to go to every night for a week. I had a pork and chicken terrine with piccalilli, followed by a mutton and offal curry pie from Burholme Farm in chef Stosie Madi’s bespoke hot water mutton fat dough – with chips and a bit of creamy mash on the side. As a pie lover, I was excited to try Parkers’ – because they’re legendary – and it was everything I expected: satisfying, with huge flavor, the pastry as delicious as the filling. A Gisburn cream and lemon posset finished it off. It costs £50 for three courses, which is great value for this quality of food. At lunch there are walking specials for £13 per dish. Wines are fine and ales by the glass are real, dogs are welcome. Open Thursday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday for lunch.
Where to stay
The Hark to Bounty is a lovely old-fashioned local with a slate floor, a decent menu of traditional pub fare (mains from £10) and nine bedrooms. It is popular with fishermen, walkers and cyclists, and guests caught in a wet westerly wind can wash and dry their belongings. Upstairs is the room that used to be the manor house, where poachers, tree cutters and invaders were condemned to stockpile.
Doubles from €100 B&B, parkersarms.co.uk