The clouds descend...

We were quite sad to leave the Castle Inn at Hornby, where we had been treated like royalty. I can certainly recommend it for a pleasant short break. As it was still rather rainy we headed into Lancaster and went to a fascinating photography exhibition organised by Lancaster University on the Art of Science. We then popped into the castle, which was a prison until very recently, before deciding that the weather was looking good enough for a last walk in the Forest of Bowland before the long drive home.

As we drove towards the hills there was a brief spell of dazzling sunshine which raised our hopes, but not long after we'd started our ascent the clouds descended and we were walking in thick fog. This was quite exciting and atmospheric, with the occasional harsh calls of the grouse adding a rather eerie note, but as we climbed higher the fog turned into heavy, unrelenting rain. We reached the summit of the first hill, and decided we really weren't enjoying our walk very much, so turned round and headed back. As we descended the rain eased and we spent a bit of time pottering about in the environs of this stream, where there were some interesting boggy corners.

The Forest of Bowland is considered to be a major inspiration for the settings of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, and on a day like today it was easy to see why. The picturesque and neatly maintained villages and green pastures of the lowlands are very reminiscent of Hobbiton. Above secret wooded valleys are wild tracts of open moorland and peat bogs. Rock monoliths break through the surface and there are caves where Neolithic remains have been found. Just the sort of place where evil, slimy Gollum might lurk...

Our stay was too short to really get to know this overlooked corner of England, but it looks as though we'll be doing the monitoring annually, so plenty of opportunities to get to know it better in future years.