Category: sky

Pendle Hill. England. Lancashire. October. 2016.

Camera Nikon D3300 with 18-55mm Nikkor.

Pendle Hill is located in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is 557 metres (1,827 ft) above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill, separated from the Pennines to the east, the Bowland Fells to the north-west, and the West Pennine Moors to the south. It is included in detached part of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Pendle Hill is separated from the nearby main bulk of the Bowland Fells by the River Ribble. This isolation means that Pendle Hill is in fact, the most prominent child summit of Kinder Scout, far away in the Peak District, rather than a child of Ward’s Stone, the highest point in Bowland.

The name “Pendle Hill” combines the words for hill from three different languages (as does Bredon Hill in Worcestershire) In the 13th century it was called Pennul or Penhul, apparently from the Cumbric pen and Old English hyll, both meaning “hill”. The modern English “hill” was appended later, after the original meaning of Pendle had become opaque.

A Bronze Age burial site has been discovered at the summit of the hill.

The hill is also famous for its links to three events which took place in the 17th century: the Pendle witch trials (1612), Richard Towneley’s barometer experiment (1661), and the vision of George Fox (1652), which led to the foundation of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) movement.

The most popular route for ascending the hill begins in the village of Barley, which lies to the east. This route also provides the steepest ascent. Other nearby villages include Downham, Roughlee, Newchurch-in-Pendle, Sabden and Pendleton.

A local saying suggests the area around Pendle Hill experiences frequent rainfall: “If you can see Pendle it’s about to rain, if you can’t, it’s already started.” When the weather is fine Pendle is a popular hill-launch for paragliders and, with a north-westerly wind, for hang gliders.