Herb Riddle's photos

A view of a quickly disappearing trig point (triangulation pillar) on top of Pendle Hill. A hearty up-hill hike to get here but worth it in the end. The sky at this time had turned to a rather hazy blue heralding the coming evening and some mist. We had only seen two couples all the way up to here but suddenly all the world and his dog joined us. At an elevation of 557m it is described as an untamed place, full of mystery and infamous as the home of the Pendle Witches who were tried and executed for witchcraft in 1612. See last photo (and small Pip) for bigger view from here. Enjoy full screen

A look down from the summit of Pendle Hill whist we take a rest on this windy cold spot. We are looking slightly south towards Sabden and the Churn Clough Reservoir (See PiP) on our far right. To the left are the two Ogden Reservoirs (Upper & Lower) with the village of New Church (of Pendle witches fame) just beyond. Enjoy full screen

A look toward the Sound of Handa on Scotlands far North West coast with the rocks of Roinn Dubh on the centre left. ~ We are actually waiting for our little ferry to carry us across to the mainland here on this very isolated beach. At my feet is a large old flotsam log which I am sitting on. A path wanders off from here inland to the old Burial Ground and north through the Island centre towards the high cliffs where many sea-birds are nesting. Enjoy full screen

Another photo taken on my morning sprint to the riverside near Grindleton. The river is on the left here. Quite a different feel to this one. Have a good weekend.

Taken from the bridge over the river between Grindleton and Chatburn. A cold still morning with glimpses of light through the morning mist and haze. Some minutes later this was to be crystal clear sky. A few photos taken in the 15 minutes that I was here. Enjoy full screen

A view down one of the two big lakes in front of the college, just west of Clitheroe. The historic Stonyhurst College, described as one of the largest buildings in the NorthWest. This magnificent 16C manor house, now a famous catholic boarding school has quite a history. We had just walked a previously named three river walk now renamed The Tolkein Trail because J.R.R Tolkein and his family regularly stayed at a guest house in the grounds. The PiP shows St Peter’s church: an important part of the college. Stonyhurst College as a school dates back to 1593 when its antecedent, the Jesuit College at St Omer, was founded in Flanders to educate English Catholics. The history of the present school buildings dates as far back as 1200 AD. The gatehouse and towers are dated from 1592 and Oliver Cromwell spent the night in here sleeping on a table. The roll of former Old Stonyhurst reads like a history book of famous people with many famous Jesuits, Beati, martyrs and notables having passed through here. More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Stonyhurst_College en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Old_Stonyhursts Enjoy full screen

A nice country walk along the banks of three of Lancashires most famous rivers (Ribble, Hodder and Calder) lets us experience a great downpour. A few minutes later the sky brightens and lets us see a mini-sunset before turning back into full bright daylight again. I liked this row of trees silhouetting on the skyline as we climb uphill too. Enjoy full screen

It can get cold and damp by the river Ribble here in Lancashire. Not a time to sit but maybe to take in the scene before us. This spot has remained unchanged for a very long time and so an old fashioned look for you here. Pendle Hill can be seen in the background. Enjoy full screen. Have a great day.

The River Ribble has quite a few of these viaducts (not to be confused with the great railway Ribble Head Viaduct. (PIP) These carry drinking water from our Lake District to the Manchester area. This bridge is not far from the famous Stonyhurst college. The PiP shows another of these viaduct yet further downstream near Clithero in need of a boy with a large thumb! Enjoy full screen

A country walk near our Piethorn reservoir brings this friendly chap and me together. As it sat on this wall I thought it was watching me intently but then it suddenly shot behind me to grab a big juicy worm. As I whistled to it, it happily whistled back as though having a conversation. After a little while it was joined by its mate. See PiP Erithacus rubecula. The Robin, UK's favourite bird - with its bright red breast it is familiar throughout the year and especially at Christmas! Males and females look identical, and young birds have no red breast and are spotted with golden brown. Robins sing nearly all year round and despite their cute appearance, they are aggressively territorial and are quick to drive away intruders. Enjoy full screen

Erithacus rubecula. The UK's favourite bird - with its bright red breast it is familiar throughout the year and especially at Christmas! Males and females look identical, and young birds have no red breast and are spotted with golden brown. Robins sing nearly all year round and despite their cute appearance, they are aggressively territorial and are quick to drive away intruders.

A look out of our holiday cottage window reveals a very cold hazy morning and so it’s a quick dash down to the nearby River Ribble to capture some of the countryside along its banks. A world of rather nice trees, fences and sheep too. Have a good weekend. ****** SUPPORT UKRAINE *****

For some reason snowdrops seem to be thriving this Spring. They not only seem to be in places that they did not used to be in but where they are, they seem to be in great drifts. We have a few small clumps in our gardens and here is a small example. Galanthus, or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leaves and a single small white drooping bell-shaped flower with six petal-like tepals in two circles. The smaller inner petals have green markings. Enjoy full screen

As we walk down from the summit of Pendle to the Nick-O-Pendle we start to lose the light . Here we see a long view towards the surrounding hills giving us these different layers of light intensity. I have seen a few pictures like this on people’s walls over the years, perhaps you will like it too? Enjoy full screen *******SUPPPORT UKRAINE*******

As we travel the short distance back from Pendle Hill to our holiday cottage in Grindleton, the sun sinks quickly even at this early hour. After a warmer day than average, the promised mist begins to form and we spot a place to capture the moment. This is sheep country and there are many pregnant mothers around as well as new born lambs. The trees here in these conditions give the whole scene a water-colour painting look. Enjoy full screen

The promise of better weather brings us to the village of Sabden from where we take a walk up to its reservoir called Churn Clough. The house probably belonged to the water board that owned the land for these reservoirs and housed the reservoir keeper. A pleasant view is to be had from this bench towards the water and hills beyond. See PiP. (Of course a HFF contender too.) Enjoy full screen. Have a great day.

The ‘Ribble Valley Live Steamers’ are up and running on this Sunday afternoon round trip at their headquarters at Eddisford bridge, Clitheroe. Now don’t laugh, for these engines are very serious bits of sophisticated engineering with the ability to pull around this track up to two four people carriages. That is quite amazing. Each one having been lovingly crafted as near to its full size equivalent as possible. A mixture of engines here on this day with at least four more out of sight. The two front ones here having just discharged their fun loving travelling charges. A good time to grab a bite to eat and stoke up the fires! See Pip. Enjoy full screen More info: www.facebook.com/RVLSteamers/?locale=en_GB

A promise of a sunny day gives us the chance to take a rare strong hike. We are at the 'Nick-O-Pendle' and about to walk the three or more miles uphill to the summit of Pendle before retracing our steps. The way to the summit is somewhat beyond the highest hill on the left (a false summit) , along a steep river valley and yet another steep hill. If you look carefully at full screen you can see a trio of hikers on the steep path up to the false summit (one person in white!) This is the 'easy' path from the SE. The shorter one from the NW Barley village is far steeper. At an elevation of 557m it is described as an untamed place, full of mystery and infamous as the home of the Pendle Witches who were tried and executed for witchcraft in 1612. See adjacent photo for wider view. Enjoy full screen