Annas Ghyll Walk, Brookhouse

Start Point

Bell Beck Picnic site on A683. Map reference SD 531 649

Distance/Time

3 miles. 1 hour

Terrain

Roads, tracks and fields. Some stiles.

Walk Description

1. Start from Bull Beck Picnic site, just north east of Caton and turn right out of the car park along the A683. Take the footpath on the right just before the road bends left.
2. Go up the hill and look for the marker post in the middle of the field. Follow the arrow up to the right-hand corner of the field. Go through the kissing gate and along a narrow path to join Kirkbeck Close. Turn left towards the main road and turn left up the hill.
3. The footpath leads off the road to the right, following the old hedge line up the hill. At the top, look for a stile in a wall up ahead. Follow the hedge then cross the field to a corner and keep to the left of the wall. Follow the path on to Anna’s Ghyll farm (which was built in 1664 by Thomas Wilson. A gravel pit found near Anna’s Ghyll is evidence of early industrial activity in the area).
4. Follow the footpath signs to the right and out of the farmyard and follow the farm track until it joins the road. From here, you can look back at the pattern of ancient field enclosure, which is much the same today as it was hundreds of years ago.
5. Now turn right to a T-junction and right again down into the village of Brookhouse. Pass St Paul’s school and bear right before the bend into Chapel Square.
6. Follow the lane and at the end, enter St Paul’s churchyard through an arch in the wall. From the church take the path from the tower down to the main double gates and steps.
7. Walk down the hill past the Black Bull pub and turn right into Holme Lane. At the end of Holme Lane, cross the main road and walk back along the Lune Millennium Park pathway to the right, returning to the Bull Beck Picnic site.

About this walk

Caton and Brookhouse are situated on the north-facing slope of the Lune Valley. The villages lie in a scenic area near the celebrated Crook O’Lune - painted by Turner, praised by the poets Thomas Gray and William Wordsworth, and admired by Queen Victoria.

Caton-with-Littledale Parish contains a wide range of habitats, which are home to a variety of special birds, including the rare hen harrier, the symbol of the Forest of Bowland AONB

Birds to look out for include:

• The curlew, which nests in open farmland and moorland, and uses its long curved bill to probe the mud for worms. Listen out for the curlew’s far-carrying ‘bubbling’ song during spring and summer.
• Lapwings and snipe, which along with the curlew, are attracted to Bowland’s farmland by the thousand in springtime, when they come here to breed.
• Herons and geese, which can be seen flying over the river valley in search of other feeding areas.
• Dippers and wagtails, which can be seen feeding on insects along Bull Beck.