Caton Village Walk
Start Point
Caton Centre on A683. Map reference SD 531 647
Distance/Time
4 miles. 2 hours
Terrain
Roads, tracks and fields, some stiles. Can be wet underfoot.
Walk Description
- Start from the Station Hotel and walk east along Hornby Road for 200 yards (towards the library). Cross over Artle Beck and climb a stile immediately after, taking you up the side of the beck. Turn left at the road and head towards Brookhouse. Continue up the road and turn right into Hawthorn Avenue. Take the footpath straight ahead to access the open country beyond.
- Climb the hill across the first meadow and through the kissing gate. Continue to climb up and slightly left, following the line of sparse trees. Head for the crest of the hill and continue onwards, climbing the stiles and out through the kissing gate to Littledale Road. Turn right along the road and almost immediately, take the footpath heading back right.
- Follow the wall to a stile and head straight on at the fence corner. In the next field, head for the corner of the wall ahead and follow the waymarker. Continue down the hill, crossing the left field edge and over a stile into a tree-lined lane. This leads to a T-junction at a single-track road. Turn right along the lane as far as a white gate. The right of way beyond is in the field to the right of the lane, accessed by a stile.
- In the field, walk parallel with the lane and then drop down to a stile. Cross the lane and over another stile, across the short field and over a final stile into the wood by the beck. The footbridge upstream leads to some steps up to Broadacre by the entrance to the Primary School.
- Turn right along Broadacre, past Rumble Row cottage and keep straight on until the millrace surfaces on the right of the road. Follow the millrace then turn right with it through a small housing development and through a ginnel in the far corner leading to Copy Lane. Cross the road and turn right.
- Just after passing Willow Mill (on the right), turn left through the gate into a narrow ginnel, which soon opens out into a lane leading to Lancaster Road. Turn right past the Ship Inn back to the village centre.
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 chaffinch, Britain’s second commonest bird after the wren. It is found in open woods, parks and gardens, as well as along hedgerows. The very vocal chaffinch has a bright characteristic song.
- The lapwing, which can be spotted flying over farmland. Its rounded wings make strong, slow, flappy beats, hence the name ‘lap-wing’.
- Tits, blackbirds and robins in the village gardens.
- Swallows, house martins and swifts are common in the skies above the village in summer. They are often seen flying high, hunting insects in the air.
