Standing Stones Hill
The weather seems to have picked up a bit over the last week up here in Lancashire, so I've been making more of an effort to get out on the moors in the evenings. Just recently I've been exploring Anglezarke moor from the opposite side to where I would usually approach. This has been interesting as I've never really visited this part of the moor beyond Lead Mines Clough to any great extent, so there are plenty of paths and plantations to explore and it's always good to get a different perspective on a familiar area, I find it helps to cement my understanding of how all these locations fit together.
On Wednesday night I decided to visit Standing Stones Hill, a gently sloping mass to the South East of Round Loaf. I approached from Lead Mines Clough, following a path I'd partially explored earlier in the week, but this time I was determined to follow it to the end and that turned out to be on the summit of the hill.
The name "Standing Stones Hill" is a curious one as there is no evidence that any standing stones were ever up there, but it's worth a visit for the view as it stands a few hundred feet higher than Round Loaf, giving great visibility in all directions.
My lower back is playing up at the moment, so these were all taken hand held with my lightweight kit, i.e. the Nikon Z8 + 24-70 f/2.8S or 100-400 f/4.5-5.6S. Yeah, I probably need to reconsider my weight classifications. All images were processed from single raw files in Capture One Pro 23.
Leaving Lead Mines Clough
This is the view looking back from the top of the path that leads onto the open moor from the lower stretch of Lead Mines Clough. There's a storm brewing in the sky that thankfully missed me completely.
Winter Hill From The Moors
Looking towards Winter Hill from the moors. That winding river in the foreground eventually join forces with The River Yarrow, before finally being gobbled up by the Yarrow Reservoir, the highest member of the Anglezarke reservoir chain.
You Can See Blackpool Tower From Here
This was taken as I made my way up the side of Standing Stones Hill. The recognisable form of Round Loaf can be see in the foreground.
Big Rig
This massive oil rig turned up off the coast of Southport a few months ago. It's a huge thing and easily visible with the naked eye, although a 400mm lens definitely helps. I'll have to take a trip over to Southport for a closer look, it must look huge from there.
Sunset Approaches Round Loaf
Taken a little later in the evening from slightly higher up the hill. The sun is just emerging from the cloud bank.
Darwen Tower and Pendle Hill
Having finally made it to the top of the hill, this is the view that awaited me. Curiously, having never been up Standing Stones Hill before, this view looked strangely familiar. Checking my records, it turns out I have been up there once before, but on the other side of that broken dry stone wall when I walked a 12 mile loop which included the stretch from Great Hill to Winter Hill, which crosses this summit.
Rivington Terraced Gardens
Rivington getting a splash of colour from the impending sunset.
Harrock Hill
Looking towards Wigan we see Harrock Hill, rendered in what's perhaps a not entirely accurate colour scheme.
The Sun Sets
A rare sight. Actually seeing the sun dip below the horizon from Lancashire, rather than the usual thing that happens, where it disappears about 20 minutes earlier in the evening behind an almost perpetual Irish Sea fog, but not this night! There's even a hint of Isle of Man on the horizon behind Blackpool Tower.
The Moors After Dark
Lovely though it is to climb a remote moorland hill and watch the sun go down, it does leave one with the task of walking back across the moors in the dark. In this case, it was nearly three miles back to the car and I'd let the sun dip fully below the horizon before I started to head back. On this particular evening the air was cool, with the slightest breeze and there was a partial moon shining a hint of light on the scene, so it was actually quite pleasant walking back across the moors alone. The final 1/2 mile of Lead Mines Clough was another matter though. That tree lined river was pitch black, requiring the head torch and compared to the serenity of the moors was downright creepy, with every tree emanating menace from its gnarled branches. I could not wait to get out of there.
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