"A well-loved local beauty spot, but beauty isn't just skin-deep"
Walk directions
From the corner of the car park walk down shallow steps to the old railway line. Turn right beneath the road along a shady track that leads over a former railway bridge high above the river. Immediately go down steps on the right, then double back under the bridge you've just crossed.
Follow a well-trodden path close to the riverbank until a steep, stepped path forks up through the trees. At the top by a fingerpost, go right towards Gray's Seat. Through a gate, carefully cross a busy road to the opposite footway and follow it right for 100yds (91m) to a gap-stile in a stone wall on the left. An enclosed path clambers up through the woods over occasional rocky steps to Gray's Seat.
Return down the enclosed path to the road, go back along the pavement and re-cross the road to the gate. Walk back through the woods to the fingerpost.
Now follow the path ahead, initially running level through the trees before descending towards the river. Lower down at a fork, bear left to wind through a grove of beech and sycamore trees to a footbridge. The path winds on past a plantation of memorial trees and over Escow Beck. Passing a picnic area, branch off left across grass to a kissing gate near the corner, which leads out onto a road.
Cross diagonally left to another gate. Bear left at a fork down to the river, where a walkway winds beneath the old railway bridge. At its end, go left over a footbridge and follow the riverbank for 0.75 miles (1.2km) to a footbridge across Artle Beck.
Return to the River Lune and continue upstream for another 0.25 miles (400m) to an aqueduct bridge. Wind round the small building at its foot to a kissing-gate and climb onto the catwalk above the pipes.
On the far bank, a diversion upstream into Burton Wood is rewarding, particularly during the bluebell season. Otherwise, drop left from the bridge and follow a trod away across the pasture. Over a footbridge, carry on downstream, shortly passing into wood. Emerging beyond into more pasture, keep going by the river. Approaching the old railway bridge, continue into more trees, the path rising to meet the cycle track. Double back right up to the car park.
Landscapes change; rivers alter their courses, for instance, although at Crook O'Lune, the river has followed much the same route since the last ice age. It's what geographers call an incised meander, where the river has cut down into solid rock. Further upstream, however, the valley floor is... composed of clay, sand and gravel and the river can shift course much more easily. You get a great view of the Crook from the first bridge. Looking upstream, the hill peeping over the trees is Clougha Pike. Gray's Seat You leave the river to visit Gray's Seat, named for Thomas Gray. Best known as a poet, Gray was also a leader of the Picturesque movement. In the 18th century fashionable gentlefolk began to travel widely. Some of the first guidebooks instructed them precisely where to observe the best views and how to judge them. As the name 'Picturesque' suggests, the real landscape was judged largely on its fitness to make a picture. Gray visited here in 1769. Here's a sample of his pronouncement: '...in the richest of vallies, the Lune serpentizes for many a mile, and comes forth ample and clear, through a well-wooded and richly-pastured foreground. Every feature which constitutes a perfect landscape of the extensive sort is here not only boldly marked but also in its best position' Half a century later, the great artist J M W Turner also visited; his painting shows a far less wooded foreground than that of today, trees having since sprung up to all but obscure the view. Returning to the river, you complete the swing round the Crook O'Lune to break out into the wider valley above. Lush riverside pastures give easy walking, with the distinctive outline of Ingleborough forming the background. You cross the river on an aqueduct, built in 1881 to carry water from the Lake District to Manchester. Looking upstream, you can see that the river 'serpentizes' and reference to older maps shows just how much the river has changed its course.
Lancashire was at the centre of the British cotton industry in the 19th century, which lead to the urbanization of great tracts of the area. The cotton boom came and went, but the industrial profile remains.
"A well-loved local beauty spot, but beauty isn't just skin-deep"
Walk details
1hr 15min
Difficulty:
Easy
Gradient:
Moderate
Distance:
3.5 miles (5.6kms)
Ascent:
230ft (70m)
Walk directions
From the corner of the car park walk down shallow steps to the old railway line. Turn right beneath the road along a shady track that leads over a former railway bridge high above the river. Immediately go down steps on the right, then double back under the bridge you've just crossed.
1 of 7
Follow a well-trodden path close to the riverbank until a steep, stepped path forks up through the trees. At the top by a fingerpost, go right towards Gray's Seat. Through a gate, carefully cross a busy road to the opposite footway and follow it right for 100yds (91m) to a gap-stile in a stone wall on the left. An enclosed path clambers up through the woods over occasional rocky steps to Gray's Seat.
2 of 7
Return down the enclosed path to the road, go back along the pavement and re-cross the road to the gate. Walk back through the woods to the fingerpost.
3 of 7
Now follow the path ahead, initially running level through the trees before descending towards the river. Lower down at a fork, bear left to wind through a grove of beech and sycamore trees to a footbridge. The path winds on past a plantation of memorial trees and over Escow Beck. Passing a picnic area, branch off left across grass to a kissing gate near the corner, which leads out onto a road.
4 of 7
Cross diagonally left to another gate. Bear left at a fork down to the river, where a walkway winds beneath the old railway bridge. At its end, go left over a footbridge and follow the riverbank for 0.75 miles (1.2km) to a footbridge across Artle Beck.
5 of 7
Return to the River Lune and continue upstream for another 0.25 miles (400m) to an aqueduct bridge. Wind round the small building at its foot to a kissing-gate and climb onto the catwalk above the pipes.
6 of 7
On the far bank, a diversion upstream into Burton Wood is rewarding, particularly during the bluebell season. Otherwise, drop left from the bridge and follow a trod away across the pasture. Over a footbridge, carry on downstream, shortly passing into wood. Emerging beyond into more pasture, keep going by the river. Approaching the old railway bridge, continue into more trees, the path rising to meet the cycle track. Double back right up to the car park.
Landscapes change; rivers alter their courses, for instance, although at Crook O'Lune, the river has followed much the same route since the last ice age. It's what geographers call an incised meander, where the river has cut down into solid rock. Further upstream, however, the valley floor is... composed of clay, sand and gravel and the river can shift course much more easily. You get a great view of the Crook from the first bridge. Looking upstream, the hill peeping over the trees is Clougha Pike. Gray's Seat You leave the river to visit Gray's Seat, named for Thomas Gray. Best known as a poet, Gray was also a leader of the Picturesque movement. In the 18th century fashionable gentlefolk began to travel widely. Some of the first guidebooks instructed them precisely where to observe the best views and how to judge them. As the name 'Picturesque' suggests, the real landscape was judged largely on its fitness to make a picture. Gray visited here in 1769. Here's a sample of his pronouncement: '...in the richest of vallies, the Lune serpentizes for many a mile, and comes forth ample and clear, through a well-wooded and richly-pastured foreground. Every feature which constitutes a perfect landscape of the extensive sort is here not only boldly marked but also in its best position' Half a century later, the great artist J M W Turner also visited; his painting shows a far less wooded foreground than that of today, trees having since sprung up to all but obscure the view. Returning to the river, you complete the swing round the Crook O'Lune to break out into the wider valley above. Lush riverside pastures give easy walking, with the distinctive outline of Ingleborough forming the background. You cross the river on an aqueduct, built in 1881 to carry water from the Lake District to Manchester. Looking upstream, you can see that the river 'serpentizes' and reference to older maps shows just how much the river has changed its course.
Lancashire was at the centre of the British cotton industry in the 19th century, which lead to the urbanization of great tracts of the area. The cotton boom came and went, but the industrial profile remains.
