Читать книгу Walking in the Forest of Bowland and Pendle. 40 walks in Lancashire's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty онлайн

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The surrounding Bowland Fringe has a diverse landscape of undulating herb-rich hay meadows and lush pastures, broadleaved woodlands, parkland and water bodies, such as Stocks Reservoir.

Retrospective view of Stocks Reservoir from the north (Walk 23)

The Pendle Hill outlier is geologically linked to the main upland block, but separated from it by the broad valley of the Ribble.

The Forest of Bowland supports a considerable area of semi-natural vegetation forming important wildlife habitats. The upland massif with its vast expanses of unenclosed heather moorland and blanket bog is of international importance for breeding bird populations. The in-bye (i.e. land within a farmed area) grasslands and herb-rich hay meadows are important features of the Bowland Fringe, and semi-natural clough woodlands survive where they are inaccessible to sheep.

For the birdwatcher, the area is simply superb. The moorlands support important populations of hen harrier, peregrine, red grouse, lesser black-backed gull, merlin, golden plover and curlew. The area is also important regionally for short-eared owl and ring ouzel, and eagle owls are known to have bred here.