Parlick

Last updated

Parlick
Parlick 234-34.jpg
Viewed from Beacon Fell Road
Highest point
Elevation 432 m (1,417 ft)
Prominence c. 34 m
Coordinates 53°53′59″N2°37′00″W / 53.8998°N 2.6167°W / 53.8998; -2.6167
Geography
Location relief map United Kingdom Forest of Bowland.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Parlick
Location in the Forest of Bowland
Lancashire UK relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Parlick
Location in Lancashire
Location map United Kingdom Borough of Wyre.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Parlick
Location in Wyre Borough
Location map United Kingdom Borough of Ribble Valley.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Parlick
Location in Ribble Valley Borough
Location Lancashire, England
Parent range Forest of Bowland
OS grid SD599453
Topo map OS Landranger 102

Parlick (also known as Parlick Pike) is an approximately cone-shaped steep-sided hill at the extreme south of the main range of Bowland fells in Lancashire, England. Its bog-free sides make it more popular[ according to whom? ] with walkers than the shallow boggy hills to its north. Paths zigzag up this hill from the south, or for the more strenuous ascent a straight path can be chosen. This hill is usually green different from the often thorny brown to red of the northern hills. A thin neck joins Parlick onto Fair Snape Fell with well-worn paths linking the two.

Regarding the origin of the name, Professor Eilert Ekwall, in his 1922 The Place-names of Lancashire, writes:

".. (caput de) Pirloc 1228 C1R, Perlak 1228 WhC 371, Pireloke 1338 LPR, Pyrelok pyke c 1350 ib. The name cannot mean " pear orchard " as Wyld suggests. But the etymology may be correct with a slight amendment. O.E. loc means " fold for sheep or goats." A sheep fold at which grew a peartree (O.E. pyrige) may very well have been at the foot of or on the slope of the hill; this may have been called Parlick (Pirloc) and have given the hill its name. For a probable earlier name see under Core, p. 143." [1]

Parlick is a popular venue for foot-launched gliders, [2] because it produces good ridge lift in an unusually wide variety of wind directions. [3] The extensive west-facing bowl allows paraglider pilots to fly to Fair Snape Fell and beyond without leaving reliable ridge lift and as far forwards as Beacon Fell. Local pilots use this arena for club competitions, such as the 'Parlick Grid Challenge' [4]

Layout of the "Parlick Grid Challenge". Parlick is bottom right, between grid locations 1 and 3. Parlick Grid.gif
Layout of the "Parlick Grid Challenge". Parlick is bottom right, between grid locations 1 and 3.

The summit consists of little more than a cairn, leaving the walker to look at the view, south to Preston and Winter Hill near Chorley, east toward Pendle Hill, and west towards Blackpool and the Irish Sea.

The boundary between the boroughs of Wyre and Ribble Valley passes very close to the summit, with half of the hill lying within each borough.

"Parlick Fell" is the name of a cheese made in Longridge from sheep's milk from the area. [5]

The hill and its environs are the location of the legend of the enormous Dun Cow, which was reputed to wander freely across the moorland, and to be in the habit of quenching its thirst at "Nick's Water-Pot", a well on the summit of Parlick. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest of Bowland</span> Upland conservation area in Lancashire, England

The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire. It is a western outlier of the Pennines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Wyre</span> Borough and non-metropolitan district in England

Wyre is a local government district with borough status on the coast of Lancashire, England. The council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde and the borough also contains the towns of Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Garstang, Preesall and Thornton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Some of the borough's built-up areas form part of the wider Blackpool urban area. Eastern parts of the borough lie within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribble Valley</span> Borough and non-metropolitan district in England

Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It is named after the River Ribble. Much of the district lies within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingleborough</span> Mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England

Ingleborough is the second-highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, and is frequently climbed as part of the Three Peaks walk. A large part of Ingleborough is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve and is the home of a new joint project, Wild Ingleborough, with aims to improve the landscape for wildlife and people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skiddaw</span> Mountain in the Lake District, England

Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its 931-metre (3,054 ft) summit is the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the simplest of the Lake District mountains of this height to ascend and, as such, many walking guides recommend it to the occasional walker wishing to climb a mountain. This is the first summit of the fell running challenge known as the Bob Graham Round when undertaken in a clockwise direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Snape Fell</span>

Fair Snape Fell is one of the larger hills in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. It reaches 521.9 m (1,712 ft) with a prominence of 226.2 m (742 ft) and is classed as a Marilyn. It occupies a position in the very south of the main range of fells, alongside and just to the north of Parlick, to which it is joined by a ridge. The main paths approach the summit from Parlick in the south, Saddle Fell in the east and Bleasdale in the valley to the west. The Saddle Fell approach is as boggy as the hills to the north. The summit is covered in grass and peat groughs. A trig point and large cairn occupy the top of the western escarpment, with the highest point being about 700 metres (770 yd) to the north-east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amounderness Hundred</span> Subdivision of the historic county of Lancashire

The Amounderness Hundred is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, but the name is older than the system of hundreds first recorded in the 13th century and might best be described as the name of a Norse wapentake. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it was used for some territories north of the River Ribble included together with parts of Yorkshire. The area eventually became part of Lancashire, sitting geographically between the Rivers Lune and Ribble, in the strip of coast between the Irish Sea and Bowland Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendle Hill</span> Hill in Lancashire, England

Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is 557 metres (1,827 ft) above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the Pennines, separated from the South Pennines to the east, the Bowland Fells to the northwest, and the West Pennine Moors to the south. It is included in a detached part of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawthornthwaite Fell</span>

Hawthornthwaite Fell is one of the larger hills in the Forest of Bowland in the north west of England. Hawthornthwaite Fell marks the extreme western limit of the West Riding of the historic county of York. Since 1974 it has fallen within the boundaries of the administrative county of Lancashire. However, most of the hill is on the Duke of Westminster's land. It occupies a north-facing position on the south-western range, close to Bleasdale and Fair Snape Fell. The only path to the summit comes over the hills from the south. The summit is boggy and flanked to the north by steep heather slopes. Grouse are farmed in the area and hen harriers can be seen frequently. The trig point and the remains of its foundations are no longer upright, lying horizontally pointing westward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton-in-Bowland</span> Human settlement in England

Newton or Newton-in-Bowland is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley district, in the county of Lancashire, England, formerly known as Newton-on-Hodder. The civil parish had a population of 237 in 2001, according to the United Kingdom Census, increasing to 315 at the 2011 Census. The township covers almost 6,000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. Historically, the village is part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Lancashire for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Hodder</span> River in Lancashire, England

The River Hodder is in Lancashire, England. It is a County Biological Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipping, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

Chipping is a village and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its grid reference is SD6243, and the nearest substantial settlement is Longridge, nearly 4 mi (6.4 km) to the south. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,046, falling slightly to 1,043 at the 2011 census. The village has won several best-kept village competitions over the years. The village also won the village section of the Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom competition in 2009, picking up RHS Tourism and Gold achievement awards in the process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Fell, Lancashire</span> Fell in the civil parish of Goosnargh in Lancashire, England

Beacon Fell is a fell in the civil parish of Goosnargh in Lancashire, England. The high ground, which rises to 266 m (873 ft), has been a country park since 1970. It is situated within the south westerly part of the Forest of Bowland, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Longridge Fell is the most southerly fell in England, near the town of Longridge, Lancashire. It lies at the southern end of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As its name suggests, it takes the form of a long ridge which rises in a north-easterly direction from within the town of Longridge to its summit 4.5 miles distant. As the ridge curves towards the east, it comes to a sudden end and drops into the Hodder Valley. The fell is an example of a cuesta; the ridge has a sharp drop or escarpment on its northern side, and a gentler, more varying slope on its southern side. These features make it a popular takeoff for hang-gliders and paragliders on the relatively infrequent occurrences of a northerly wind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiswell</span> Human settlement in England

Wiswell is a small village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, close to Whalley and Clitheroe at the foot of Wiswell Moor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Bradford, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

West Bradford is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Clitheroe. The population at the 2011 census was 788. It covers some 2000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. In Domesday, it is recorded as Bradeford and in the thirteenth century, Braford in Bouland. It was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. "West Bradford" was introduced in the nineteenth century at the start of postal services to distinguish the village from the city of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mearley</span> Human settlement in England

Mearley is a civil parish in Lancashire, England. The parish is north-west of Pendle Hill, east of Clitheroe, and is in the Ribble Valley district. It is a small parish with no villages or hamlets and a population of 25, the second smallest in Lancashire, at the 2001 census. It has no parish council, but instead has a parish meeting shared with neighbouring Worston. From the 2011 Census population information for both Mearley and Worston is included within the civil parish of Pendleton, giving a total of 349. The eastern part of the parish is included in the Pendle outlier section of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parlick Fell cheese</span> Sheeps milk cheese from Lancashire, England

Parlick Fell is a cheese made from sheep milk in Longridge, Lancashire, England. It is a white cheese with a semi-soft, crumbly texture and a tangy, nutty flavour.

The geology of Lancashire in northwest England consists in the main of Carboniferous age rocks but with Triassic sandstones and mudstones at or near the surface of the lowlands bordering the Irish Sea though these are largely obscured by Quaternary deposits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mearley Brook</span> River in Lancashire, England

Mearley Brook is a minor river in Lancashire, England. It is approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long and has a catchment area of 8.79 square miles (22.77 km2).

References

  1. Eilert Ekwall (1922). "The Place-names of Lancashire". University of Manchester. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  2. "Viewpoints in the Forest of Bowland". Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  3. Defined Flying Challenges. Ed Cleasby. Page 159
  4. "Pennine Soaring Club" . Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  5. Harkand, J. and Wilkinson, T.T. (1837), Lancashire Legends: Traditions, Pageants, Sports, Etc., ISBN   1-437-1144-07, pp.17-18 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .