WEDNESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026

(Newton-in-Bowland, UK)

We slept well and had a very leisurely start, featuring coffee in bed whilst admiring the hills through the bedroom window. At that point it was sunny, but it was clear that rain showers would be coming and going all day. 

I eventually got up and cooked breakfast, finding my way around pans and the cooker, and of course, made another coffee. Past holidays have rendered me sufficiently capable of mastering most coffee machines, and this one is a Krups capsule machine which I’d spotted in the information and had brought along a supply of coffee pods. Not bad, but I’m sure further experimentation will continue.

After breakfast we got ready for walking and decided on a route straight from the Cottage. We started off going along Back Lane, retracing the drive from last night, until we reached Newton-in-Bowland. The road was quiet, with not hardly any passing vehicles, which isn’t that surprising as the road doesn’t go anywhere except to properties along it. The hills looked good in the sun, and initially it was t-shirt conditions, although we could see the approaching weather as it came down the valley. Part way to Newton we stopped to our raincoats on and they stayed on for the rest of the walk, alternating between zipped up and undone, as it was still warm even when wet.

At Newton we turned onto a path alongside the River Hodder. The path sometimes approached the riverbank, sometimes crossed grassy fields, and occasionally meandered amongst small woods and copses. We saw a lot of grouse (or pheasants? I think grouse as they have shorter tails, but happy to be corrected) and sheep. 

We eventually arrived at Slaidburn, a pretty village, where we sat and ate our sandwiches in the village centre, looking at the war memorial. The countryside around us is farmland, and we reckoned that the tragic passing through the village was in the ratio of at least 3 to 1, farm vehicles to cars.

After that, it was onward and upward, very upward, back to the Cottage. We saw a hare in a field but it hid it the grass as soon as it sensed us. The bushes were full of rose hips, a sign that autumn is definitely upon us. 

Back at the Cottage, we had a coffee and relaxed before showering, eating dinner and watching television. Just need the legs to recover before tomorrow. They’re a bit out of practice!

Video of today’s hike is here: https://vimeo.com/1227461787.