Forest of Bowland

The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area is in the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. Once described as the "Switzerland of England", it has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) since 1964, and is used for grouse shooting, walking and cycling, though it is relatively unfrequented by tourists.

The Forest of Bowland AONB also includes a detached part known as the Forest of Pendle separated from the main part by the Ribble Valley, and anciently a forest with its own separate history. One of the best known features of the area is Pendle Hill, which lies in Pendle Forest.

In total, 13% of the AONB is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its important areas of heather moorland and blanket bog. The area is nationally and internationally important for its upland bird populations – the hen harrier is the symbol of the AONB. There are over 500 listed buildings and 18 scheduled monuments within the AONB.

The name "forest" is used in its traditional sense of "a royal hunting ground", and much of the land still belongs to the British Crown as part of the Duchy of Lancaster. In the past wild boar, deer, wolves, wild cats and game roamed the forest.

Bowland survives as the northwestern remainder of the ancient wilderness that once stretched over a huge part of England, encompassing the Forest of Bowland, Sherwood Forest (Nottinghamshire), the New Forest (Hampshire) and Savernake Forest (Wiltshire). While the Trough of Bowland (the valley and high pass connecting the Wyre (at Marshaw) and Langden Brook and dividing the upland core of Bowland into two main blocks) represents the area, to many, on account of its popularity, it is in fact only a small part of the wider Forest of Bowland area.

The hills on the western side of the Forest of Bowland attract walkers from Lancaster and the surrounding area. Overlooking Lancaster is Clougha Pike, the western-most hill. The hills form a large horseshoe shape with its open end facing west. Clockwise from Lancaster the hills are Clougha Pike (413 m, 1,355 ft), Grit Fell (468 m, 1,535 ft), Ward's Stone (561 m, 1,841 ft), Wolfhole Crag (527 m, 1,729 ft), White Hill (544 m, 1,785 ft), Whins Brow (476 m, 1,562 ft), Totridge (496 m, 1,627 ft), Parlick (432 m, 1,417 ft), Fair Snape Fell (510 m, 1,670 ft), Bleasdale Moor (429 m, 1,407 ft), and Hawthornthwaite Fell (478 m, 1,568 ft). Considerable areas of the Bowland fells were used for military training during World War II and there are still unexploded bombs in some areas.

The area contains the geographic centre of Great Britain which is close to the Whitendale Hanging Stones, around 4 miles (6 km) north of Dunsop Bridge. The historical extent of Bowland Forest is divided into two large administrative townships, Great Bowland (Bowland Forest High and Bowland Forest Low) and Little Bowland (Bowland-with-Leagram), but the modern-day AONB covers a much larger area.

Read more about Forest Of Bowland:  History, In Sport, In Culture

Famous quotes containing the words forest of and/or forest:

    The forest of Compiegne. Look at it. Like a kind grandmother dozing in her rocking chair. Old trees practicing curtsies in the wind because they still think Louis XIV is king.
    Billy Wilder (b. 1906)

    All nature is a temple where the alive
    Pillars breathe often a tremor of mixed words;
    Man wanders in a forest of accords
    That peer familiarly from each ogive.
    Allen Tate (1899–1979)