Visiting Chatterton Village, Lancashire

While camping at Stubbins, near Ramsbottom, I managed to get a good look at Chatterton village nearby, which had a nice quaint, old-worldly feel:

Communal book sharing is always a sign of the quality of a place, of course.

Chatterton is located in the southern part of the Rossendale Valley, half a mile north of Ramsbottom.

At the heart of Chatterton village lies St. Philip's church:

Despite the picture postcard appearance, I've just read that the church only dates back to the early 20th century.

But still, St. Philip's was a marvel to the eye.

The sun was battling with the clouds in a rare break from the rain which had kind of followed me down from the Lake District.

I was beginning to see that Chatterton was a gem of traditional Lancashire village life.

Going up the hill towards the Chatterton (I assume church) cemetery, Chatterton looked wonderful in the distance below:

Have just read that in 1826, four Luddites, who were part of a gang that tried to destroy looms at a local mill, were shot dead at Chatterton, with many others being wounded. 

Walking into Chatterton had a kind of homely feel:

If desired, people could sit down and relax before paying their respects to loved ones.

The grave below seemed a little more elevated than the others:

With time, the gravestones seemed to have blended in with the natural setting:

Think that the structure below is a feeding place for birds:

Couldn't take my eyes off the wonderful hills in the background, as a bench held my raincoat:

Passing St. Joseph's Church, Ramsbottom

When back from the wet trip to the Lake District, I set up camp in Stubbins for a few days, and found myself passing St. Joseph's church in Ramsbottom nearby.

What pleasantly surprised me was that the notice board indicated that Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was still offered on occasion (I left the post-Vatican II Catholic set up a long time ago when I rediscovered the Old Latin Mass).

When I went to St. Gabriel's school in Bury town centre, some schoolmates came from Ramsbottom and may've attended St. Joseph's, I guess. 

Many of these old schoolmates have moved away from Ramsbottom, some as far away as Australia, a long time ago.

Piggy Lane Pens

Not far behind where St. Bede's Catholic church and social club once stood, in the Fairfield area of Bury, Lancashire, lies what is known as Piggy Lane pens:

Inside the pens (allotment sheds), mainly racing pigeons are kept, and some pigs too (hence the name, Piggy Lane).

Rumour has it that Piggy Lane was part of an old Roman road, but if there's any truth in it, I don't know.

Anyway, it was nice to see that the pens are still standing on Piggy Lane, with Union Jacks and St. George Crosses perched on top of them.

Nothing wrong with a bit of patriotic pride, of course.

Coniston-Yew Tree Tarn Walk

The last small adventure in my late August trip to Coniston turned out to be a Sunday morning walk to Yew Tree Tarn (pictured above).

After coming across a local Real Ale brewing place:

Somewhere near the river behind the Black Bull pub, I took a path leftward hoping to get to Elter Water.

As expected, the walk turned out to be quite scenic, and despite the sky being murky, I still hoped for the best after a much-needed, calm night of camping.

However, upon reaching Yew Tree Farm, the whole sky had got much darker, with heavy rain looking an almost certainty:
 

But my mood became more positive when I saw a small lake ahead:

Realising that it couldn't be Elter Water, which was still a few miles away, I asked a group of lads who were fishing about the place I'd chanced upon. They told me that it was Yew Tree Tarn which was good for brown and rainbow trout.

Yew Tree Tarn had a footpath running round it which made for a short pleasant walk:

With a gushing stream/narrow river running nearby:

After Yew Tree Tarn, I still had it in mind to head for Elter Water, but the fell land became increasingly difficult under foot:

So, despite the shaded beauty of the walk:

When heavy rain started with no signs for Elter Water appearing, I started heading back to Coniston which turned out to be a wise decision.

It rained heavily all the way back to the pop-up campsite at the side of the Lake at Coniston:

As the badly waterlogged ground started moving ever closer towards my tent, I made the decision to pack up and make a dash for the bus to Ambleside and Windermere, to catch the train to Oxenholme and onto Bolton, and finally, to get the bus to Bury, my home town.

I just sensed that another night camping in wet and windy conditions would've been a step too far, as would've been the hike to Elter Water.

Up to the Coniston Copper-Mines

Having got back from Hawkshead, my next mini-adventure was to go up to the copper mines in the mountains/hills behind the Black Bull pub in Coniston:

Have just read that copper-mining existed high above Coniston from Elizabethan times up until the mid-20th century. More recently, the copper-mining area has been redesigned for tourism.

Heading up towards the copper-mining area, I first came across gushing waterfalls:

And what looked like a large stream/narrow river making its way down the mountain:

At times, the noise was really loud giving a definite atmosphere to the hike.

At first, I thought the building over the bridge below was a pub, but it turned out to be a Youth Hostel:

Shortly afterwards, I was up in the tourist area:

Which was laid out very well, offering a sense of what early copper-mining had been like in the area:

With another Youth Hostel building coming into view:

Really liked the kind of shed building below which offered further insights into the area's past copper-mining industry:

While looking inside the place, I couldn't help but think that it offered better shelter than my small tent next to the lake in the valley below.

I would guess that the Water Wheel below is one of the central features of the copper-mining tourism area:

While walking back down towards Coniston village, I got talking to a man from Milton Keynes who had been brought up not far from Coniston. 

He stressed that the mountain walk got more impressive further up from the copper-mining tourism area, especially around Levers Water Tarn, but, for me, this would have to wait for some time in the future.

Coming Across Ann Tyson's Cottage, Hawkshead

Not long before catching the bus back to Coniston, I literally stumbled upon Ann Tyson's cottage:

Of course, this place has real history as a young William Wordsworth stayed here while studying at Hawkshead Grammar School.

During previous visits to Hawkshead over the years, I'd never found, forgotten to look for, or not taken note of Ann Tyson's cottage, so it was a relief to finally come upon it.

It now seems to function as a bed and breakfast place.