A short walk along Redmonds Edge

Summer has arrived! Today was the first scorcher of the year and after an early morning trip to Sainsbury's to stock up on drinks for this afternoon's obligatory BBQ there was just time to take a short drive out to the West Pennine Moors.

Wanting to make the most of the now dry moorland we parked up at the car park on Crookfield Road, just off the A675 between Abbey Village and Belmont, with the intention of following a route we have taken before to Redmonds Edge and on to Great Hill.

Crossing (carefully) over the A675 we went through the kissing gate and followed a well defined path beside a small stream up the hillside, turning sharply left uphill towards the top of Redmonds edge rather than traversing towards Great Hill. Normally, this route is incredibly muddy and rough but today was easy going, and within a short time we were high on the ridge with views to Rivington, Preston, Blackburn and beyond. We followed the well made stone path on the ridge towards Hordern Stoops for a while before deciding to sit and admire the view, and share a well earned drink.

We retraced our steps to the car, with me feeling slightly less bothered about the quantity of burgers, sausages and kebabs that I'd be likely to eat later in the day. Of course I can't speak for the dog. As usual he was probably disappointed with the outcome of the BBQ, after all despite following anyone who appears to be a soft touch and lurking under the table, he's a dog and eats dog food! (crumbs and dropped scraps excepted).

Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

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Sheep do graze the moors and although there's no lead in sight on the pics it was unfortunately lead on all the way whilst walking. Today we saw only one ewe with her lamb. Both were completely nonplussed by the dog and seemed more interested in keeping close to the nice watering hole they'd found. The feeling was mutual!

I nearly forgot, if you're admiring the dog's new haircut, it was done by Dial a Dog Wash. We've not used a mobile before but were not disapointed. The van is well kitted out with all sorts of paraphanalia, the groomer was good and the dog didn't seem bothered by the experience. All they need is to be able to park outside your house so they can plug a power cable in to your mains. If for any reason you need or want a doorstep service they're well worth looking up.