Rathmell Common

This overgrown ford is found on the track leading to Upper Sheep Wash which has now been bypassed by a new road.

Long distance views up Ribblesdale can be had from here.

At the end of a long lane from Rathmell, these buildings look deserted when I passed through here.

The farm house of Whelpstone Lodge seen through the fang rake of an old farm machine.

The old farm house of Whelpstone Lodge. The track in the foreground leads to Owlshaw farm which is the white building in the distance to the left of the tree trunk. The farm track in the picture is officially in Yorkshire but on its short journey to Owlshaw briefly enters back into Lancashire officially. The county boundary being marked by a dry stone wall which the track passes through then after a short distance enters back into Yorkshire through the same wall line. There are no border guards or customs bureaucrats to hassle the free thinking, free roaming poets of the free wild fells. The border line here is part of the 'new'1974 boundary between the Red Rose county of Lancashire and the White Rose of Yorkshire, these being the dictates of control bureaucracies. The old boundary bit deep into the 'Red Rose' making Lancashire geographically resemble a wasps body! The extremity of the 'White Rose' bite was on the high fells of Bowland over looking the Irish sea which was just 9 miles west along SD51 grid line to the coast at Morecambe Bay. This old county boundary area was near 'Greave Clough Head' and 'White Moss' at 1520ft (464M) both being in SD5750. The western extremity of this former boundary is marked on the map as a mound at SD574509 just south of 'Johnny Pye's Clough Top'. Johnny Pye's Clough Top is in SD5751 which also lies on the old county boundary line marked by another mound a short distance towards the north east. A little further on still (NE) the trig point of 'Hawthornthwaite Fell Top' 1567ft (476M) SD579515 was on the former Lancashire/Yorkshire border. Many of us free spirits do not recognise these 'new' 1974 border lines and still refer to villages and places as being in the Red Rose or White rose counties of former times pre 74, even if it does make old Lancashire take the form of a wasps body. Also don't forget we Lancastrians had the south peninsulas of the Lake District dipping into the north of Morecambe Bay. But Yorkshire men and women are wary of us Lancashire folk because they know we have a damned good sting !

Old rusting farm machine and part of Whelpstone Lodge farm house, to the left the track leads to Owlshaw farm.

Looking down and over Dob Dale Beck one can see the old farm house ruins of 'Dob Dale' just between the narrow track and the stream to the right which joins Dob Dale Beck. Many years ago this farm was known by locals as 'Dob Dol. I believe this farm was already abandoned decades before the 1920s clearance of farms in this area for Catchment land of the 'Stocks Reservoir' being constructed late 20s early 30s. A large area has been felled here as elsewhere in this the Gisburn Forest in Bowland.

I'd walked through the forest 'n' found a stream with no name, it was good to be out in the wild. In the reed grass there's a stream flowing by collecting the rain from the sky, in a short run or two the stream with no name joins the 'Dob Dale Beck' running by; la la la lal, la la lal, lal la la la lah! (The oldie song 'A Horse With No Name' (changed lyrics) in the Desert etc sung by 'America' you older ones may 'get it'!!) The farm ruin of 'Dob Dale' known many years ago by locals as 'Dob Dol'!

Good solid stone work at the farm ruins of 'Dob Dol', this is the very old name for the farm abandoned I believe in the late 19th or possible very early 20th century, the official name of this isolated ruin is 'Dob Dale'.

Solid walls standing at the old farm ruin of 'Dob Dale' in the 'Gisburn Forest'.

Having just crossed the small ford through 'Dob Dale Beck' we approach the farm ruins of 'Dob Dale'. A little further ahead one can see the marsh grass just before the ruins, this is where the narrow track crosses yet another stream by a small ford. This stream is nameless, it flows from right to left, in a short distance joining the 'Dob Dale Beck'.

The track coming down to the right of the ruins is one of the new Gisburn Forest mountain biking trails

The north eastern end of the crag has its own jumble of gritstone boulders and outcrops. In the middle distance is the white farmhouse at Owlshaw with Pen-y-ghent (left) and Fountains Fell rising on the skyline above.

The bottom end of the lane, where there is a barn. The lane is green, and also wet.

Named and shown as a walled lane on the 1850 OS map. Fortunately one can now walk along the rim on dry grass.