Paul Lydon: Three Shires Head from Wildboarclough

Today was quiet with very few others around, probably because it was supposed to be wet but as it happened, it didn't rain too much in the end.

One of the routes to the Panniers Pool at Three Shires Head is to start at the small village of Wildboarclogh and after leaving the car at an old quarry by the side of the road by a bridge. We followed the road heading north for a kilometre or so, as far as the farm at Clough House.

We followed the public footpath across a field where we were joined by a young sheepdog who seemed pleased to meet us.

Next we followed the signposted route through the farmyard where another pair of dogs were chained while their mate was free to run around and follow us, which he did as we crossed a road and then went through a gate onto a rough vehicle track and a ford with a footbridge. The dog found a sheep nearby and decided to try and round the sheep up. The sheep ran over to us and we tried to shoo the dog away, but he was having none of it and after we crossed the bridge and went through a field gate onto the continuing rough track, I looked back and I saw the sheep was standing there looking at the dos who was sitting looking at the sheep presumably waiting for it to move again so that it could do more rounding up.

We followed the track as it passed below a small cottage marked as Cumberland Cottage on the map, which it turns out, is a Scout run bunkhouse.

The track soon arrived at a junction and continued to the right passing above a small waterfall while a footpath turned to the left following a small brook. We reached a small ruined building of which only the bottom section of the walls were left and we sat here sheltering from the cold wind to have a hot drink.

After this, we continued to the top of the small valley where the route follows the moorland as it rises to meet the track leading south-east from the Cat and Fiddle pub.

We followed this track as far as the A54 where we crossed over to the other side and then over a fence style overlooking the old quarries and mine-workings of Danebower Quarries.

We chose the option of following a path which wends its way down to the small stream which we then crossed and then made our way through the quarry remains which reminded me of walking in parts of Snowdonia.

There is a sort of track following a drystone-wall southwards as far as a metal field gate with a smaller gate in it so that you can get through without having to open the large gate.

Now the path led down over boggy ground to reach the rocky path leading along a stream to soon arrive at Panniers Pool at Three Shires Head.

We sat in a small alcove near the pool to shelter from the cold wind where we ate our lunch and noticed several fresh stalks of red roses floating in the pool, presumably thrown in by someone as some sort of memorial.

After lunch, we crossed over the old pack-horse bridge and then followed the continuing rocky track to the left which we followed to a gate onto a small road.

The route continued on the other side of the road by a farmhouse through a gate onto more moorland. We were glad of several small wooden walkways over some very boggy ground and after passing a small well-preserved stone barn, we crossed the A54 again and again crossed several more wooden walkways and then some boggy sections to arrive at a short rocky track descending to the minor road we had driven along earlier into Wildboarclough.

We walked down the road passing a nice stone church and two very nice houses and crossed a road bridge with a plaque commemorating the rebuilding of the bridge after a flood.

This brought us back to our starting point.