Moors at the Centre

There aren't many places where a phone box is a tourist attraction, but the one at Dunsop Bridge is deemed to stand at the centre point of Great Britain. This apart, Dunsop Bridge lacks amusements for less energetic visitors, but it lacks nothing for magnificent surroundings and is the starting point for many great walks. This route uses something which is quite a rarity in Bowland, a public footpath crossing the tops.

To reach it you cross a stretch of upland pasture. This gives straightforward walking, rarely steep, except where it dips into Oxenhurst Clough. The clough frames a view of the small conical hill called Knot or Sugar Loaf, which began as a coral reef around 250 million years ago. The ascent to the plateau is by a well-defined ridge, giving wider views than from the level top. The prospect takes in the Hodder Valley, Stocks Reservoir and Gisburn Forest, the broader sweep of Ribblesdale and the Yorkshire hills.

The heather moors of Bowland have traditionally been managed principally for grouse shooting. In recent years, for reasons that are not fully understood, grouse numbers have declined substantially. This has affected the livelihood of many local people and has had a knock-on effect on other species. Hen harriers, for instance, prey in part on grouse chicks.

In the past walkers, conservationists and shooting interests have sometimes viewed each other suspiciously. Gamekeepers have been accused of poisoning birds of prey. Today, however, there is a new spirit of co-operation. The Birds of Bowland Project involves the RSPB, United Utilities (a major landowner) and receives funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Ribble Valley District Council. The aim is to encourage sympathetic management of the distinctive habitat and to protect the bird populations. One result should be to encourage more visitors to the area, something which should be further helped by the much wider access to open country which is due to be achieved by 2005.

The moorland crossing may seem all too brief before the descent into Whitendale. Here there are reminders that Bowland is a significant water catchment. Although there's only one large reservoir (Stocks), water is extracted from many of the streams and rivers. The track which you join near Whitendale Farm is actually the line of a water pipe: BCWW stands for Blackburn Corporation Water Works. The main waterworks intake is a little further down the valley and from there you follow the access road most of the way back to Dunsop Bridge.

What to look for

The hen harrier is the symbol of the Forest of Bowland. Numbers have declined, but the area remains their best breeding ground in England. Males have greyish backs, females are brown, but both sexes have a white patch at the base of the tail, which helps distinguish them from the similarly-sized buzzard.

Where to eat and drink

Puddleducks' Tearoom at Dunsop Bridge has teas, cakes and scones but for more substantial fare head east for 2 miles (3.3km) to Newton. The 18th-century Parkers Arms has a large beer garden with great views across the Hodder Valley to Easington Fell. The food, served from 12 noon until 9pm, has won awards, and the beer lives up to it.

While you're there

Wander through the Hodder Valley to Slaidburn, a tidy village of old stone houses. The church, with its box pews and sanctuary pole, is a principal feature. The old grammar school is now a junior school, while the pub, the Hark to Bounty, contained a courtroom, still in use until 1937. Beyond Slaidburn are Stocks Reservoir and Gisburn Forest, offering many walks and cycle routes.