Tosside Becks

The area had torrential rain in the morning and five members braved the weather. However, the sun came out to give a brilliant afternoon. We did have to negotiate a flooded gateway and a couple of fields of wet grass plus a bank and beckside of bracken. The bracken at least had dried out by mid afternoon - the spread of bracken is starting to have drastic consequences in all hilly areas of the North.

Tosside is a lively border community and the countryside does change, becoming typically Bowland and Ribble Valley to the west and south. We first headed east across fields of wet grass to Melling Dab then south along Tosside Beck via Tosside Fold to Grunsagill which is a beautiful hidden hamlet in the trees half way between Tosside and Forest Becks.

Continuing south to Lower Gill then to near the confluence with New Gill, we crossed the bridge then turned west and walked on top of the bank. The route which we then took down a short bank to New Gill Beck was covered chest high in bracken.

The walk alongside New Gill Beck was blighted with bracken but the warm sun on our backs highlighted the beautiful woodland setting. The return route was north to Beckfoot then uphill and across open country to Cracoe Hill Farm and then on a very quiet road back to Tosside arriving on time at 4.45 pm.

Two ladies were waiting at the new Community Centre to welcome us to the rebuilt Centre and provide tea and biscuits. We were impressed with the large well-equipped kitchen and the hall which had plenty of natural light and a lovely wooden floor. Costs had been minimized by the use of local freestone but we were impressed with the design and functional qualities - full marks to the design team, the builders and the local input. Funding for the venture had been divided between Lancashire and North Yorkshire bodies, reflecting the position of this border town where the boundary runs straight north/south through the village.