The Norber Erratics

Looking towards Robin Proctor’s Scar

One of the crazy rock formations

Directions to the Norber Erratics

1. Wherever you manage to park, head to the Clapham Pay and Display Car Park, where this walk begins! (Always start with a toilet…. that’s kids for you!)

2. From the entrance to the car park, with the car park to your rear, turn right and head up the road. You will pass the park on your left (which you will also pass at the end of the walk - what 3 words years.shifts.recent) until you reach the church. Here the road goes either left over the bridge or right. Turn right. The track turns stoney, and continues leftwards. You will soon see a tunnel.

The track to the erratics

3. Enter the tunnels! They are dark, but you will manage if you’ve got your phone torch to watch your feet! Constructed by the Farrers (the dude behind the construction of the Ingleborough Estate), I believe that they were made to facilitate easy access from the hall to what is now the Estate Nature Trail. There are two of them, head through both and continue steeply uphill on the rocky track that is the Pennine Bridleway.

4. You will pass a plantation of trees to your left, and at the edge of the tree line, the path splits into two. Keep heading straight on, in the direction of Austwick, you will be walking on a wide stony access track (pictured above)

5. After about a mile, you will see a footpath sign and stile to your left, it is signposted Norber. Head over the stile, and across the field on the other side. You are heading in a roughly right diagonal direction towards the scar ahead. On you right, in the distance, you will see a dry stone wall that comes to a corner. Head towards that top corner, the path follows the top wall heading right from that point, until you see another ladder stile. (There were cows grazing in this field when we did the walk, a little heads up!)

6. On your left is Robin Proctors Scar (see the legend about this place below) and on your right is the wall, keep heading straight on, you will soon see a signpost at a four way cross roads. Take the path marked Norber, it will take you to the top of the scar, and this is where you’ll find the Norber Erratics!

A large boulder perching on several younger rocks

7. We found the best erratics on the right hand side of the plateau, but take your time to explore, there are loads to be found!

8. Once you have explored, turn around and head back to the four way crossroads of path, before you climbed up to the top of the scar.

9. Now turn left, taking the Crummack path. There are several little offshoot paths, but you need to head to the ladder stile in the far end of the perimeter dry stone wall, you will head downhill to it.

10. After crossing the stile, you will head downhill and left to the rocky scar, passing through a dry stone wall. Continue along the path that heads around the scar. It then meets a dry stone wall. Follow that all the way to the stile in the far wall.

More of the Norber Erratics

11. You will meet a very quiet country road on the other side of the stile. Turn right and head down it. The road will bend round to the left, and then climb slightly until you reach Thwaite Lane, the track that you originally were on.

12. Turn right onto the wide stony track. Eventually, you will head past the point you originally turned off at, then the plantation, then you will head back down the hill to the tunnels where you began. Head back into Clapham!

Last walked August 2022.