Clougha Pike ( ) is a hill in the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. From the west it looms over the Conder Valley, the city of Lancaster and

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

. It is visible from as far away as

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

South Lakeland South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district was 102,301 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 103,658 at the 2011 Census. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes ...

mountains such as the

Old Man of Coniston The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the Cumbria, English Lake District and is the highest point (county top) of the historic county of Lancashire. It is at least high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and ...

, and

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...

. From the west, it appears to be a large dome shape, with a cliff-like section at the very top. From the south-west, a series of notches or cloughs are visible in its flanks, giving the hill its distinctive name. The notches vary in size and run across the side of the hillside, but not down it. The largest notch has had part of its floor filled in by a small lake and swamp and is a dramatic gritstone boulder-strewn feature. These notches are thought to have been cut by meltwater flowing south-west from the area of Littledale, along the side of a glacier which occupied the

Quernmore Quernmore (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. It is located about east of Lancaster. The parish of Quernmore had a population of 532 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 567 at ...

valley. They are known as marginal notch channels and are among the best examples of these features in Britain. Clougha can be reached from the west, by a pleasant path that travels up its slopes by Rowton (spelt variously) Brook and then diagonally up the final steep broken rock section. It can also be reached from the east from

Grit Fell Grit Fell is a lonely hill between Clougha Pike and Ward's Stone in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England.

, over boggy land along a muddy path that is sometimes difficult to distinguish. An approach from the north, from the direction of Caton, is also possible. A small car park is also available close to Clougha Pike, just off Rigg Lane. Another starting point to ascend Clougha is from the Victorian folly of Jubilee Tower, where there is also a car park. Its summit furniture includes an

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trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

and a wind shelter. The view west from the top is over

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

. On a clear day views from Clougha Pike extend to

Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...

, the Ribble estuary, the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

(directly behind

), the fells of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

and many of the Pennine hills. Very rarely, the

Mountains of Mourne The Mourne Mountains ( ; ga, Beanna Boirche), also called the Mournes or Mountains of Mourne, are a granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountains in Northern Ireland, the high ...

can be seen to the left of the

. Clougha Pike was one of the lowest of the 100 hills included in ''Trail'' magazine's 2007 list of "Britain's Greatest Mountains".

References

{{City of Lancaster geography Hills of the Forest of Bowland Mountains and hills of Lancashire Geography of the City of Lancaster