SUNNY BANKS AND WINDY HILLS
Snowshill isn’t the only place in our meteorologically fixated isles with a name inspired by the weather. Though Rainow, Bosley Cloud and Frosterly are toponymical red herrings, others have their roots in the elements: Sunny Bank, Cumbria Grid reference: SD289923 Though many places with the prefix ‘Sun’ derive their name from an Anglo-Saxon chieftain called Sunna, a host of Sunny Hills and Sunny Banks are so-called for their warm south or east-facing aspect. It’s possible the hamlet of Sunny Bank on Coniston Water’s west shore was a spot known for basking in elusive rays of Cumbrian sunshine.
WALK THERE: Catch the ferry from Coniston village to Sunny Bank jetty and follow the Cumbria Way for a 3½-mile stroll back along the shore.
Wetton, Staffordshire Grid reference: SK106552 A place name can be a clue that dry spells are a rarity. Wetton in the Peak District comes from the Old English for ‘Wet Hill’. Paradoxically, it’s hereabouts the River Manifold runs underground, leaving a parched river bed, except in spate. Perhaps Wetton’s name-giver had a sense of humour?
WALK THERE: Download Ilam to Hulme End at www.livefortheoutdoors.com/bonusroutes
Windy Gyle, Northumberland
Grid reference: NT855152 The North Pennines bear the brunt of England’s highest inland windspeeds, sometimes gusting over 100mph. Unsurprisingly, extreme weather has rubbed off on a few local place names. Hold on to your hat if you’re ever traversing Windy Gyle on the Pennine Way. An exposed high point in the Cheviot Hills, it straddles the Anglo-Scottish Border. WALK THERE: Download Windy Gyle from www.livefortheoutdoors.com/bonusroutes Fog Hill, Lancashire Grid reference: SD637501 Fog can’t be an uncommon phenomenon in the Forest of Bowland’s valleys, so you’d imagine it must get especially pea soupy for a fellside to get dubbed Fog Hill. Such is the case of a sheltered nook in the north flanks of Totridge. Fog is a strictly defined meteorological condition, when visibility falls below 1000m.
WALK THERE: Pass Fog Hill near Dunsop Bridge on Walk 17 this month. Frost, Devon Grid reference: SS770069 Situated on a north-facing slope in mid-Devon, the tiny hamlet of Frost could feasibly have earned its name from stubborn coatings of glittering overnight ice. This part of the county is not unfamiliar with extreme cold. Devon’s lowest ever temperature was recorded a couple of miles away in Lapford, where the mercury sunk to -190C in 2010. WALK THERE: Download
Morchard Bishop from www. livefortheoutdoors.com/bonusroutes
WEATHER NAMES ELSEWHERE:
Rainbow Hill, Staffordshire (SK022 144); Freezeland, West Midlands (SO940966), Thunder Hill, Norfolk (TG447185)