Bowland place names tend towards a rather Tolkienesque darkness. In the course of a single outing you might encounter the Grey Stone of Trough, Dead Man’s Stake, Hell Crag, Pig’s Face, Catshaw Greave, Fiendsdale and Wolfhole Crag. This lupine lair is the destination of our there-and-back-again quest and, if you’re blessed with a vivid imagination, you can envision dark, lowbacked shapes still stalking these moors. As if that wasn’t enough to fire the fancy, this route also visits the geographical centroid of Great Britain: the point on which our kingdom would balance if it were poised on a fingertip. Forget Meriden and Haltwhistle: this is the one, true centre.