Built in the 1730s and acquired in the mid-19th century by the King-Wilkinson family, whose conservative landownership ensured that Slaidburn retains its uniformly 'unspoilt' appearence, Townhead was last occupied in 1939. The 14-bedroom, Grade II* Listed Georgian mansion was featured in the national press in 2008, as being for sale for the 'bargain' price of £700,000, equivalent to a 2-bed flat in Manchester. The slight hitch was that it is on the 'Buildings At Risk Register' and requires at least £1 million of sympathetic renovation (in addition to £11,080 already spent by English Heritage). The expected value of the result would be £2 million, but though a buyer was found, the Register still reports the condition to be 'poor' and "slowly decaying; solution agreed but not yet implemented". My visits to Bowland are starting to overlap: I followed the the pale farm track and footpath across the bracken-covered lower slope of Dunsop Fell only a fortnight ago, crossing to Whitendale. Similarly, the road in the foreground is The Skaithe, leading towards Bentham over the Cross Of Greet road, another of my regular cycle routes across the Bowland Fells. Better On Black?
