Bank Holiday Monday was a scorcher wasn’t it! I had been working in the morning so was definitely ready for a little trip out. The Lancashire coast was a possibility, but in the end we decided to nip up to The Trough Of Bowland, a valley and high pass in the Forest Of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I was quite pleased with this idea as I had heard that a statue of a mermaid resides in the trough, and I wanted to find her. 🙂 Because of the intense heat we decided to leave Hugo at home and take him out for an early evening walk instead.
But why on earth is there a mermaid living in an inland Lancashire valley, I hear you ask? I was a bit confused myself. Even though the Trough of Bowland is the scenic route to Lancaster and the coastal towns beyond, this is the only connection to the sea , that I know of. Several babbling brooks do meander through the countryside though and three Water Intakes were built in the 1920’s. Langden Water Intake is the home of our mermaid. Her name is Miranda.
Miranda is quite easy to find. Park at the Langden Car Park by the brook. This site is popular with picnickers on sunny days and at weekends there is usually a mobile hotdog/icecream van parked up. Cross the blue bridge and walk down a tree lined avenue, following the track a short way into the Langden Valley. You will see a cottage and the water treatment works ahead. Peer over a gate at the side and you should see a mermaid perched on the wall of the settling pool. Of course, we somehow totally missed spotting her at first…and walked straight past. I then spied the statue through the trees and got quite frustrated, as I couldn’t get a good photo. 😦
We found ourselves looking over a fence at the back of the property, with lots of No Entry signs. I decided to chance it and climbed over the gate, snuck up to the wall and got a couple of photos. Luckily our camera has a pretty good zoom! Though in hindsight I really didn’t need to do this ( Wil got some pictures from over the gate I mentioned afterwards), it’s great that I now have shots of the mermaid from two different angles. 🙂
Miranda was sculpted by water engineer George Aldersley in the fifties . She was modelled on his wife Madge and he actually sculpted the water nymph in their front room. She was possibly named after the mermaid in the 1948 film ‘ Miranda’ starring Glynis Johns , in the title role.
You have probably noticed that this mermaid does not have a huge swishing tail. She is apparently a twin-tailed mermaid, the statues legs tucked underneath her, end in flat fins.
After my spot of trespassing , we had a short walk into the Langden Valley. The sun was really beating down though, so we didn’t amble very far.
We soon headed back through the trees to the car park and treated ourselves to an ice cream to cool down. I also noticed a memorial to 25 air pilots who crashed in the Forest of Bowland during the second world war. The airmen were from Britain, America, Poland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Thanks for reading. If you would like to know more about the Langden Mermaid , I got my information from mermaidsofearth.com
Have you come across any mermaid statues, anywhere in the world?
sunshine and celandines 
We’ve done that walk a couple of times, the first we never saw her as the plants were growing densely, but we enjoyed the walk so much that we returned a couple of months later only to discover that the bushes had been cut down revealing the mermaid! I have to admit to ‘trespassing’ the same to get her picture!
Haha. You kind of have to. There should be a viewing platform. Though its nice that she is a little bit secret. X
Only the famous one in Copenhagen
I would love to see The Little Mermaid. 🙂
Yes, in Copenhagen harbour! 🙂 Sadly, she was covered in graffiti. 😦 Mermaids can be associated with all waterways. They are water spirits, sometimes quite malevolent, such as the famous Lorelei who, according to mythology, resided on a rock in the river Rhine.
Lorelei lured sailors to their deaths with her beautiful songs. The Bowland mermaid doesn’t look malicious. 🙂
Ahh I didn’t know about Lorelei. Thanks for mentioning her. And I remember your post about the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. Its a shame she is covered in graffiti. 😦
Think Miranda is a friendly mermaid. I was so happy to see her..even at a Lancashire Water works. 😉 x
It’s all part of the great water cycle! 😀
Lovely trip out on a very hot day, think I might have been walking in the stream … I had no known about the Mermaid, so thanks for the information.
Amanda xx
Haha I did have a paddle after my ice cream. You will have to go to the Trough of Bowland. Lots of birdy wildlife around on quiet days. X
Great photos! Monday was a lovely day! You seem to be getting good at trespassing :p xx
Haha , yes true. Got to be done sometimes. 😉 xx
What a wonderful walk and thanks for risking life and limb to get the pictures.
Haha. 😁 Thanks cathy. X
He obviously had a lovely wife, but I still don’t get why she’s sitting there, appealing though she is. 🙂 🙂 Glad you spotted her though. It was a fabulous weekend.
Strange but true. It was wonderful. Off for a week now so hoping it stays dry. Xx
Ya-hoo! 🙂 🙂
Lovely story and pictures and boy, now I really want a 99!
The Trough is a beautiful spot. Not too many people know about it – perhaps a good thing for those of us who do know about it!
I never knew about the mermaid so will have to make a point of doing as you have!
She is quite hidden. I was happy to see her. The Trough is lovely. Don’t visit enough.
Thanks for that, I didn’t know about the Mermaid. Will visit soon.
Nice walking country up there. 🙂