A selection of wonderful walks right on the doorstep of Northcote
Northcote introduces the Ribble Valley We ve carefully selected eight walks to introduce you to some of the wonderful scenery in Lancashire. It s an opportunity to work up an appetite whilst discovering some interesting facts about the countryside right on the doorstep of the hotel. A short walk from Northcote Northcote is nestled in the heart of picturesque Lancashire countryside. This first walk is the perfect way to explore the immediate vicinity of the hotel and work up an appetite. We have graded and clearly marked each walk with a symbol - Easy, Moderate or Strenuous - to help you decide which one is right for you. So what are you waiting for? Get your walking boots on and start exploring! We re convinced once you ve experienced some of these routes you will become just as passionate as we are about this lovely part of the world. We have done our best to ensure that the walks are accurate and up to date. We will continue to check our walks but the reader must use his/her own common sense to ensure his/her own safety and comfort. Mainly flat without too many inclines. Undulating terrain requiring some effort. Challenging routes where a good level of fitness is required. START: This moderate walk starts from the hotel itself WALK DISTANCE: 2.3 miles (3.7km) WALK TIME: 1-1½ hours (Providing you don t get lost!) MAP: OS Explorer 287 West Pennine Moors Our thanks to Bob Clare and David Johnstone and their team for researching and testing these walks. For further walks in Lancashire check out Bob s book 100 Walks in Lancashire published by Crowood Press... Guests should note that while this is not a difficult walk there are two stiles on route. Footwear advice: Boots are ideal but wellingtons or trainers you don t mind getting muddy will serve just as well. 2 3
A SHORT WALK FROM NORTHCOTE Waddington It would be difficult to find a more delightful walk to appreciate the beautiful Ribble Valley. At the end of it you will feel puzzled. Why isn t the Ribble Valley better known outside of Lancashire? But shush - let s keep it to ourselves! 3 4 From the front entrance of the hotel leave the car park and turn right into Northcote Road. In just under half a mile the road bends sharply left. Here turn right on to a public footpath leading to Suddell s Farm. 2 As the rutted track approaches the farm yard cross a stile on the right. Keeping the farm buildings to the left gently descend to a flat bridge across a stream. On the far side of the stream bear slightly right. As the field levels out aim for a metal gate. Next to it is a stile leading onto Old Langho Road. Turn left. Pass the entrance to Brockhall Village. In a little under half a mile turn left onto Northcote Road to return to the hotel (¾ mile). Point of Interest Just beyond the junction of Northcote Road on the right is the church of Old Langho. In the church yard at the rear is an unusual and moving memorial dedicated to the 600 people who died while resident in the old Brockhall Hospital which looked after people with learning disabilities. The hospital which claimed to be the largest of its type in Europe closed in 1989. 1 START: Waddington Village Centre BB7 3HP WALK DISTANCE: 7 miles (11km) WALK TIME: 3-4 hours MAP: OS OL41 The Forest of Bowland DIRECTIONS TO THE START OF THE WALK BY CAR From the hotel head to the A59 and turn left following signs for Clitheroe. Once in the town centre pass the railway station on Station Road at the end of which turn left on to the B6478 for Waddington. Pass beneath the railway bridge and cross the River Ribble. In a little over half a mile the road arrives in the attractive village of Waddington. 4 5
WADDINGTON WADDINGTON 1 From the village centre branch right just beyond the Waddington Arms inn to reach West Bradford Road. Pass the alms houses and walk along the lane for 500 yards using the path to the left once outside the village. After returning to the road continue past a property on the right to a footpath indicated by a sign on its outbuilding. Turn right onto the path. This soon leads to open fields. Keep to the right of a large storage tank cross two stiles in quick succession. After a third stile cross a wall corner by a stone stile. The right of way is ahead but to avoid the boggy ground, loop left, aiming for a metal gate and a wooden stile on the far side of the field. Over the stile follow a hedgerow on the right to a wooden kissing gate. After this with the village of West Bradford before you aim for a corner, cross a low wall and turn right onto a narrow path following a brook. The path leads to the end of Mill Street. Turn right at the end of it onto Clitheroe Road and after 250 yards turn left through a wooden kissing gate onto the banks of the River Ribble. There now follows a delightful amble along one of the most attractive reaches of the river. After ¾ mile the path leads past a water treatment plant and continues to a footbridge. Keep ahead to arrive at a wooden gate below a flight of steps. Up the steps follow the path as it leads to Grindleton Road on the edge of the Grindleton village. 2 Turn left. After 250 yards on the corner of Laneside Farm turn right onto Green Lane. Proceed for one mile. Underfoot the surface changes from tarmac to compacted stone and in some places to mud before becoming tarmac again as you near White Hall. 3 As you arrive at a large farm complex pass through the yard to the drive beyond. Turn left over a wooden stile leading into pastureland (NOT the drive leading to Far House.) From this corner the path bears slightly left away from the drive crossing three fields before dropping to a small footbridge across West Clough Brook. On the far side the path climbs to a stile and then crosses to Lowcocks Farm. Keep ahead through the farm and then follow the drive to a junction with Bowland Gates Lane. Turn right to Bucks Farm. Pass the farm on your right and then follow a track past the outbuildings, remain on the track as it bears to the right to enter a field. Cross to a wooden gate in the fence line to the left and then descend through woodland to cross Drakehouse Brook. Remain on the path as it climbs the other side to bring you to a stile by a metal gate. Crossing the next field may be difficult after prolonged wet weather. Aim for the far right corner. After a stile next to a metal gate follow the hedge to the left to reach Moor Lane. Turn right and shortly after turn left in the direction of Seedalls Farm. Once you have passed the farm the track leads onto a cluster of properties at Cuttock Clough farm. Pass this and then after a dip climb the track up to Mill Farm. 4 From here the route heads south back towards Waddington. Locate the footpath, which is not indicated by any obvious sign, by the drive just before the large gentrified building to the left. Keep to the left passing an outbuilding to arrive at a footbridge. Cross over the footbridge and proceed following the edge of the small woodland on your right down to Feazer Farm. As you approach the farm keep to the right of a covered reservoir. Once you reach the drive just beyond it turn right and then after a gate on the right cross a wall over stone stile. To continue your descent to Waddington, at first keep to the right edge of fields but as you near the village pick up a grassy track that takes you back past the alms houses onto West Bradford Lane. 6 7
WHALLEY A short stroll around Whalley Whalley village is perched on the banks of the River Calder and is a five minute drive from Northcote. This short stroll takes you round the remains of the 14th century Cistercian Abbey and then you can explore the shops and cafes. START: Entrance to Whalley Abbey, The Sands, BB7 9SS WALK DISTANCE: 1 mile (1.6km) WALK TIME: Around half an hour but allow more time to explore the Abbey MAP: OS Explorer 287 West Pennine Moors DIRECTIONS TO THE START OF THE WALK BY CAR From the hotel head to the A59 and turn left towards the roundabout. At the roundabout take the second exit signposted for Whalley and Billington. Follow for two miles onto King Street in Whalley. At the small roundabout, turn right and you will find on street parking beyond the shops. Standing with your back to the entrance of Whalley Abbey turn left along the Sands. Almost immediately pass the grounds of English Martyrs RC church. Its neat garden has on display an array of said English martyrs statutory who were put to death in the turbulent years following King Henry VIII s break with the church of Rome. Beyond the church you arrive at an imposing gatehouse, once the main portal leading northwards into the Ribble Valley. Passing below its ancient stones you find another imposing structure from an entirely different era Whalley s magnificent railway viaduct. Constructed in the 1840s at the height of the railway building boom the 48 arches span the River Calder and it s Lancashire s longest viaduct. Note the decorative brickwork on the arches closest to the lane designed in keeping with the medieval abbey. Pass under the arches and turn left onto a public footpath. This section of the walk will give you a good idea of the impressive scale of this fine example of Victorian engineering. The path leads across a metal bridge over the Calder and continues to meet Longworth Road in a semi-industrial part of the area. Turn left under the arches and walk along Longworth Road for a little under 300 yards. Turn left onto Whalley Road. This takes you back to the river. Cross into King Street and then turn left on a public footpath leading to Whalley s parish church, yet another gem of ecclesiastical history. Follow the path left in the church grounds leading round to The Sands and back to the start. 8 9
DOWNHAM Downham Enter Downham with St Lawrence s church on the right you are presented with one of the most beautiful views in Lancashire. The stone cottages slope down to the beck melding into a pastoral landscape of vivid greenery. This walk takes you in an anti-clockwise direction and the spectacular views are dominated by the brooding presence of Pendle Hill. 1 3 2 START: Downham Village Car Park, BB7 4BS WALK DISTANCE: 3½ miles (5.5km) WALK TIME: 1½-2½ hours MAP: OS OL41 The Forest of Bowland DIRECTIONS TO THE START OF THE WALK BY CAR From the hotel head to the A59 and turn left and follow across the roundabout for 6 miles. Turn left for Clitheroe and Chatburn on the A671 Pimlico Link Road. At the roundabout turn right for Chatburn. On reaching the village turn right into Downham Road and proceed for a mile to arrive in Downham. The car park is located at the far end of the Main Street. Point of Interest Little has changed in the village of Downham since it was used as the main location in the 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind starring Bernard Lee, Alan Bates and Hayley Mills. The plot centres on a group of children who in the mistaken belief that an escaped convict (Alan Bates) is Jesus, protect him from the authorities. Hayley Mills (14 at the time the film was made) played Kathy the eldest of the children. However many of the others came from local primary schools nearby - especially in Chatburn. More recently Downham featured in the TV series Born and Bred starring James Bolam. Of course the other point of interest that has to be mentioned are the rather unusual car park toilets - especially the gents! 1 From the car park turn right onto West Lane and almost immediately right onto a footpath. After a gate the path leads across fields at first with the fence line on the right. After passing Longlands Wood (also to the right) go through a kissing gate leading into a wide meadow. Here bear slightly left to pick up a waymarked fence end and then continue to a kissing gate in a corner. Continue through the kissing gate and cross the next field aiming towards the end of Worsaw Hill. After a further kissing gate the path follows a stone wall on the left. Just before Worsaw End House turn left through a metal gate and cross diagonally left to pick up a farm drive. Follow this to you arrive at the junction with West Lane. 2 Turn left and then immediate right onto a farm lane which leads up to Barkerfield Farm. On approaching the farm follow the lane as it bears left towards Hookcliffe, a large farm 10 11
DOWNHAM complex which is approximately 300 yards beyond Barkerfield. Where the track bears left towards the main farm buildings pass through a kissing gate situated to the right of a wooden gate to join a broad, grassy track below the open fellside. After the next gate - while the track ceases to be grassy - remain on it until it brings you to the junction with Pendle Road. Turn right and walk along the road for 200 yards before turning left, opposite a small lay-by, through a kissing gate onto a footpath. 4 A LANCASHIRE CLASSIC Climb Pendle Hill from Barley Dear guest there is no avoiding it! If you are staying in this part of Lancashire you will be drawn to the great bulk of Pendle which dominates the landscape. This circuit is one of the best short walks in the country and can be easily undertaken in a morning or afternoon and the views from the summit will be worth the effort. 3 The path soon leads steeply down into a gully before gently climbing up to the left bringing you to a broad grassy shelf adjacent to a stone barn and a pair of wooden benches. A more inviting place for a picnic we do not know!. Cross a stone stile situated in the wall below the barn and follow straight ahead, keeping close to the right fence line to cross a large pasture to its far right corner. 1 Continue in the same direction until you arrive at a wooden gate leading to the drive of Clay House (to the right). Cross the drive, pass through a gate and continue in the same direction. 3 2 Cross a small footbridge and keep straight ahead to the broad meadows close to Downham Beck (on the right). Follow the stream to reach the edge of Downham Village. When you arrive on Main Street turn left for the car park. START: Information Centre and car park on Barley Lane. BB12 9JX WALK DISTANCE: 5 miles (8km) WALK TIME: 2½-3½ hours MAP: OS OL21 The South Pennines DIRECTIONS TO THE START OF THE WALK BY CAR From the hotel take the A59, turn left and follow for 6 miles. Turn left for Clitheroe and Chatburn on the A671. At a roundabout turn right for Chatburn. In the village turn right (signposted Downham). Follow for 3½ miles through Downham and arrive at a crossroads. Turn right to arrive at Barley. The car park is on the right at the end of the village. 12 13
PENDLE HILL FROM BARLEY PENDLE HILL FROM BARLEY Point of Interest You are never far from the Witches in this part of Lancashire - they are part of the tourist industry. The story of the Lancashire Witches has the gloss of legend and public relations but in essence what ended in a celebrated show trial at Lancaster started as a domestic between two impoverished families in 1612. Witches were looked for and witches were found. Ten people eight women and two men were declared guilty and were executed. 1 Turn right out of the car park entrance and head back to the junction with Barley Lane. Cross the road to take the narrow lane opposite, keeping the village hall on your left. This quickly leads you through to Barley Green. The lane then climbs to the first of the two reservoirs (Ogden Clough). Just after passing the dam join the Pendle Way as it comes in from the left. For the rest of the walk you follow the Pendle Way with its distinctive Witch on a Broomstick logo. Beyond a stand of pines to the right of the track, the way drops down to a gate and a stone stile below Upper Ogden Reservoir. 2 Cross the stile and follow track as it climbs steeply to reach Upper Ogden reservoir. Here the track gives way to a narrower path between a wall and fence, then passes through a gate and crosses pastures to reach a ladder stile. Over the ladder stile follow a rough, peaty track upwards and then along to a stream flowing from the defile that is Boar Clough. 3 Cross the stream and follow the path for 60 yards then turn right where it forks and climb the steep flank of the hill. When the route crosses the top of Boar Clough a line of stone cairns come into view. Continue upwards towards the summit trig point at the Big End of Pendle Hill. The panoramic views are extensive on a good day. 4 From the trig point continue along a broad track northwards for 400 yards to a dry stone wall. Do not cross the wall but bear right to locate the steep, stepped path. This is the way down off the hill. At the bottom, pass through a metal kissing gate and take the path that bears to the right and passes behind the farmhouse (Pendle House) and turn left, entering a large field by a field gate. With a wall to left cross to another gate, then follow the path as it bears right across a shallow gully to enter a field, close by a farmhouse. When you reach the farm road turn right to cross the yard to a gate. This gate leads onto a good path running parallel with a brook. Follow the path to finally meet a tarmac lane at Ing Ends. Turn left, passing the attractive cottage and garden and cross over a wooden footbridge on the right. The path bears left following the course of the stream and enters village opposite the Methodist chapel at the top of the village. Turn right to return to the car park. 14 15
CLITHEROE AND THE CASTLE Clitheroe and the Castle A short drive from the hotel is the ancient market town of Clitheroe. Dating back to Saxon times the town is looked down upon by the prominent 12th century Norman Castle. The castle is home to a museum and attractive landscaped gardens including the Rose Garden which features a collection of unusual metal and limestone sculptures. START: Clitheroe Railway Station, BB7 2ED WALK DISTANCE: 1 mile (1.6km) WALK TIME: Less than an hour but add time to visit the castle museum MAP: OS OL41 The Forest of Bowland DIRECTIONS TO THE START OF THE WALK BY CAR From the hotel take the A59, turn left and follow for 6 miles. Turn left for Clitheroe and Chatburn on the A671. Straight ahead at the next two roundabouts and join Moor Lane. At the fork in the road keep left on Parson Lane. Follow to the next roundabout. Turn right into Station Road. The railway station is on the left after passing the Booths Supermarket. Standing directly in front of the station turn right onto Station Road passing Booths supermarket on the right and the entrance to the market on the left. Follow the road as it swings left. At the junction with Parson Lane turn right. Cross the road and just before the railway bridge keep left and follow onto the playing fields below Clitheroe Castle. Keeping left, follow a wide path taking you to a junction below the battlements of the castle. From here turn right in the direction of the Sculpture Garden and a noteworthy feature - the Pinnacle. With the castle to your left keep ahead on a narrow path that leads to a set of steps taking you to the forecourt of the Castle Museum. This amenity is a hidden gem with easy to follow displays providing information about the castle, the town and the exhibits. You ll need little persuasion to walk up to the keep with a walkway providing an outstanding viewpoint over the town and surrounding countryside. Directly east Pendle Hill dominates this part of the Ribble Valley. To the west you have a view of the hills of the Bowland Massif. Returning to the forecourt bear left to take the main drive down to Castle Street. This is the commercial hub of the town with shops, pubs and tea rooms along its length. When you reach the junction by the library (a striking flat-iron building paid for by the Carnegie Foundation) bear left onto Church Brow. This takes you past some of the oldest dwellings in the town to the church of St Mary Magdelene. Turn left into its yard and then follow a path leading down to Church Close. Turn left then immediately right into Brennand Street. At the end turn right and then left into Railway View Road which leads back to the station. 16 17
CLITHEROE AND THE CASTLE Points of Interest in Clitheroe Dunsop Bridge CLITHEROE CASTLE The castle, built around the 12th century, you see today probably replaced an earlier wooden structure. Clitheroe Castle s keep in one of the smallest in the country. Small it may be but standing by it one can easily observe that it would have dominated the settlement that became Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley - a vital communication route between Lancashire and Yorkshire. THE PINNACLE The recently restored Pinnacle was originally a feature of London s Palace of Westminster. During restoration work on the Parliament buildings it was purchased by Sir George Brass, Clitheroe s MP of the time, and was placed in the Rose Garden to commemorate the coronation of King George VI. THE SWAN & ROYAL HOTEL The hotel on Castle Street has had some notable guests in the past including Sir Frank Whittle, designer of the modern jet engine, Sir Winston Churchill and Mahatma Ghandi who toured Lancashire in 1931 to explain the Indian Boycott of British goods to textile workers and mill owners. ST MARY MAGDALENE S CHURCH The first historical reference to the church is made in 1122 but in the early 15th century it was demolished and a new church was erected. This church could only hold 500 people and the population by 1831 was 5000 so a new church building was begun in 1828. To this day, the tower and the stonework of the east end remain from the original build. The precise location for the centre of Britain happens to be in Lancashire, about 4 miles north of the village of Dunsop Bridge. This walk, whilst not in the Ribble Valley, happens to be stunningly beautiful. The route takes a clockwise direction following a section of the River Hodder, a tributary of the River Ribble to return back to the start at Dunsop Bridge. START: Dunsop Bridge car park. BB7 3BB WALK DISTANCE: 1¼ mile (2.0km) WALK TIME: About one hour MAP: OS OL41 The Forest of Bowland DIRECTIONS TO THE START START OF THE WALK BY CAR Dunsop Bridge is a 30 minute drive from the hotel. From the car park follow to the A59, turn left and follow for 6 miles. Turn left for Clitheroe and Chatburn on the A671. On arrival in Clitheroe remain on the A671 and after passing the Royal Oak public house go straight ahead at the roundabout on to the B6748 (Waddingon Road). Follow through Waddington and on to Newton. After the Parkers Arms public house bear left at the fork in the road for Dunsop Bridge. The car park is on the right as you approach the village. 18 19
DUNSOP BRIDGE Hurst Green & Stonyhurst Close by Hurst Green the River Ribble is joined by the Hodder and the Calder on a great bend of the river. The area has a literary association with Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. His son attended nearby Stonyhurst College and the landscape provided the inspiration for the Shire, home of hobbit heroes Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. 2 Before you start the walk you may decide to have a photo taken by the famous phone box opposite the car park. Continue towards the bridge and turn right onto a tarmac track just after passing Puddleducks Café. Follow this as it leads across fields to reach a row of cottages. Keep to the left of the cottages on a path leading into woods and follow until you arrive at a wooden footbridge. Cross the river and arrive on a United Utilities Service Road. Turn right and you can sample the magic of the Bowland Forest scenery in the very heart of Britain. It is easy walking, but to get to Whitendale would entail an extra 5 miles and add at least two hours to the walk. Alternatively head back to the start. Turn left and follow the lane back to the village on the far side of the eponymous bridge. Turn left to return to the car park and we challenge you to resist tea and cakes at Puddleducks if you can! Point of Interest A few years back the Wizards of the Ordnance Survey decided to work out the precise location for the centre of Britain. It happens to be in Lancashire about four miles north of the village of Dunsop Bridge. To mark this discovery BT located their 100,000th phone box beside the green - with the ten figure grid reference etched on a plaque inside. This walk does not take you to that particular spot, but it will allow you to start at that particular telephone box. 1 START: Hurst Green - opposite the war memorial. BB7 9QB WALK DISTANCE: 2½ miles (4km) WALK TIME: 1½-2 hours MAP: OS Explorer 287 The West Pennine Moors DIRECTIONS TO THE START OF THE WALK BY CAR From the hotel turn right out of the car park onto Northcote Road. Follow to Old Langho and turn left passing the Black Bull public house. Take the next left turn and follow until arriving at a T junction. Turn right over the bridge and proceed until the first right turn (Gallows Lane). Follow to a T junction then turn right to head to Hurst Green. 20 21
HURST GREEN & STONYHURST HURST GREEN & STONYHURST Points of Interest at Hurst Green THE MEMORIAL AT ST JOHN S In the quiet churchyard of St. John the Evangelist, there is a obelisk memorial dedicated to Ikutaro Sugi, a Japanese Subject who died in October 1905 at the age of 30 but what was his story? Local enquiries yielded no results. However there was a significant piece of information on the memorial. It revealed he was an assistant commissioner in the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs (CIMC). A web search led to Bristol University where a team was investigating the vast archive of the CIMC, a branch of the Imperial Chinese government mainly staffed by foreign personnel. At its head was the remarkable Ulsterman Sir Robert Hart who directed the work of the service as inspectorgeneral for a period of 44 years (1864-1908). Through Professor Bickers and Dr Weipin Tsai at we were able to ascertain that Ikutaro had been recruited into the service as a translator and teacher in 1898 working in Peking (Beijing) arriving in England in late 1900. It appears he suffered with ill health during his last years. By June 1905 he was receiving treatment for TB in Southport. From here, on 18th October 1905, he wrote one of his last letters. In it he states he had no hope of getting better and he would go back to Stonyhurst while I can still travel. Less than two weeks later he died at Fairfield House, close by the college. His funeral took place on Thursday 2nd November, 1905. As Professor Bickers noted This is a sad little story but some solace may be derived from the fact that Sugi s resting place is in one of the loveliest corners of England. 1 Facing the Shireburn Arms turn right on Longridge Road and follow it as it dips through a wooded dell and climbs up to the church of St John the Evangelist. Pass through the lych gate and keep to the left of the building to locate Sugi s memorial. Leave via a gateway situated at the rear of the churchyard. Turn left and then right on a lane quickly reaching a junction. Turn right onto the Deane which dips down to pass some cottages before climbing up to Avenue Road opposite the Bayley Arms. Turn left, passing the village hall and the superb alms house and into the grounds of Stonyhurst College. Little here prepares you for the magnificence when you reach the right turn taking you on to college drive. Established by the Jesuits during the turbulent period following the Reformation the college moved onto this site at the close of the 18th century, establishing itself as a leading catholic independent school. Over the centuries it has accumulated many important treasures and collection including an early edition of Shakespeare. Keep on the drive for a short distance but be aware that this is a through road so there will be light traffic. When you reach the ornamental ponds turn left to follow the lane past the golf club and onto the junction with Stockbridge Lane. Turn right. 2 This part of the walk will give you a close up view of Stonyhurst. As you reach the first bend in the lane turn right through the entrance onto a public footpath that takes you past the front of the college. Beyond the drive on your left is the chapel and just after this, on the right, is a footpath that will take you back to the village. With playing fields on the left the path descends gently to the corner of Fox Hall Wood. Here bear right and after crossing two fields take a footpath on the left leading to The Warren a residential lane leading to Avenue Road opposite the War Memorial. 22 23
HURST GREEN & STONYHURST Pendle from the Nick For guests who enjoy walking it is difficult to resist the allure of Pendle Hill. Reason 1: It s a great hill. Reason 2: It s Lancashire s most famous hill. Reason 3: It s a hill that can be seen from many points in the county so whenever you see it you will derive a great deal of satisfaction pointing it out and saying to your friends or family, I ve climbed that. 3 2 1 START: Quarry car park on the summit road connecting A59 with Sabden. BB7 9HN WALK DISTANCE: 7 miles (11.25km) WALK TIME: 3-4 hours MAP: OS OL41 The Forest of Bowland DIRECTIONS TO THE START OF THE WALK BY CAR From Northcote return to the A59 and turn left in the direction of Clitheroe. Keep ahead across four roundabouts. After passing the junction for Pendleton on the right take the next right towards Sabden. The car park is on the summit of the road on the right a short distance beyond the Wellsprings Restaurant. 24 25
PENDLE FROM THE NICK PENDLE FROM THE NICK 1 Cross the road to join a broad track that starts below a recently placed memorial to servicemen who died in plane crashes on Pendle Hill. From the cairn follow the broad path taking you up to the next feature a circular stone shelter. Keep ahead to arrive at a stone wall which is crossed by a ladder stile. In the distance to the north east and weather permitting, you should also be able to pick out the Yorkshire giants of Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent. Over the next hour the route crosses first Pendleton Moor followed by Spence Moor and then dips down to join with a path coming in from the right and steep sided Ogden Clough. 2 There is not much by way of feature to assist you here but look for a faint trodden path to the left. As you gain height a ruined wall appears on the right. Use this as a handrail and follow it as it crosses the ridge to intercept a path above the escarpment of Mearley Moor. From here bear right as the track swings round to a second ladder stile taking you over a wall and on to the summit ridge. The route to the top is easy to follow and on most days of the year there will be plenty of other walkers who have come up from Barley. The view when you arrive at the trig point at the summit is one of the best our county has to offer. Since Pendle Hill stands isolated in the landscape there is a complete 360 degree panorama. To the east you can look back out towards Preston and the coast. Closer to hand their are the Black Moss Reservoirs and Blacko Tower. Then across from Nelson and Colne you can pick out the bulk of Boulsworth Hill with Lad Law as its summit and the South Pennines beyond. Looking south and west Hambledon Hill rises beyond Burnley. 3 From the trig point turn south to quickly pick up a flagged path which is soon joined by a stream that helps to form Ogden Clough a steep sided valley which will come into view to the left. As you turn right a prominent cairn will be seen on the high ground before you. This is Scout Cairn placed there to commemorate the special anniversaries of the Scouting movement in Clitheroe and District the most recent of which was the centenary in 2014. To the north lies the Ribble Valley with Clitheroe and its castle centre stage. Beyond the town swells the upland of the Forest of Bowland with Waddington Fell and its radio mast to the left of the plantations of conifers of Grindleton Fell. The path leads to a wooden kissing gate and then crosses a stream. Now continue on a path and when it forks keep right and soon after arrive at the junction of your outward leg. From this point retrace your steps back a couple of miles to the Nick O Pendle 26 27
A Northcote gift voucher is the perfect surprise for lovers of fabulous food and wine Call 01254 244 507 or purchase online at www.northcote.com Available from 40 upwards. Northcote Road, Langho, Blackburn, Lancashire BB6 8BE Telephone: 01254 240 555 www.northcote.com /northcoteuk /northcoteuk 28 10 miles from M6 Junction 31 6 miles from M65 Junction 6