A Weekend in Lancashire, August 2009

It saddens me to find how many 'Southerners' have no idea that there is a lot of beautiful scenery and good walking county in Lancashire. They imagine rows of back-to-back houses and bleak mill towns, so just speed through on their way to Scotland or the Lake District. It was therefore a great pleasure for me to be able to introduce a group from OFS to some of the delights of Lancashire − though some of those who came already know the area well.

There were 17 in the party who travelled up to Lancashire by car on Friday, the journey is not all that far so the car I was in arrived by lunch time and checked in at the 'Sparrow Hawk Hotel' in Burnley, a town which has known better days. We then set off to find one of the local millennium monuments, the Singing Ringing Tree. Up on the fells it was quite impressive and did sing when the wind blew through the column of metal pipes. From this point we also had a good view over to Pendle Hill, our destination for Saturday.

After dinner most of the group set off to follow the Town Trail to see the old buildings from the town's more glorious days but were unfortunately overtaken by a heavy shower so made our return for an early night.

The Singing Ringing Tree The Singing Ringing Tree Photo: John Eyre

Pendle Hill (557m) overlooks Burnley so wherever you venture from the town the hill is always the dominant feature. After an early breakfast on a beautifully sunny Saturday, we set off to Barley for the start of the 8 mile walk. Pendle Hill gains it's notoriety from the execution, in 1612, of members of some local families accused of witchcraft.

View over Burnley with Pendle Hill in the distance View over Burnley with Pendle Hill in the distance Photo: John Eyre

We ascended the hill from the south side, gradually making our way to the top, passing the Ogden Reservoir and sheep grazing on the hillside. Perfect walking weather, with a nice cooling breeze we enjoyed the lovely flora and smells from the woodland trees. A short break for a drink and chat to other walkers and runners then a steady pull brought us to the top of Pendle Hill amongst the purple heather and what a magnificent view awaited us. Lunchtime beckoned so after the inevitable photo shoot around the trig point we sat to enjoy the food and the views.

At the trig point At the trig point Photo: Gwyneth Tyson

A very steep descent down into the village again, with different flowers and the skyline ever changing. Back down in Barley we were delighted to find a little cafe in the car park serving delicious cakes and a cup of tea, while some chose the Pendle Inn for something cooler. This was a great days walking.

On Sunday the group split into two, the more energetic to walk Boulsworth Hill and the rest for a more sedate walk along the canals of Barrowford.

Barrowford Walk

We drove, through some beautiful Lancashire countryside, to the start point: Pendle Heritage Centre car park, the beginning of the Pendle Way. The weather was pleasant as we walked along Pendle water streams passing 17th and 18th Century handloom weaver's cottages and 19th and 20th century mills.

We crossed the footbridge over the Leeds -Liverpool canal by Barrowford locks and turned onto the towpath. Here two of the group left us for an even less strenuous walk further along the canal and to do some sketching. We continued following glistening streams, before a steady climb up to Blacko Tower, a structure that dominated our view. Unfortunately the tower has been inaccessible to the public for years; there is currently a campaign locally to regain access to this imposing landmark. At the high points of walk we could see Pendle Hill and the Bronte Moors.

On our descent from Blacko, we could see an inviting pub, which turned out to be the famous 'Moor Cock Inn', but in our excitement to get there we lost our route for a few minutes and in a strong gust of wind Michael Payton lost his hat into a gully, the hat and route were thankfully retrieved. The men then enjoyed very tasty local ale.

After our refreshments we continued to Admergill Waters, crossing well worn old slab footbridges, meadows and stone stiles. Our journey ended with a welcome cup of tea at Pendle Heritage Centre meeting up with the rest of our party.

Boulsworth Hill

I would think that a more historical start to a walk cannot be found elsewhere as we set off from Wycoller. In the first mile we walked passed an ancient Packhorse Bridge, a Clapper Bridge, the 'Aisled Barn' (now a museum of local history) and then the ruins of Wycoller Hall which are said to be the inspiration for Charlotte Bronte's Ferndean Manor as read in Jane Eyre.

To add to this, on the hillside to our left, we then saw 'Atom', one of the six local panopticons.(Like the Singing Ringing Tree mentioned earlier). After this excitement the walk took on a more normal feel as we trekked along parts of the Bronte Way up the beck to Boulsworth Hill. The final ascent was steep and demanding but we took rest at The Weather Stones, an outcrop of grit stone; enjoying the views for a while before finally reaching the summit at Lad Law (517m).

As it was a windy day we dropped off the summit to refresh ourselves with our packed lunches and to take in the views over Pendle Hill that we had walked the previous day. We then continued the walk down, carefully avoiding the boggy parts on the hillside; we passed Lumb Spout and Hollin Hall Mill before the final two steady miles back to Wycoller and a welcoming pot of tea.

The final day

To complete our visit we set off for Hurst Green on Monday morning to walk the 5 miles of the circular Tolkien Trail. It was while on holidays at a guest house in the grounds of Stonyhurst College, over a period of 16 years, that J R Tolkien compiled the trilogy 'The Lord of the Rings'. Here the route started through the grounds of the College then into the woods to follow the course of the river Hodder, to its junction with the Ribble and later the Calder.

We saw the old stone packhorse bridge reputed to have been used by Oliver Cromwell on his march from Skipton to the Battle of Preston in 1648. By lunch time we came to the end of our trip, and the end of the spell of beautiful weather, as most of the group then set off on the journey back to Oxford. A good introduction to Lancashire, thank you Gwyneth from us all.

Gwyneth Tyson, Chris Simlett and Nick Tomaszewski