Villages and towns
Clitheroe (4 miles)
Clitheroe is a beautiful market town dominated by the Norman keep of its castle. A large number of the shops in Clitheroe are family-owned and worth a look (for example, Byrne’s and Cowman’s). The market is held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. At the castle, you can visit the Norman keep (free), which has spectacular views of Pendle and the fells to the north, and visit the museum. The castle is surrounded by a lovely park with a good playground.
Whalley (6 miles)
Whalley is a large village with a 14th century Cistercian abbey and an impressive viaduct (over which the Clitheroe-Manchester train runs). It also has a very ancient parish church, which has three anglo-saxon crosses in the churchyard, as well as several Worsley-Taylor graves.
Waddington (3.5 miles)
Waddington has three pubs and lovely gardens with a stream running through it in the centre of the village, as well as Waddington Old Hall, which has an interesting history involving hiding Catholic priests.
Dunsop Bridge (6.5 miles).
This tiny village – situated where the little river Dunsop flows into the Hodder – has a pretty village green that is always busy with ducks. The village shop and café, Puddleducks, sells duck food (don’t feed them bread) and the ducks are always pleased to see you. It’s especially good in the spring when there are lots of tiny ducklings playing in the shallow Dunsop. There’s a good play ground on the track behind Puddleducks and a pleasant walk suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs (see accessible walks section). Dunsop Bridge is the closest village to the geographical centre of Great Britain, and the walk to Whitendale Hanging Stones starts from here. St Hubert’s Church, on the Lancaster Road, was designed by Edward Pugin and paid for with the Towneley Derby winnings. It has some beautiful windows and is worth a visit.
Newton (7 miles) and Slaidburn (8 miles)
Both pretty, small villages on the Hodder worth a wander. Both have excellent pubs.
Pendle villages
There are several small villages around the Broad End of Pendle that are charming and interesting – especially if you’re interested in the history of the Pendle witches. Downham, just outside Chatburn, is a beautiful stone village which is often used in films and TV shows. There’s a good pub – the Assheton Arms – and a tea room. Downham Hall, in the middle of the village, is the seat of the Asshetons, Lords of Clitheroe. Barley, Newchurch-in-Pendle, Roughlee, Sabden Fold and Sabden are all worth a visit. The driving between them is just as beautiful as the villages themselves.
Ribchester (8 miles)
In a lovely position overlooking the Ribble, Ribchester was an important local centre in Roman times. There’s a small but interesting roman museum and various Roman ruins around the village.
Lancaster (18 miles)
Lancaster is a beautiful small city on the river Lune with Roman remains and a Norman castle.
Preston (16 miles)
Not renowned for its beauty or its important history, the main reason to visit Preston is the excellent Harris Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery. If you’re interested in esoterica, it also has the largest Mormon temple in the world outside the US, and was the site of the first stretch of motorway in the UK (the Preston bypass, now part of the M6).
Activities
Browsholme (1 mile)
This is the oldest surviving family home in Lancashire, owned since the first house was built in 1393 by the Parker family, who are the Bowbearers of the Forest of Bowland. You can visit the house and gardens on Wednesdays and some Sundays and holidays.
Bowland Wild Boar Park (6.5 miles)
More than just boars, this park has a range of animals including meerkats, llamas and a range of farm animals. You can feed and stroke lots of the animals and there are tractor rides and play areas too. They also do great wild boar burgers in the café.
Stoneyhurst College Gardens (5 miles)
Open during the school summer holidays, the gardens are beautiful and an excellent place from which to view the 16th century school.
Ribblesale Pool (2.5 miles)
Decent swimming pool with a children’s pool just over Edisford Bridge on the way into Clitheroe. Recently refurbished, this is a good place to keep the kids busy if the weather’s bad.
Further afield
The Lake District (45 miles to Kendal, or 60 miles to Windermere)
You can easily do a day trip to the lakes from Bashall and it’s a lovely drive – either via the trough and on the M6 from Lancaster, or via Slaidburn and Bentham and onto the A65 at Ingleton, which will take you straight to Kendal (see descriptions of drives above).
Morcambe (25 miles)
Just the other side of Lancaster, Morecambe is famous for its vast bay and excellent shrimp. Walking across Morecambe Bay is a great experience, but make sure you go with a guide as the tide comes in fast and it can be very dangerous.
The Settle-Carlisle line (20 miles to Settle)
Perhaps the most famous railway line in England, this makes a great day out. Sometimes steam trains come through Clitheroe on the way to this line.
Manchester (35 miles)
A vibrant city full of things to see and great shops, Manchester is about an hour by road or just over an hour on the train from Clitheroe.
Blackpool (30 miles)
People flock to Blackpool for the famous illuminations and for ballroom dancing at the Blackpool Tower, as well as the Blackpool Pleasure Beach. A fun day out.
