The Forest of Bowland is an outstanding area for walking.  We have a large number of walking books in the house (in the bookcase by the front door) with a huge range of walks in the area.  There are also several copies of the local Ordinance Survey map, again by the front doors.  You’re welcome to borrow them, but please return them.  If you’d like to buy your own copy, you can get OS maps and local walking guides from Ken Varey’s on New Market St in Clitheroe.  Using the OS map, you can see the public footpaths clearly marked so you can design your own walks.  You should take an OS map with you even when you are following a described walk.  If you go into a field without an OS map it can be difficult to find the stile leading out of the field!  The land around here is criss-crossed with public footpaths and you should make sure you stick to them.  Fields without public footpaths through them often do not have suitable access and may be used by farmers to keep livestock that should not be exposed to people (vulnerable or dangerous animals).

We describe some of our favourite walks below, including short walks, longer walks and accessible walks.  Remember that the ground can be wet underfoot in places even after dry spells, and you are usually best walking in wellies or waterproof walking boots, especially for longer walks.  There are a couple of spare pairs of wellies in the garage.

Short Walks

The books of walks in the house tend to focus on longer walks but there are always at least one or two shorter walks in them, and the book of family walks has lots of suggestions.

To Bashall Barn

This is a pleasant, flat walk, about half through fields and half on tracks, which ends Bashall Barn, where you can reward yourself one of their homemade ice creams, some excellent coffee and cakes, or a hearty lunch.  Afterwards, you can retrace your steps - or persuade one of the party to miss out on the walk and meet you there with the car.  The walk takes about 40 minutes and crosses the fairy bridge over the Bashall Brook.

Turn left out of the cottage and then very soon turn right off the road, over a ladder stile into the field.  Cross two fields and join the back road to Waddington (Rabbit Lane).  At the bend, turn right to Clough Bottom.  After a while, Clough Bottom will be signed to the left.  Keep going straight, either on the path between the hedge and the field (which may be overgrown in summer) or on the road and into the farm (keep as far left as possible, along the hedge).  You will soon come to the little Fairy Bridge over the Bashall Brook - a good place for playing Pooh Sticks.  Once across, turn right into the field and follow the field along beside the river until you come to a stile into the next field.  Cross into that field and then diagonally across that to the farm buildings.  From here, you join a rough track that will take you back to the main Waddington road.  As you near the road, you will pass Bashall Hall - an interesting 16th century building that used to be the main house on the estate, but was sold in the 1960s to pay death duties.  Once you hit the road, turn right and you will soon arrive at Bashall Barn.  Be careful on this road - especially with dogs and children - as people drive very fast along it.

Newton circular

This is an easy and fun walk along the Hodder in Newton.  On the north side of the bridge, you will find an information board that gives details of this walk.  Essentially, you set off along the river about half way to Slaidburn, where you cross the river and return to the bridge.

Around the estate

This walk will take you over most of the northern half of the estate, past many of the estate farms and down to the river.  From the house, turn right and walk through the village.  Just after the village hall, turn right down a farm track.  This will take you into Mason Green farmyard.  Cross through the farmyard and turn left in the field beyond it.  Cross into that field and then (using the OS map as a guide), cross the next two fields to bring you to Agden Farm.  Through this farm, take the path down into the clough, which will bring you up to Buckthorn.  You can cut the walk short here by following the track back to the main road and turning right back into the village.  If you want to continue, cut diagonally across the field, following the OS map.  The footpath will, after a couple of fields, bring you down to the river.  This is a nice spot to sit and enjoy the Hodder, or for a quick dip if you are feeling warm.  Cross the small brook and then into and across the field by the river. Once into the next field, cut diagonally uphill until you eventually come out at Sandalholme.  From here, you will be on a track back to the road.  Soon after Sandalholme, in a field to your right, you will see an old barn.  This is the site of the birth of the first mormon in the UK, and we sometimes get mormon visitors coming to see it.  After a while, up to your left, you will see Ayxa, the most northerly of the estate’s farms.  Eventually the track will take you through the farmyard of Mason House, and soon afterwards you will reach the main road again.  Turn left downhill to reenter the village.

The Tolkein Trail

Tolkein spent a lot of the time that he was writing The Lord of the Rings at Stoneyhurst College, a Jesuit boarding school near Hurst Green (5 miles) with beautiful buildings and gardens.  The idyllic countryside around Hurst Green is believed to have provided inspiration for The Shire.  Visit Lancashire have developed a 5 mile circular walk from Hurst Green following his favourite spots, much of it along the Hodder and the Ribble.  Google ‘Tolkein Trail’ for more details.

Longer walks

To Newton

This is a lovely walk from Browsholme over the fell to Knowlmere (which is also in our family and where we got married) and then on to either Newton or Dunsop Bridge.  You can either walk along the road to Browsholme or drive and leave the car there.  From Browsholme, follow the path up the hill to Browsholme Heights and then through the fields down to the road.  Follow the road down into the dip (turn left here if you want to go to Whitewell) and then up again.  Near the crest of the hill, turn left and follow the hill down to the Burkett Brook, and then down again to Burkett.  This will bring you to the Knowlmere drive, where you can turn right to Newton or left to Dunsop Bridge (make sure you have the OS map with you).  Unfortunately, there’s no longer any public transport back to Bashall, so you will either need to have left a car there before the walk or else get a taxi – or walk back if you are feeling energetic!

Over Pendle

There are some fantastic walks around Pendle.  My favourite is from the Nick of Pendle to the Broad End and down into Barley for a pint at the Pendle Inn.  You’ll need to get a lift or a taxi back to your car.  This walk takes a couple of hours.  You can also do a great circular walk from Pendleton.  First, walk up the hill to the Nick of Pendle and then along the back of Pendle and down the Broad End.  Instead of turning left to Barley, turn right and follow the footpaths back along the base of Pendle to Pendleton.  There are also numerous other walks that you can do around here – just study the footpaths in the OS map.

Accessible walks

Most walks in the area are over the fields and the moors, which means crossing rough ground and climbing over stiles.  However, there is a lovely accessible walk at Dunsop Bridge which is suitable for wheelchairs, pushchairs, scooters and people wanting to avoid stiles and rough ground.  Note that there are a couple of cattle grids, so those with wheelchairs or pushchairs may need assistance over these.  There are always small gates next to cattle grids for animals to pass through, but these can be overgrown and may be difficult to access for wheelchairs.

The walk begins in Dunsop Bridge.  Park your car on the village green or in the car park just past the green.  Cross the bridge over the river Dunsop and follow the main road up the hill to the war memorial.  At the memorial, turn right and follow the road past a few houses.  This road continues through farm land until eventually returning to the river.  Cross the accessible bridge and follow the path through a small wood and into the farmyard.  Follow the farm drive through the fields until you return to the village.

There are also accessible walks at Spring Wood, just outside Whalley (especially beautiful in the bluebell season), and at Beaconsfield Country Park.