Walking in Lancashire. Mary Welsh

      

      WALKING IN LANCASHIRE

      by

      Mary Welsh

      2 POLICE SQUARE, MILNTHORPE, CUMBRIA LA7 7PY

      www.cicerone.co.uk

      About the Author

      ‘Every year hundreds of walkers place themselves in the hands of Mary Welsh. Meet her and it isn’t hard to see why,’ says Cumbria Life magazine. ‘A 60-something, she’s enthusiastic, imperturbable and, above all, considerate – someone you would happily rely on.’ Mary is a travel writer and an award-winning writer of walking books, having written 44 walking guidebooks to date. She writes regular columns in magazines and newspapers and for the internet.

      She has lived in the north of England for nearly 30 years, after a childhood spent in rural Hertfordshire where she was educated and after which she went on to take a biology degree in London. Lancashire has provided her with some magnificent countryside and wonderful hidden corners to enjoy, where the noise of modern-day life does not impinge, and she hopes that you too will appreciate its many unexpected pleasures.

      © Mary Welsh 2005

      Second edition 2005, reprinted 2009 (with updates), 2015 and 2017

      ISBN-10: 1 85284 439 6

      ISBN-13: 978 1 85284 439 4

      First edition 1996

      Printed by KHL Printing, Singapore

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      All photographs by the author

       This product includes mapping data licensed from Ordnance Survey® with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Licence number PU100012932

      Acknowledgements

      My grateful thanks go to my four friends – Chris, Dora, Jane and Sue – who walked with me as I retraced my steps of 1996, the year of the first edition of this book. Generally the weather was good, but on some days it rained non-stop – and not one of them complained. Special thanks go to Jane, in particular, who kept the home ticking over when I was away for some very long days. Last but not least to Tom, my husband, for his unfailing support and advice.

      Updates to this Guide

      While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/439/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.

      Front cover: Nick’s Chair, Blindhurst Fell

      CONTENTS

       Overview Map

       Map Key

       Preface

       The Walks

       1 Silverdale

       2 Warton Crag and Leighton Moss

       3 Arkholme and Gressingham

       4 Nether Burrow and Leck

       5 Kirkby Lonsdale and Whittington

       6 Crook of Lune and Aughton

       7 Hornby and Melling

       8 Low Bentham

       9 Sunderland Point

       10 Glasson and the Lancaster Canal

       11 Cockerham and Cockersand Abbey

       12 Abbeystead and Dolphinholme

       13 Tarnbrook and Marshaw Wyre

       14 Clougha Pike

       15 Ward’s Stone, Bowland

       16 Slaidburn

       17 Bolton-by-Bowland

       18 Dunsop Bridge, Bowland

       19 Whitewell, Bowland

       20 Garstang and Nicky Nook

       21 Garstang and Cabus Nook

       22 Knott End-on-Sea and Preesall

       23 Skippool Creek, Wyre Estuary

       24 Bleasdale Fells

       25 Hurst Green and Cromwell Bridge

       26 Whalley

       27 Downham

       28 Weets Hill, Barnoldswick

       29 Wycoller and Boulsworth Hill

       30 Pendle Hill

       31 Chipping and Dinkling Green

       32 Longridge Fell

       33 Ribchester

       34 Lytham

       35 Croston and the Rufford branch of the Leeds–Liverpool Canal

       36 Martin Mere and Mere Sands Wood

       37 Parbold and the Leeds–Liverpool Canal

       38 Darwen Moor, Jubilee Tower and the Witton Weavers Way

       39 Thieveley Pike, Cliviger Gorge

       40 Hurstwood and Worsthorne Moor

      PREFACE

      Lancashire, a county in the northwest of England, has a great variety of landscape. It is often thought of as an area of industrial towns, but these are to be found in a cluster towards its southern