Pendle Ascents from Barley Car Park

All these walks start from the large car park in Barley (823403) - £1 honesty box.

All the walks are circular and are open to a huge variety of unsigned alternatives so that you can start either a long or short walk but change it if you are getting along either slower or faster than you had anticipated. There are no maps included here and the walks are basically described as from farm to farm so that you will need the South Pennines Ordnance Survey map OL21 to follow them. They are described starting with the easiest.

The Pendle Way

This is described in detail in section seven of the Pendle Way brochures and is 8k long. I’ve changed the start slightly to make it a round walk. The route is signed all the way.

From the car park go left along the road for about 200m to a sign up the hillside on the right. Up this crossing the old road to Black Rock then right to the road. Go 100m right along the road to the sign left and then after 10m go right through a gate along the hedge side reaching a poor stile and continue on to Fell Wood turning right for 200m then left through the wood to Lower Ogden Reservoir. (n.b. this point can be reached very quickly by using the reservoir road from the Barley T junction saving less than 1k but about 120m of ascent/descent). Left passing the Upper Reservoir to cross the stream coming in from your right (Boar Clough) and steeply up the huge path right for 2k to the summit. Continue on to the wall then right down the steps to Pendle House. Go right in front of it then immediately left to Brown House Farm, Ing End, right over a bridge and left to the road back to the car park.

The Pendle Hill Circular Walk

Again described in detail in the Six Circular Walks in Pendle brochures it is 11k long and signed all the way. I prefer it in the opposite direction so I’ve described it that way here!

Take the road south towards Newchurch for 100m to the old road left. After nearly 1k there is a sign up the wallside right to pass a wood then go through the second one and reach the road at Newchurch (visit church and Witches Galore!). Up the path beside the toilets opposite and slightly left to reach the wall and stile. At Fell Wood turn right then left through it to the reservoirs. Left passing the Pendle Way up Boar Clough keeping to Ogden Clough for 800m. Cross it (difficult if in spate) and up the steep bank opposite trending rightwards along the muddy grooved path for 1.5k until after recrossing the Clough there is a paved path almost all the way to the summit. Return by the Pendle Way as above.

The big Moorland Bog Trot

14k long it keeps to the highest ground – doesn’t go to the summit(!?!) and is not recommended after a wet period.

Start as for the last walk but at Fell Wood keep straight on along faint paths over stiles (some ruined) near the highest ground over Driver Height then make your way (always extremely boggy) to Spence Moor (prominent stile in wall 600m on). Big path now to next wall. Don’t go through but right along it for 400m then, where it starts to descend go half right (north-west) to the track on the other side of Black Hill (no path on ground for perhaps 400m). Follow the landrover track right to a wall above Ogden Clough. Follow the wall left for about 400m until just before the highest point you can go through it right to reach the fairly faint track from the Nick of Pendle along the ridge and eventually reach the Boy Scout Memorial.

Continue on to a stile then trend right along the big path to reach the wall on your right. From here you can go to the summit 400m on your right and return to go down the steps then left to the road at “328”. Opposite to your right a path leads to Windy Harbour, left and immediately right to Lower Black Moss Reservoir then follow the track rightwards to Overhouses Farm and on just above the left bank of the stream back to Barley.

If you want lengthen the walk by some 4 to 5k at the stile before the steps go left on the track passing Robin Hoods Well zig-zagging down passing Hookcliffe plantation on your left to reach the road and Lane Head opposite. Right passing Hecklin Farm, Ravens Holme crossing two streams to Brownlow Farm then right to the road. You can then keep on along the wallside south-east but you’ll probably prefer to go right then left on the road to the same point. Follow the road for another 400m and, where it turns left, carry straight on to Salt Pie and Foot House Gate. Beyond you can go left between the reservoirs then right on the reservoir road back to the main road but it is nicer to go through the field north of the Lower Reservoir then on to Overhouses as above.

RETURN to previous page

RETURN to home page

GO TO Photographs