Art Hike 61: Pendle Hill Circular

Meeting point: Barley Car Park, Barley, BB12 9JX. Toilets are here and a small cafe.

Car Park Cost: £3 all day.

Distance: Approx 5.5 miles or 8.8K

Cost: £5 - £10 per booking dependant on your situation: if you are unable to pay, please IM Robin. As you will appreciate, to ensure that all participants are safeguarded Robin has PLI insurance for Art Hike, this, along with everything else has increased, the cost for your attendance is simply to help cover this policy.

Grade: Medium

Walking Lead: Robin Widdowson – www.gothamd.co.uk

Support Lead: John Chamberlain, www.instagram.com/john.a.chamberlain

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/arthike

About Art Hike

Are you an artist, creative practitioner or simply enjoy creative activities and events? Do you like hiking and the great outdoors? Would you like to combine the two to take a walk with other creative and like-minded people? If the answer to these questions is “yes” then please join us for the next Art Hike. There is a small charge to take part.

Art Hike was established in 2007 by artists Robin Widdowson and Adele Jackson who both have a passion for creative endeavour and the great outdoors. The aims of Art Hike are to make new connections, encourage collaborations, exchange ideas and to simply have a really good day out away from our busy work lives.

Description of the Hike:

April's Hike is in the great Lancashire Moors with some amazing views of the surrounding peaks, valleys and towns.

Barley Car Park has lots of parking spaces, clean toilets and somewhere to grab a cuppa should you fancy one – however, be aware that some of the roads leading to it are very narrow in places with sharp bends – drive slowly.

The start of the route is quite steady as we follow the river up past Lower and Upper Ogden Reservoirs, both of which have some lovely views and features of the valley – these were constructed to provide fresh water to the surrounding and growing nearby towns.

We veer off onto a bridleway and start our incline up through Boar Clough, this is quite steady but can be a bit claggy and uneven in places – non the less the view is great.

The moor starts to widen out, the incline lessons slightly and the view starts to unfold as we head up to the summit of Pendle Hill, 557 metres ASL, the panoramic is a fabulous 360 degrees where you can see the Nidder Dale, Yorkshire Dales, Forest of Bowland and beyond towards Liverpool and some of the South Pennines as you look in the other direction.

We will stop here for lunch for half an hour or so before making our way down: this decent is quite steep, and although the landscape ahead is marvellous the going can be quite hard: there are stone steps all the way down, however be aware, it may be tough on the legs and knees for some (including me).

Once down from the summit there is a small refreshment hut called The Cauldron where hot/cold drinks and snacks can be purchased.

We make a steady way back along the Pendle Way for a mile or so past fields, farms and the odd sheep until we reach the Village of Barley where we can call in for a well deserved beverage of your choice (if you want to) before heading back to the car park.

What to wear:

We’re hoping for nice weather, however be prepared, it could be unsettled. We would recommend that you bring waterproofs, and warm clothes. Sturdy footwear is essential. If you are responsible for others, please ensure that they are suitably dressed.

Well behaved dogs are welcome as long as they are kept on leads at all times

What to bring:

Lunch & refreshments, water and money and art material if you want too.

Please note: You will be solely responsible for your own safety and transport arrangements. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or illness as a result of joining the hike. Robin is trained in first aid and will carry a first aid kit.

We look forward to seeing you there

Robin & John