Slaidburn

Bolton-by-Bowland

Section 3Bolton-by-Bowland to Slaidburn

Church of St. Peter

and St. Paul

Cross and Stocks

Hammerton Hall

Holden

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Hod

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Harrop Fold

Harrop Gate

Harrop Methodist

Church

Harrop Lodge

Higher Cross

Threap Green

Ling Hill

Shays

Hammerton Mere

Holmehead Bridge

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Start at the Church of St Peter and StPaul at Bolton-by-Bowland. With yourback to the church, turn right and followthe road, passing the remains of across and the village stocks.

Cross Skirden Bridge and continue untilyou reach the Copy Nook Hotel. Takethe road on your right, signposted toHolden, until it branches, then take theroad on the left.

Cross the river near the bridge andtelephone kiosk and follow the footpathwest and uphill, passing Fat Hill Farm onyour left and Priest Biggins Farm onyour right. Keep on the path, passingWhite Stones on your left and thendownhill past the 17th century CottamsFarm.

At the road, turn right and walk for about300 metres. Take the footpath on yourleft heading north-west to Harrop GateFarm. Take the path that leads throughthis farm in a south-westerly directiontowards Harrop Methodist Church, avery early example of its type.

Continue to the village of Harrop Fold, aformer vaccary. From the centre ofHarrop Fold, take the path that headsnorth until you reach Cockleth House.Cross the next field in a north/northeasterly direction, towards the sheeppens at the top right hand corner of thefield. Cross the lane and head north-west to Harrop Lodge, which is situatedon the edge of the Forest of Bowland.The stile between the buildings and thefence marks the footpath; this takes youaround the back of the farm. Follow the

‘Champion’ means ‘common enclosure’.Follow the path until it meets the road.

Turn right and walk down the road as faras Threap Green Farm. ‘Threap’ isanother old English word meaning‘argument’ or ‘dispute’. Turn left up thefarm track and take the footpath thatleads north-east across the first field,then head north, keeping to the left handside of the fields. Continue until Ling Hillfarm.

At Ling Hill, take the footpath due west/south-west across the first field, crossthe next field at the left hand wall, thenhead north, following the path passingFells Farm. After about 500 metres, takethe footpath to the south-west, towards‘Shays’, which means ‘old stock track’.As you meet the road, turn right andwalk up the road to the cross roads,where there is a telephone box. Turn leftand walk to Higher Stoney Bank - notethe unusual curved wall.

Take the footpath on your right andcontinue north-west to Brook HouseGreen at Hammerton Mere. Take thefarm track heading west/south-west,

pass the farm at Rain Gill and continuewest/south-west until you arrive atHammerton Hall.

Following the path onwards, you passthe old footbridge on your right. Crossthe ford and carry on down toHolmehead Bridge. This is believed to

have been built before Slaidburn andwas the original access into the villageuntil the present ‘New Bridge’ was built inthe 15th century.

Just past Holmehead Bridge is the farmtrack called the ‘Skaithe’. This was a10th century horse racing track and isnow an ancient road. Leave the trackand follow the footpath along the righthand side of the field, then across thefield towards the new bridge. Walk upthe street to the War Memorial.

track past the farm anddue north.

Cross the road at HigherCross and take the pathdirectly opposite, whichtakes you due northtowards Black Moss Farm.Keep to the right hand sideof the fields. Follow thepath until you pass asmall barn on your left; toyour right you should beable to see the pyramid-shaped stone that marks theOrdnance Surveytriangulation point. Turn rightand follow the footpath pastthe stone, headingapproximately north-easttowards Greenwoods Farm atChampion. The name

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Sir Ralph Pudsay and his wife,commemorated in St Peter and Paul’sChurch.

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Cross and Stocks in Bolton-by-Bowland.

To be used with O.S.Outdoor Leisure Mapno. 41.

Higher

Stoney

Bank

Cottams Farm

Bolton-by-Bowlandto

Slaidburn

Leaving the beautiful church of St Peter and St Paul in

Bolton-by-Bowland, we pass through peaceful moorland

and the home of a 16th century rebel, to the picturesque

village of Slaidburn.

Church of St Peter and St Paul

There was a church in Bolton-by-Bowland as early as 1190, probably onthis site. The earliest parts of thepresent church are the 13th centurylancet window, priest’s doorway and thestones that have been re-used in themain south doorway. The Pudsays werebenefactors of the church for centuries;you can see the family arms on thechurch font as well as the tomb of SirRalph Pudsay in the 16th centuryPudsay chapel. The 15th century towermay have been inspired by Henry VI,who was sheltering with the Pudsays atthe time it was designed. Guidebooksand leaflets are available in the church,which is well worth a visit.

Cross and stocks

Stocks were used in medieval times asa flexible punishment for a variety ofcrimes. The prisoner’s legs and ankleswere locked into the stocks and localpeople could hurl missiles as they sawfit. This must have been a frighteningexperience for the victim. The practiceeventually died out in the 19th century.

Market crosses were often establishedso monks from nearby monasteriescould preach to farmers on market days.They were also a place where thefarmers could pay any debts owed to themonastery. The cross here may beconnected to Sawley Abbey.

Harrop Methodist church

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism,often preached in the North during the1700s. Early Methodist meetings wereheld in houses, and meetings in HarropFold were probably held at a farmhousecalled Baygate. The present Methodistchapel at Harrop Fold dates from 1819.

Sights of Interest Section 3 17 km (101/ 2 miles)

Hammerton Hall

Hammerton Hall

The Hall, commissioned in the mid-15thcentury, was the residence of theHammertons. They were a wealthyfamily and it was said they could ride allthe way from Bowland to York on theirown land. This changed in 1536, whenSir Stephen Hammerton sided with therebels in the ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’. Hewas hanged and beheaded for his‘crime’ in 1537. This was a relativelylenient punishment due to his highstatus; others were hanged, drawn andquartered. His widow and son diedshortly afterwards and his property inBowland passed to the King.

The house has been rebuilt since SirStephen lived here and much of thepresent building dates from the late 17thcentury. Note the typical ‘ogee’ mullionwindows in the gables which were acommon feature of this time.

A circular walk is available, beginningand ending at Bolton-by-Bowland.For more information ring theClitheroe Tourist Information Centreon 01200 425566

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Bolton-by-Bowland

Slaidburn

Dunsop Bridge

The name ‘Slaidburn’ means ‘stream bythe sheep pasture’. Start from the WarMemorial and take the road headingsouth-west towards Newton. On yourleft, you will pass the Slaidburn HeritageCentre. Entrance to the Centre is freeand a village trail is available. From theCentre, continue along the road, passingBrennand’s Endowed School and theChurch of Saint Andrew on your left.Note the ‘Lynchet’ formation on the fieldsabove Slaidburn.

About 500 metres past the church, theroad heads uphill. At this point there area set of gates on your left hand side,pass through these and follow the streamon your left. Leave the stream and walkaround the woodland at the foot of thehill, passing Dunnow Hall on your right.Continue walking south-west alongsidethe woodland, passing through a kissinggate and stile at the foot of GreatDunnow. Looking along the river, youcan see that it has been canalised, ormade straight. This was done to provideemployment for out-of- work weaversduring the cotton famine in the mid-19thcentury.

Where the woodland ends, carry onsouth-west across a couple of fields untilyou see farm buildings on your right-handside. Pass through the gate and carry onthrough the farm buildings until you meetthe road at Newton. The village hasmany fine 17th century houses and ‘TheParkers Arms’ pub is a late Georgianhouse with a Venetian window. At theroad, turn left and continue until you seea phone box on the right. Take the

At the end of the fourth field, climb overanother stile and cross the fielddiagonally heading north/north-west. Gothrough the gate and cross the fieldkeeping to the left-hand side. Cross thestile and continue to the north/north-eastern corner of the field. Cross thestile and head north/north-west past thetrees to the bottom of the field, thenfollow the stone wall around to the right.There is a stile in the middle of this wall.Cross this stile and head west/south-west, passing the copse around thesmall reservoir. The formations in theland marked ancient field boundaries.

Cross three fields andover three stiles, thenhead due west towardsthe road at Back Lane. Asyou cross this field, you cansee the markings of theRoman road that passedthrough here. At the road, turnright, then immediately left and onto thefootpath. Cross the field, heading west,cross the stile, head west again to thecorner of the next field and cross thenext stile onto the Bull Lane track.

Turn left along the track and follow italong. Before the gate, follow the wallaround to the right then cross the stileand follow the footpath downhill pastRough Syke Barn. Cross the stream

footpathon the right,signposted to Pain Hill, which leads upthe hill towards the house. To avoidnuisance to the owners, please walkpast the left-hand side of the house,then turn right and walk around the backof the house to cross the stile. Continuealong the footpath, heading north.

Beatrix was, in fact, avery prosperoussettlement because itis situated on the oldSlaidburn to Lancaster

Road. Go through thefarm buildings. At the end

of the buildings, turn right andwalk south-west across the field,

using the poles as a guide.

Cross the stile and go down to the RiverDunsop. Take the bridleway to the leftand follow it down to Dunsop Bridge.Dunsop Bridge was built in the 19thcentury and is the nearest village to theCentre of the British Isles. When thebridleway meets the road, turn left andwalk to the car park.

and stile, then follow upstream on theright hand side for a short distancebefore heading south-west to Back ofHill Barn. Walk behind the barn andcontinue uphill along the farm track,then downhill to Beatrix. Here thereused to be an old smithy, a linenweaving shed and a public house. 1

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Dunnow Hall

Newton

Pain Hill

Bull Lane (track)

Back of Hill

Barn Rough Syke Barn

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Brennand’s Endowed School, Slaidburn.

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St. Andrew’s

Church and

Brennand’s

School

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To be usedwith O.S.OutdoorLeisure

Map no. 41.

Section 4Slaidburn to Dunsop Bridge

Slaidburnto

Dunsop Bridge

Sights of Interest Section 4 10 km (6 miles)

Slaidburn Heritage Centre

The two storeyed building dates from the17th century and was originally afarmhouse, probably incorporating part ofthe house to the right. It has been alteredand extended many times, with the threestoreyed portion on the left the last to beadded in the late 19th century. At thistime, part of the original farmhouse wasused as a stable for the horse of the localdoctor - the stalls have been retained aspart of the exhibitions.

Brennand’s Endowed School

The school was founded in 1717 toeducate young boys of the Parish, usingmoney left in the will of John Brennand. Itwas run by a priest and a deacon from thenearby church, with a small charge leviedfor certain subjects. The school is still inuse for juniors and infants, with newclassrooms added to the rear of theoriginal building.

St Andrew’s Parish Church

St Andrew’s stands on an ancient religioussite, with evidence of Christian worshiphere since at least the 10th century. Thetower of the present church dates fromabout 1150, but the rest of the building wasbadly damaged by Scots raiders in theearly1300s andmost of thechurchwas rebuiltaround1450. StAndrew’sChurch isthe restingplace ofLady

Hammerton, wife of Sir Stephen who wasexecuted for his part in the Pilgrimage ofGrace.

Dunnow Hall

Dunnow Hall was built in the 19th centuryby Leonard Wilkinson, a solicitor inBlackburn, who owned land in Slaidburn.Through an alliance by marriage of theWilkinsons and the King family ofWhiteholme, the name of the Squiresbecame King-Wilkinson. The SlaidburnEstate is still owned by the King-Wilkinsonfamily.

Beatrix

Beatrix was originally spelt ‘Battrix’ and isderived from the Norse words meaning‘Bothvar’s cattle farm’. OtherScandinavian placenames in the valleyinclude Brungilmore, Battersby, andSmelfthwaite. They indicate that the areawas widely settled by Norse people whocame from Ireland in the 10th century andmoved inland along the Ribble andHodder valleys.

After following the River Hodder to Newton, we cross a

Roman road on our route to the heart of the British Isles.

St. Andrew’sParish Church.

A circular walk is available, beginning andending at Slaidburn. For more informationring the Clitheroe Tourist Information Centreon 01200 425566.

Section 5 5 km (3 miles)

Dunsop Bridgeto

Whitewell

From the centre of the British Isles, we pass a former

vaccary and follow the winding banks of the River

Hodder to Whitewell.

From the car park, follow the road dueeast for a short distance, until you seea set of gates on your right. Gothrough these and walk up the drivetowards Thorneyholme Hall.‘Thorneyholm’ means ‘land by theriver’ and Thorneyholme was a‘vaccary’ or cow farm. Cross thebridge, there is a small metal gate onthe right hand side. Go through thisgate andfollow the lineof the RiverHodder,headingsouth/south-west.

As the riverbendstowards theaqueduct, head south/south-westacross the field, then south/south-eastacross the next, heading for thebuildings at Burholme. Here the pathsplits; to the left is the old route toNewton before today’s road was built(we will not be taking this route).Cross the footbridge that leads to thebuildings and walk through them.Follow the track south-west toBurholme Bridge.

Walk southwards along the road. Onthe right hand side there is a stileleading to a discretionary footpathwhich allows you to enjoy this routefrom the safety of a neighbouring field.Follow this along until it takes youback onto the road and continue to theInn at Whitewell.

Section 5Dunsop Bridge to Whitewell

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Dunsop Bridge

Whitewell

Higher Whitewell

River Hodder

Burholme

Burholme

Bridge

Langden

Bridge

Hodder

Bank

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Hall

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A circular walkis available,beginning andending atDunsopBridge. Formoreinformationring theClitheroeTouristInformationCentre on01200 425566.

Footbridge over the River Hodder.

To be usedwith O.S.OutdoorLeisure

Map no. 41.