Barley

A strenuous but scenic alternative to Pendle Hill

- Walk devised by Don Thomas and described by Bob Clare

Why go to Barley and not go up Pendle Hill? It looms like a stranded whale above the village - a gargantuan leviathan that invites even the most casual walker to climb it.

And if you have never done so I will not stop you for I consider it an almost sacred duty for Lancastrians by birth or adoption to reach its summit. But there are other walks from Barley that do not require you to ascend the famous hill and can be as equally rewarding as Don's route shows.

Start: Barley Village car park BB12 9JX

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Fact file

Distance: 5½ miles

Time: 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours

Grade: Strenuous with lots of stiles.

Map: OS OL South Pennines

Directions. With your back to the pay station cross the car park to its far-right corner to pick up a public footpath in the direction of Whitehough.

This follows Pendle Water to your right for a little over half a mile.

Almost immediately it passes between rustic cottages on a cobbled stretch and continues for a short while on a narrower path which after a gate widens again at the small hamlet of Whitehough. Briefly on tarmac cross the stone road bridge over Pendle Water to reach Roughlee Road.