Lancashire Way Day 3

Barley to Slaidburn
Distance 19 miles
Ascent 800m
Weather: wet in the morning, dry afternoon
Rooks, skylarks, meadow pipits, curlews, oystercatchers, swallows, barn owl, hares, tiny bunny, cuckoo


We were not cooking on gas this morning, as it had gone off. So we had double helpings of cereals and had rumbling tummies a couple of times during the day.

We walked through the park and then up the lane to Ogden Reservoir with windblown wooded hillsides. At the top of the reservoirs we turned up a rocky path up the side of a gully. This is the Pendle Way, which is supposed to be the route that the accused walked to Lancaster for the witch trials.

The rocky path led across the moors, there were circling rooks and skylarks overhead.

As we approached the top of Pendle Hill the low cloud turned to rain. It eased off fairly quickly but there was drizzle for a while.

Coming down Downton Moor we met a chap who is on day 10 of his Lancashire Way walk. His dog took advantage of the break to have a lie down.

We walked through Downham village and tgeb through some fields. The rain became heavier so we sheltered in barn doorway for a while, seeing a barn owl fly up to some nearby trees. This part may not strictly have been on the official route, but we saw a barn owl so it was all good.

We crossed over a very narrow arched stone bridge and several very over-engineered stiles. Coming through a field of grass, Rob nearly stood on a Hare, the first of four that we saw today.

We had lunch on a bench in the grounds of Sawley Abbey, watching the people looking at the ruins and trying not to get everything covered in orange juice.

We crossed the road bridge over the River Ribble (looking very high) and then walked up the lane into Grindleton. The lane was quite steep, a chap on a moped having to push with his feet and nearly ending up in the hedge in the process.

A straight bridleway went up onto the moors, becoming more narrow and rocky. Ee stopped for sit down by wall and then followed more straight grassy paths passing some piles of stones called The Wife and Old Ned. The latter looked a bit collapsed. On the horizon we could see Fountains Fell and the Yorkshire Three Peaks.

A stony track led down off the tops through farmland and into Easington. We followed the wet riverside path into Newtown and then the footpaths up to Great Dunnnow Woods were the path was completely flooded. The ducks paddling on the path was our first warning. Rob waded through it and I went to investigate a possible detour through a gap in the fence. There was not a way through but there was a lot of nettles. As I went back to the gap Rob noticed people had crossed further to the other side so I was able to avoid the deepest water.

After that we decided to walk along the road into Slaidburn and avoid the next bit of riverside path. We are staying at the Hark To Bounty.