Downham and Pendle Hill

Welcome to Freshwalks. This event is part of our Lancashire business community programme delivered in association with Lancashire Business View. Everyone is welcome to join us for a day of hiking and networking in the great outdoors. Feel free to come alone - most Freshwalkers do - and you'll be warmly welcomed or invite a colleague or client along for company.

Route description

This direct route to the summit of Pendle Hill from the picture-postcard village of Downham may look like an easy 10k, but bear in mind that there’s almost 500m of climbing involved. It’s a very steep haul up to the summit plateau, where the panoramic views are amongst the best in the county. The summit trig on the ‘Big End’ offers outstanding vistas over the Ribble Valley and up to the Limestone country of the Yorkshire Dales. On a clear day, the Lakeland Fells and even the mountains of Snowdonia should be visible. We return by descending equally steeply back to Downham for a well-earned pint in the welcoming village inn. A short, steep but rewarding route to the top of Pendle.

Route: Downham - Big End - Pendle Hill - Worston Moor - Downham

Distance: 10.5km

Grade: Hard (more info on grading here)

Max elevation: 557m / Total ascent: 476m

Proposed schedule:

10:00 - Meeting, Assheton Arms
10:15 - Walk starts
12:30 - Picnic stop, Pendle Hill
14:00 - Walk finishes, Assheton Arms

Walk leader: This walk will be led by Mark Sutcliffe, Editorial Director, Salar Media and author of Walking in Lancashire and Short Walks in the Ribble Valley – both published by Cicerone Press. Between them, these popular guidebooks contain 55 walks exploring the dales, moors, uplands and coasts of Lancashire, including Morecambe Bay, the Forest of Bowland, Ribble Valley and the West Pennine Moors.

Meeting location: Assheton Arms, Top Row, Downham, Clitheroe, Lancashire, BB7 4BJ https://w3w.co/nanny.winter.foreheads

Parking: There is limited on-street parking throughout the village and a small car park off Main St (Postcode: BB7 4BN). If driving from the direction of Clitheroe, pass the Assheton Arms on your left, down the steep hill and over the bridge, then fork right and right again into the small village car park, where you’ll also find public toilets.

Public transport: Downham is quite challenging to reach via public transport but is only a short taxi journey (3.5 miles, 10 minutes) from Clitheroe station which connects to Manchester Victoria (please take the 08:45 train which calls at Bolton and Blackburn) and arrives in Clitheroe 10:01.

Food & refreshments: We've planned the walk so you can either choose to bring a packed lunch to enjoy up top on Pendle Hill. Or perhaps, if you've had a hearty breakfast, you might opt for a leisurely late lunch at the excellent Assheton Arms instead.

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