When you think of walking you think of the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales and indeed these places hold a wealth of beautiful countryside but right here on our doorstep Lancashire is full of hidden treasures.



If you had to choose one view to be an icon for walking in Lancashire it would have to be Pendle Hill. Here it is, viewed from the picturesque village of Downham said by many to be the prettiest village in England, the setting for  'Whistle down the wind' and 'Born and Bred' .

Bob and John are both retired teachers. We meet every week, usually on a Tuesday, and go for a walk. The general rule is that the walk should be entirely within Lancashire. This is our attempt to share our walks with a wider audience. They will usually be between 5 and 10 miles in length and be circular though one or two may involve parking the car and using public transport to get to the start of the walk, then walking back to the car. The walks will cover all types of countryside: woodland, moorside, fells, canalside etc.

Distances and timings.
All distances will be given in both metric (Km and metres) and imperial (miles and yards) except for shorter distances which will only be given in metres. In this case metres can be read as yards, the difference being negligible. e.g 100 metres = 100 yards.
Timings are based on the time it takes us to do the walks. We manage despite our age to maintain a good pace. If you are a less frequent walker than we are you may have to add a little to the timings.

Maps
This website is for the casual walker who may not have good map reading skills. The walks are described so that a map should not be necessary, the instructions and the photos should suffice. However we are gradually adding maps to the walks using Lancashire County Council's Mario system (Maps and Related Information Online) for which we are very grateful. The map(s) will open in separate window(s). Copyright allows you to print them off for personal use. The easiest way to print the map is to right click on it then click on select all. Right click again then click copy. Open a program such as word and paste the map. Printing is then done in the normal manner.

It has been our habit to have a pub lunch to break our walks.
It must be pointed out that alcohol and fell walking do not really go together and care should be exercised. Nevertheless we enjoy our pub lunches and have included details of the pubs, their food and of course any cask ales that they serve.

The Campaign for Real Ale group CAMRA is in our opinion the most successful consumer group in the country. Here are links to the local branches.

Lancashire Camra

West Lancashire Camra

East Lancashire Camra

For more walks in Lancashire visit the official website of the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board.

or go directly to their list of walks .

Another useful site with a list of organised walks is South Ribble Borough Council or go directly to their list of organised walks and scroll down to the list of attachments.
For information about the  Morecambe, Lancaster and Lune Valley areas go to their offical online visitor guide.

Equipment
Some of our walks are shorter low level walks where sensible footwear and a raincoat would suffice but for most walks - especially those with hills-  walking boots are essential. It is not necessary to spend a great deal of money unless you intend to do a great deal of walking. Even then it is not necessary to spend a fortune. Waterproofs are essential though again it is not essential to spend a great deal. Warm clothing in winter is obvious but even in summer it is necessary when gaining any altitude e.g Pendle Hill, Leck Fell, Ward Stone etc. Always take a bottle of water with you.

Disclaimer
We have done our best to ensure that the walks are accurate and up to date but we are enthusiastic amateurs not professionals. We will continue to check our walks but the reader must use his/her own common sense to ensure his/her own safety and comfort.

Please feel free to contact us at any time via our contacts page . We are always open to new ideas and constructive criticism