Manchester Weekend Walkers lead public transport walks into fantastic countryside all year round.
Train-based walk
Leader: Matthew
Meet Point: Near the ticket barriers, or on the platform, at Victoria station. Alternatively, meet the group on the train or at the station in Clitheroe.
Transport to Walk Start: 09:43 train from Manchester Victoria (final destination Clitheroe).
Suggested Ticket: Clitheroe Off-Peak Day Return £13.70. Alternatively, at time of writing, a limited number of advance single tickets were available for £5 each way.
Walk Start: Clitheroe railway station at 11:05.
Waypoints: High Moor, Little Mearley Hall, Angram Green, Pile of Stones, Big End, Ogden Clough, Apronfull Hill, Nick of Pendle, Wymondhouses, Pendleton Village, Oak Wood, Lower Standen, Primrose Community Nature Reserve, Clitheroe Castle.
Return Services: depart Clitheroe for Victoria at 17:21 (if walk has finished by this time), 18:23, 19:16, 20:23, 21:23 and 22:39, taking approximately 1hr 15mins for the journey.
Extra: No toilets at Walk Start or en route. There are several pubs we could visit at the end of the walk, but the one nearest the route and the station is called The Castle, and that is the one we will probably call in at first.
For the first hour we are walking across flat fields towards Pendle Hill. Then the ascent begins and is very steep, taking us all the way to the top of the moor in about an hour. Once we are at the summit the moor is flat with great views in all directions, and almost all the climbing for this route is done. The lunch break will be at The Shelter, just after the Pile of Stones. After the trig point (557m above sea level) we head west on a very good path along Ogden Clough, which eventually takes us off the moor via a gentle descent to a car park at the Nick of Pendle. Then we are back on regular footpaths again that take us through the pretty village of Pendleton on the way back to Clitheroe. The final approach back to the station takes us through a nature reserve and then the grounds of Clitheroe Castle.
