"There is no hill in England like Pendle Hill" said Squire Nicholas Assheton of Downham in the Victorian novel "Lancashire Witches" That was back in 1848, and as you set off from one of the prettiest villages in Lancashire you cannot fail to be impressed by the hill. Yet though Pendle is still justly famous, we climbed its southern slopes in solitary splendour - everyone else had come to Downham to sit on the green in the sun.
LOCATION: North-east of Clitheroe
START: Downham signed from A59, village car park, toilets
Grid ref: SD785442 Postcode: BB7 4BL
DISTANCE: 6.5 miles
GRADE: Strenuous
TIME: 4.5 hours
MAP: Explorer OL - Forest of Bowland Or Explorer OL - South Pennines
REFRESHMENTS: Assheton Arms, Downham Tearooms (open in season)
EN ROUTE: Brast Clough, Scout Cairn, Worsaw Hill
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News