Barley - Rimington - Barley

Graeme Linford

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Much of this walk is in Lancashire Witch Country and if one has read Ainsworth's excellent but largely fictional accounts of the Lancashire witches, one cannot help but feel the brooding effect of Pendle Hill looking down on the villages and hamlets in the superstitious age of the 17th Century.

Another book of the area is "Mist over Pendle" which is more a romance than an historical novel, but not a bad read. Take a quick look, either before or after the walk, at Newchurch just outside Barley. The Church of St Mary dating from 1529 is interesting; note the eye of God carved into the church wall to ward off evil, evidence of the superstitions of those days. Some of the characters mentioned in the various books on the subject are buried in the churchyard. A shop in the village carries a number of books and novelties on the subject of witches.

However, not to dwell too much on the darker side, the hymn tune Rimington is named after this village. Barley has a good restaurant in the Barley Mow and the Pendle Inn provides good pub food.

England - North England - Lancashire - Pennines

Features

Cafe, Great Views, Moor, Play Area, Pub, Tea Shop, Toilets, Wildlife, Woodland

6/14/2013 - mark archer

Great walk!Dropping down to Twiston Mill along side the stream from WP12 was delightful, as was the view from the top of Smithy Fold. One or two changes - At WP5 it is easier to follow the wall up to a new kissing gate then immediately turn back on yourself left and then follow the line of trees up to Windy Harbour. At WP12 the ruined building is now renovated.

2/2/2010 - Adrian Perkins

Many thanks to Gary for drawing our attention to the incorrect height gain figure. I have altered this to 424 metres. Adrian (Admin)

2/2/2010 - Gary Crossley

30/01/2010. Lovely walk with lots of variety and great views. Ground conditions good for the majority of the walk. We would say that the height gain is more than 100m (feels more like 300m!). But would recommend as a great walk. Gary Crossley.

5/27/2008 - paul whittaker

First proper walk of the year, some great views and some lovely points to stop for some thing to eat so take your buttys and flask. I would put this walk at 300 minutes not 240 and the 100 meter height gained is a bit on the low side, but I will be doing this walk again before the year is out. Paul & Judith

7/3/2005 - Ian Fairnie

This is a great walk with some terrific views. Some of the small detail has changed - a couple of stiles have become Kissing Gates but the written directions are otherwise spot on. Definitely worth doing. Done 2/Jul/05 - IanF