At the water's edge of the River Ribble

April 2014

Bookended by Yorkshire walks on Friday and Sunday, for our Saturday walk we ventured west of the Pennines into Lancashire, parking at Marles Wood on the south bank of the Ribble and on the southern edge of the Forest of Bowland. We headed eastwards to cross to the north bank of the river on a delightful pedestrian suspension bridge
built in 1951.

We followed the Ribble for a couple more miles upstream, past its confluence first with the Calder and then with the Hodder. The Ribble is a majestic river, much enjoyed by fishermen, as well as by us and also JRR Tolkien, who spent time walking here when visiting his son at boarding school. On the opposite bank could be seen Hacking Hall, a fine Jacobean house built in the early 17th century and believed to have been the inspiration for Brandy Hall in Lord of the Rings.

The River Hodder used to form the boundary between the old county of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, although modern Lancashire now extends to both sides of the river.

We eventually parted company with the Ribble and headed north west towards the grounds of Stonyhurst College (Roman Catholic boarding school, founded 1593, on this site since 1794), which enjoys a commanding location looking over the broad river valley.

We called in for lunch at the very welcoming Shireburn Arms in Hurst Green (wood fires, good beer, good service and good food) before heading back down the hill to the river to retrace our outward route back to the car park, a total distance of just under nine miles.