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Walk up Pendle Hill from Barley

By Dave Roberts   

on February 24, 2018    5/5 (2)

Posted as a walk in – England, Europe, Forest of Bowland

Walk up Pendle Hill from Barley

Route Essentials

Route Summary

Popular walk to the summit of Pendle Hill.

Distance below is for the ascent only.

See the end of the article for local information about parking, public transport facilities, pubs and cafes.

Distance

3.45 km

Ascent

330 m

Time

2.5 hours

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Start Location

Village of Barley

Difficulty

Moderate Walk

Hazards

Summit is over 500m and needs care in hill mist

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?
Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need. 

Walk up Pendle Hill from Barley Ordnance Survey Map and GPX File Download

View the full route map

Download file for GPS

Walk up Pendle Hill from Barley

Pendle Hill in the Forest of Bowland AONB is a popular hill, and at 557 metres in height provides a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. This walk from the village of Barley is one of the more popular routes up, but it can also be climbed from various other driections. From Barley, you can also ascend Pendle Hill via the Ogden Reservoirs and Ogden Clough. There’s also an 11km circular walk up Pendle Hill from Downham, with a downloadable pdf file at this link. You can also ascend from the Nick of Pendle – with a route available here.

Why is it called Pendle Hill? This is a rare triply tautological name – basically meaning Hill Hill Hill. It was known as Penhul in the 13th Century, with Pen from the old Cumbric, and hull being old english for hill. You can guess where the final Hill came from!

Pendle Hill is best known for the trials of the Pendle Witches in 1612. Twelve individuals were accused of murder by witchcraft with only one of the accused found not guilty, one died in prison while 10 were executed for witchcraft. The accused were not all women, with 2 men also among those tried.  In 1652, the founder of the Quakers – George Fox reputedly had a vision on the summit that was instrumental in founding his religious movement.

It’s recommended that you start from the car park that can be found at BB12 9JX – which has ample room. This post code will take you to the village, but some common sense will then be required to find the actual car park which is well signposted. There’s a cafe here and toilets. Visitors to Barley aren’t short of choice of pubs either with the choice of the Barley Mow and the Pendle Inn both in the village.

The walk up Pendle Hill is a short, steep yomp with the initial section section following the Pendle Way and ascending steadily. You’ve then got a steeper ascent along the Pendle Hill Steps which bring you up to the flat summit plateau.

For more information, Download the Pendle Hill walk PDF that can be found on Visit Lancashire’s Walk Page.

Local Information and Recommended Maps and Guidebooks

Route Summary:

Popular walk to the summit of Pendle Hill.

Distance below is for the ascent only.

Route Start Location: Village of Barley

Distance
 Ascent
 Time
3.45 km 330 m 2.5 hours

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Activivity Type: Moderate Walk

Summits and Places on this Route

Facilities

Two pubs, toilets and a cafe in Barley

Hazards

Summit is over 500m and needs care in hill mist

Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need.

Parking : BB12 9JX

Large car park in village centre – paid for

Public Transport:

Traveline for UK Public Transport

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?

Recommended Maps: 

Guidebooks:

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Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts founded Walk Eryri in 2004, with the aim of providing routes that are off the beaten track. Walk Eryri is now part of Mud and Routes which continues to provide more off beat routes and walks in Snowdonia and beyond. Dave has been exploring the hills of Eryri for over thirty years, and is a qualified Mountain Leader. Dave also established Walk up Snowdon, Walk up Scafell Pike and Walk up Ben Nevis just to mention a few.

More Posts by Dave Roberts

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