Lostock Hall to Howick Hall Wood and the Ribble

A nice walk if you fancy leaving the car at home. Mainly quiet lanes and footpaths. Some off lead opportunities. A little under 10 miles so quite tough.

Our walk started on Leyland Road and down our usual route, Bee Lane. Following the Lane to its end we made our way on to Kingsfold Drive, Pope Lane and out on to the roundabout on Golden Way. A muddy Bridleway led us alongside this busy road to the big roundabout (near Booths). Here, we turned on to a footpath leading off alongside Acorn Close, which led to the long straight footpath and road of Howick Moor Lane. This is really obvious if you look at the map and not hard to find.

Crossing Liverpool Road (care here) we made our way down Howick Cross Lane and in to Howick Hall Woods, managed by the Wildlife Trust. This was great, noone else around and a good spot for a mad run around. Nearly exhausted, we continued down Howick Cross Lane, past the electricity distribution complex, and to its end. The road turns into a footpath across fields, leading to the high embankment of the Ribble. We followed this downstream for a mile or so before following a nice little track over a stile, which led us back round to the bottom of Howick Cross Lane.

We retraced our steps, ending with a mad run on the field next to Penwortham Community Centre where, by chance, we bumped in to our equally mad neighbours dogs. Having kept our dog reasonably clean for a 9 mile walk, he ended up absolutely covered in mud from head to paw and, as usual, a shower was in order when we got home.

This was a long but enjoyable walk with plenty of variety and not too much walking near busy roads. Good for a sunny day.

Click here for a map of the area. The route is pretty obvious if you look for the long straight of Howick Moor Lane.

Click here for a link to the Wildlife Trust site containing information about Howick Hall Woods

Doggy rating 6/10