A circuit of Pendle Hill

Pendle Hill is like a magnet. Its distinctive profile draws our eyes from each of our regular walking routes. It takes a little longer to reach than the West Pennines so we don't visit that often, and most of our visits have involved a quick sprint up and down from the Nic of Pendle.

A couple of weeks ago saw a lovely sunny afternoon after a morning of seemingly endless rain. It was a perfect day to visit Pendle Hill.

Unbeknown to us our visit coincided with the Pendle Witches walk, to commemorate the famous trials. In some ways that was a blessing as it meant we took a new route to avoid the crowds.

From the Nic of Pendle we took the lower path up on to Spence Moor. The views over Burnley and beyond are great and the ground not too bad underfoot. An incredibly rough and steep descent to Ogden Reservoir followed before the long climb up to Pendle Hill. By the time we reached the top it was relatively quiet, but nothing like the solitude of Spence Moor.

From the summit we headed over faint tracks across Pendle Moor and Mearley Moor. The ground was rough and very boggy in parts, but the peace and views over the Ribble Valley make it worthwhile.

Eventually we joined the road near the ski slope and made our way back to the car.

It was an unexpectedly rough walk, but great all the same. Sheep graze throughout so the flexi lead came in handy.