Pendle Hill from Barley
Pendle Hill stands alone above the Lancashire plain, so the summit view is enormous, and the hill carries the weight of the 1612 witch trials in every place name around it.
A 13.6km loop from Barley over the summit of Pendle Hill, at 557m the great whaleback of east Lancashire, with around 510m of climbing. Steep moorland running with a huge view and a heavy history.
Pendle Hill stands alone above the Lancashire plain, so the summit view is enormous, and the hill carries the weight of the 1612 witch trials in every place name around it.
The route
Start from Barley and climb Pendle Hill, looping over the summit and back through the moorland cloughs to close a 13.6km circuit with around 510m of climbing. The direct climb to the trig point is steep and lung-bursting; the return through Ogden Clough is gentler and quieter. The trackpoints run right over the 557m summit, so this is a genuine peak day despite the modest distance.
The summit
Pendle Hill is not part of a range but a single great whaleback, which is exactly why the view from the top is so vast: the Lancashire plain, the Bowland fells, the Yorkshire Dales and, on a clear day, the sea and the Lakeland skyline. The summit plateau is broad and exposed, marked by the trig point and a shelter. The hill is steeped in the story of the Pendle witches, tried in 1612, and the villages around it trade on that history, but on the top it is the wind and the space that dominate.
Why it works
This is the local classic and a rite of passage for runners across east Lancashire. The ground is a mix of stone-pitched path, open moor and boggy clough, honest underfoot and steep on the main climb. Navigation is straightforward on the popular lines but needs care on the plateau and in the cloughs when cloud is down, so carry a map. Barley is the natural base, with a car park, cafe, toilets and pub, and the loop links into the wider Pendle Way if you want more. Save the summit for a clear day to get the view, and expect wet feet on the moor whatever the forecast. Get it on a clear evening and the run off the summit as the plain lights up below is one to remember.
The summit plateau is broad, exposed and disorientating in mist, and Ogden Clough holds boggy ground, so carry a map and compass. The direct climb is steep and slick when wet. Grouse shooting affects the moor between August and December.
Summits on this route
Safety on this route
- No signal? Text 999 — pre-register first: text register to 999
- Tell someone your route and expected return time before you head out
Leave No Trace
- Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.
- Please respect the countryside and all its inhabitants.
- Dogs on leads near livestock, and around ground-nesting birds from March to July.
- Gates as you find them — open or closed, leave it that way for the farmer and the next runner.
- Take it all home — wrappers, peel, tissue, the lot. It doesn't count as biodegradable if you can still see it.
- Stick to the path where the ground either side is wet, planted, or nesting habitat.
Common questions
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