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.
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Mostly on runnable ground, but most runners still walk the steepest climbs.
A 16.2km 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 16.2km circuit with around 558m 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.
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Make your route print →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.
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Common questions
- Most runners complete Pendle Hill from Barley in 2 hours 10 minutes to 3 hours, depending on pace and conditions.
Run by us· last checked July 2026
Jason Millward has run this route and written it up from the ground. How we check routes
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Runner reports
Nobody's logged a run here yet. If you get out on it, a few lines about how it went helps the next person plan their day.
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VERY HARD
MODERATE
MODERATERaces on this ground
Full race calendar →Races starting within 20 km of the Pendle Hill from Barley start, nearest first. If you are entered for one, this route is the rehearsal.
15
May
2027
Glorious Gargrave
Gargrave, North Yorkshire · It's Grim Up North Running · 11 miles away
A flat out-and-back on the Leeds & Liverpool towpath at Gargrave on the edge of the Dales, 5k to marathon, six and a half hours. A tougher towpath than most, they say.
Entries open
£18–£43
22
May
2027
Panopticons Ultra
Corporation Park, Blackburn · Run JMC · 11 miles away
Fifty-two kilometres point to point across East Lancashire, Blackburn to Trawden, by way of the four Panopticons.
Entries open
27
Aug
2027
UTL 100
Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire · Ultra Tour Lancashire · 12 miles away
A hundred miles round the red rose county from the geographical centre of Britain.
EXPERT
Entries open
£209
28
Aug
2027
UTL 38
Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire · Ultra Tour Lancashire · 12 miles away
Thirty-eight miles of the Forest of Bowland, round Stocks Reservoir and Gisburn Forest.
EXPERT
Entries open
£80
6
Feb
2027
Skipton Sweetie Skedaddle
Craven Leisure Centre, Gargrave Road, Skipton · It's Grim Up North Running · 12 miles away
The Leeds & Liverpool towpath out of Skipton, flat and fast, 10k to ultra with a six-and-a-half-hour cut-off and sweets, chocolate and cake at the finish. Road shoes suggested.
Entries open
£29–£43
5
Aug
2027
Skipton Rock Up n' Run
Craven Leisure Centre, Gargrave Road, Skipton · It's Grim Up North Running · 12 miles away
A midweek summer evening 5k or 10k on the Leeds & Liverpool towpath from Craven Leisure Centre in Skipton. Register from six, pay on the night, jumble medal and hot food after.
Entries open
£17–£29