Countrygoer Walks in the Forest of Bowland

Dunsop Bridge to Chipping

Summary Information

Start point:

• Dunsop Bridge village green, by Post Office.
• GR: 660 501.
• Buses: Bowland Transit (B10/B11, B1) from Clitheroe, Slaidburn and Settle.

Finish point:

• Chipping (bus stop at Kirklands terminus).
• GR: 622 433.
• Buses: 4 to Longridge and Preston; For Clitheroe, take bus 5 from Longridge.

  Distance/Time

  • 12½ km or 7¾ miles
  .
  • 4-4½ hours.

  Terrain

  • Field paths (some not well defined) and tracks.
  • Total of 300m of ascent.
  • Muddy after wet weather.

  OS Explorer

  • OL41
    'Forest of Bowland and Ribblesdale'

  Walk Description

  1. From the bus stop at the Post Office, cross the bridge and take the next road right by the memorial cross. Follow the road past the cottages and wood and past the farm buildings and sheds turn left just past the cattle grid; a small bridleway sign is on an electricity pylon. The path goes round the back of the farm, along a wall and then through the centre of the field (note the waymarked post ahead) before joining the road ahead.
  2. Turn right onto the road, and take the next left over the bridge, (signed as Hareden). Follow the lane over two more bridges, passing Hareden Farm, to take the signposted bridleway left. Follow the waymark posts (North Lancashire Bridleway) up the hill, keeping in the direction indicated. As you ascend, the path goes through a gate, past a small plantation, and into open pasture; further up, keep the shallow valley to your left, ignoring a faint track that crosses the dip.
  3. A grassy track appears from the right and leads up to a gate and stile, and the route follows the track which levels out and becomes less distinct past a waymark post. Bend right and follow the saddle top towards a stone wall.
  4. Go over the stile and turn left, to follow the track which bends left towards the wood. The track goes through a wood and waymarks lead through the wood before the track becomes more defined and ascends again, before going through a coniferous wood. The track descends to a tarmac lane, turn left to follow the bridleway.
  5. At the "T" junction turn right, which is signed as a footpath. The track goes through the middle of a farm and leads down to a footbridge over a stream. Past the hen huts, turn left before the fence and 50m later go over the stile, then follow the direction of the signpost cross the fields to Dinckling Green Farm.
  6. Turn right after the barn onto a track, after around 100m take the left fork marked with a yellow footpath arrow. Go through the gate, following the fence, through the next gate by a spring. At the field corner, turn sharp left to go through the metal gate, to follow the top field boundary marked by fences and trees. Past the old stone gate posts, go through a gate just below a stone outcrop. Continue in the same direction past old gateposts towards the farm, as the path descends via a stile and a footbridge over a stream.
  7. Take the tarmac lance ahead uphill past the back of Lickhurst Farm. Past the farm take the track which forks right, signed as the North Lancashire Bridleway. The track continues for a little under 2km (or just over 1 mile) as it ascends gradually, crosses a stream and ends by a road.
  8. Next, take the stile on the left, to cross the field at an angle of about 1 o'clock, to pass the hillock to the right, over a stile up to stone wall. Turn right to follow the wall and fence down towards a farm.
  9. Once in the farmyard, go through the gate to the right of the house and head straight ahead down the slope to the stream, to cross a footbridge which appears on the left.
  10. The path bends right and ascends the slope, before veering at an 11 o'clock angle across a field toward the line of pylons and a stile ahead. Follow the fence downhill all the way to the stile. Turn left onto the road, past the chair factory, to continue into Chipping village.

  About the Walk

  The walk enters the approach to the Trough of Bowland before climbing above the Hodder valley to follow a route mid way between the valley and the ridge of the Bowland fells above. The final stretch below Wolf Fell is on the edge of the moorland before descending through via narrow valley and fields into the village of Chipping.

  Dunsop Bridge

  Gateway to the Trough of Bowland, the Ordnance Survey recognises Dunsop Bridge as the nearest village to the exact centre of Great Britain, with a public phone box commemorating the fact. Opposite the post office and café is the village green, frequented by ducks eager to relieve picnickers of spare food.

  Chipping

  Lying below the steep slopes of Wolf Fell, Chipping is an attractive village, having won best kept village competition over the years; it has a history stretching for at least 1,000 years. Berry's chair making factory, established in the 1840s, is located along Chipping Brook, where up to seven mills were active during the industrial revolution. The post office is regarded as being the oldest continually used shop in England. The Waterwheel restaurant and craft centre is on the site of an old corn mill.