Aitken Wood from Barley

Parking:	Parking is on the public car park in the centre of Barley - £1 / day (correct at time of publication). There are toilets on the car park and a café which is open most days of the year. See map of starting point
Directions:	Get road directions to the parking place here
Map:	Ordnance Survey – Explorer EX041 (Forrest of Bowland and Ribblesdale) See map of walk area Buy this map - in association with Aqua3
Distance:	2.25 miles (3.6 km)
Grade:	2-C

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Leave the car park at Barley passing between the toilets and the café, to pass along the gravelled path towards heading towards the Pendle Inn. Follow the path over a footbridge and turn right alongside a children’s playground. Pass out through the gap in the wall and continue ahead over the cobbles towards the Barley Mow restaurant following the yellow way marker sign for the "Pendle Hill Circular Walk". Up to the left here is the first real sighting of Pendle Hill.

Keep on the road past the village tea rooms and then on past Barley Methodist Church. A few yards further on, as the road bends around to the left, turn right by a large tree down a road that is signed as a footpath, and as a private road warning that there is no public vehicular access. This lane soon becomes unmetalled and after swinging around to the right starts to climb enclosed on both sides by walls.

The track climbs steadily and starts to flatten just before reaching Lower Black Moss Reservoir. Up to the right Aitken Wood can be seen, along with the mast that is almost reached at the highest point of this walk. Keep on the track passing alongside the reservoir, and shortly after passing some railings on the left, as the reservoir ends, the track bends around to the right and slowly starts to climb.

Just as the track bends back around to the left and flattens, pass through a wooden gate. Just through this gate head diagonally right to pass through the wooden kissing gate following the footpath sign for White Hough. Straightway, this track begins to climb towards Aitken Wood ahead.

A bench after a couple of hundred yards provides excellent views of both reservoirs in the foreground being overlooked by the large mass of Pendle Hill. Keep on this track through the trees, and shortly after it flattens, a mast can be seen ahead just the far side of the wood. As this becomes visible, there is a footpath sign on the left hand side of the track pointing down through the woods, signed "Concessionary Footpath - Whitehough Barley".

Follow this path, sometimes muddy and slippery in places as it winds its way down through the trees. In the woodland birds such as: blue tits; coal tits; robins; blackbirds and goldcrest, can all be seen at various times of the year. After just over five minutes walking a wooden kissing gate is reached at the edge of the wood.

Pass through the kissing gate and turn right following the "Barley ½ mile" signpost. Follow along the line of the fence passing the yellow wooden way marker towards the gate ahead. Pass through the metal gate and then after a further ten yards at the signpost, turn left following the sign for "Barley via Whitehough". Head downhill parallel to the wall on the left heading for the trees ahead.

Upon reaching the trees pass through the wooden kissing gate next to the wall and keep on in the same direction following the wire fence the few yards to the other side of this small wood. Pass through the kissing gate following the yellow arrow pointing straight ahead, and then turn right after a few yards down a narrow path heading for a gap in the wall below. Pass through the gap in the wall and keep on this fenced gravel path until reaching the wall. Climb over the wall by way of the stone steps built into it and turn right along the wide gravelled path, heading now back towards Barley.

The path with a wall on the right hand side initially passes by Slacks Wood, and follows the course of the river to the left. Keep on the path as it winds its way (cobbled for a while) through the old weavers’ cottages at Narrowgates. As the cobbles end, the path passes by part of the old mill itself along with the lone surviving chimney. A few minutes walk further on, take the right hand fork off the main path and head the final few yards back into the car park.

 

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