Ogden Reservoirs and Fell Wood circular 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:	3.5 miles (5.6 km)
Grade:	2-C

---

Leave the car park at Barley, and turn right to towards Barley centre over the bridge to the T-junction. At the T-junction, go straight across and pass down the road towards Barley Green down the side of Barley village hall. After about one hundred yards, turn right just past the farmhouse and attached garage, and pass through the wooden gate a few yards further on before proceeding along a gravel track.

The track slowly rises, and when it becomes less distinct, follows just to the right of a small ‘v’ shaped impression towards the tree and wooden way marker beside it. Upon reaching that, the path swings around to the right for the gate in the wall ahead. As the path climbs, Barley and Aitken Wood come into view behind in an ever widening landscape.

Pass through the gate, and continue along the track, at first slowly climbing, on over a wooden stile, across a filed, over a second stile, and on towards the corner of the wood. Here pass through the gate or the stile, then by the side of the wood and over another stile towards the wooden way marker a further seventy-five yards on. Over to the right are picturesque panoramic views of Pendle Hill.

Pass the way marker and keep on the same line towards the lane ahead. Upon meeting the lane, walk straight across it continuing the same line to go up a track signed "Ogden Hill" on the right hand side of a line of trees.

As the track approaches a wall, the track swings around to the right. Leave the track here on this bend and turn left, and without passing through the gate, keep to the left hand side of the wall. Continue by the side of the wall, across the field with Fell Wood ahead on the hillside opposite. The path keeps by the side of the wall, as it crosses a tumbled down wall and then descends down to a track below.

Upon reaching the track, turn right along it and on through the wooden stile for a few hundred yards towards Upper Ogden Reservoir. Climb over the stone stile built in to the small piece of walling, and follow the track a further fifty yards to reach the corner of the reservoir.

Here, turn left along the wall in front it, and keep straight on to climb the few steps up to a stile, which leads out onto the open hillside. Over the stile, the path climbs steadily heading initially slightly to the left. After a few hundred yards, the path approaches a wall, which is crossed over by way of a wooden stile.

The path from here heads slightly downhill towards the top edge of Fell Wood. Pass over the next wall by way of a stone stile built in to the wall, and then follow the path around the right hand edge of the wood. After passing a wooden way marker, the path starts to descend to pass over another wall at the edge of the wood. A few yards over this wall, turn left over the wooden stile (marked with the Pendle Way yellow arrow) and start to descend by the side of the wood.

Just before reaching where the wall turns ninety degrees right ahead, turn left over a wooden stile, again marked with the yellow arrow, to enter into the woods.

The path initially heads straight away from the wall and is very well marked all the way down through the wood. At times on the descent, wooden boards help keep you out of the boggy sections! The path leaves the wood and heads down and over the footbridge below.

Once over the footbridge, turn right and then left a few yards later to pass to the right of a tall stone wall. A few yards further, pass over a bridge and then out through a wooden gate to turn right along the road. Over to the right is Lower Ogden Reservoir.

Keep on the track as it passes down the side of the reservoir, at one point passing through a wooden gate by the side of a cattle grid. As the reservoir ends, the track, now metalled, descends down the side of some trees, before bending around to the left past a few houses. Keep on past the water treatment works building, through a few more buildings to arrive back at the village hall. Cross back over the road into Barley road, and turn left fifty yards further on back in to the car park.

 

Click here for Disclaimer

 Back to Index 

 Copyright © Walks4all Limited 2010