The Lancashire Witches Walk
The Lancashire Witches Walk is Long-Distance Walk of 51 miles in length which commemorates the four hundredth Anniversary of the infamous Lancashire Witch Trials.
The notorious Pendle witch trials of 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history. Twelve people from the area around Pendle Hill in Lancashire were charged with the murder, by witchcraft.
The walk starts at the Pendle Heritage Centre at Barrowford (SD862398). The centre is set in a range of tastefully restored Grade II Listed farm buildings and .consists of a museum, art gallery, gift shop, tea-room, an eighteenth century walled garden, cruck barn with farmyard animals and tourist information.
The trail passes through the charming village of Waddington, one of the most photographed villages in Lancashire, with the delightful Coronation Gardens (pictured left) and its medieval hall, Waddington Hall, where the Lancastrian King Henry VI once stayed during the Wars of the Roses.
The Lancashire Witches Walk also passes through the characterful village of Slaidburn, a settlement retaining much olde Worlde charm, which boasts a fifteenth church, Heritage Centre and attractive village green and tea shop on the banks of the River Hodder.
The walk finishes at historic Lancaster Castle (SD473619) (right), scene of the witches trial and where they were hung in 1612. Crossing the scenic Forest of Bowland, the walk covers some stunning Moorland scenery, thirty carved brick waymarkers mark the route.
The walk has been developed as part of the Lancashire Witches 400 Project (LW400) an ambitious arts programme based on the believed route the ‘witches’ took from Pendle to Lancaster, with site-specific works along it.
Ordnance Survey Maps:
OS Landranger: 97, 102, 103 OS
Explorer: 2, 21, 41, 287, 296 OS
Explorer Active: 2, 21, 41, 287, 296
Follow the Country Code
*Be safe- plan ahead and follow any signs.
Protect plants and animals and take your litter home.
Keep dogs under close control
Leave gates and property as you found them