Lancashire
159 km / 99 miles
(click to enlarge)
The Eastern Loop is the fourth and final part of the Lancashire Way. At just short of 100 miles, and with an ascent of over 14,000 feet, this is the most difficult of the four loops. Whilst it has only one summit above 500m, Boulsworth Hill (517m) on the border with Yorkshire, it is much more of an 'up and down' route. It is estimated that it will take on average just over 44 hours of walking so could be completed in 5-7 days.
It is a little different from the other three loops: it is dominated by moorland walking with great vistas and of course has a good deal of interesting history. It is more of a summer walk as East Lancashire can be very wet and therefore boggy underfoot out of season. It uses parts of the Rossendale and Pendle Ways, which are well established walks in this part of the county.
The loop begins and ends in Burnley, arguably the 'capital' of East Lancashire, which helps with logistics as it's easy to reach with good rail and road links.
There are seventeen stages in total. The first four stages make their way north to Barnoldswick, linking with the Central Loop at Newchurch-in-Pendle, and visiting Barrowford and Weets Hill with super views across the Ribble Valley.
The walk then begins to turn south and from Earby there are over 30 miles of moorland walking, following firstly the Yorkshire and then the Greater Manchester borders to the village of Whitworth, the most south-easterly point of Lancashire. On the way there are beautiful villages to visit such as Wycoller and Hurstwood and the Panoptican - the "Atom".
From here it's west across wind-turbine country and on to the three reservoirs near Edgworth. A brief foray is made into Greater Manchester to visit the iconic Peel Tower before turning north and heading back to Burnley via another Panoptican the "Singing Ringing Tree" and Towneley Hall.
Detailed route information is available on the Lancashire Way website (link below).
Details:
Path Type: |
Other Paths |
Attributes: |
Other Paths Challenging Moorland |
Start and Finish: |
SD837321 -
Manchester Road, Burnley, Lancashire
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Open Date: |
2022 |
Web Sites: |
Lancashire Way
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