Lancashire Witches Walk
| Lancashire Witches Walk | |
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A tercet waymarker at Clitheroe Castle
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| Length | 51 mi (82 km) |
| Location | Lancashire, England |
| Trailheads | Barrowford, Lancaster |
| Use | Hiking |
Coordinates: 53°58′05″N 2°26′10″W / 53.968°N 2.436°W
The Lancashire Witches Walk is a 51-mile (82 km) long-distance footpath opened in 2012, between Barrowford and Lancaster, all in Lancashire, England. It starts at Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford before passing through the Forest of Pendle, the town of Clitheroe and the Forest of Bowland to finish at Lancaster Castle.
The route was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the trials of the Pendle witches. Ten cast iron tercet waymarkers, designed by Stephen Raw, each inscribed with a verse of a poem by the Poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy have been installed at sites along the way.
The route was designed by Ian Thornton-Bryar and John Sparshatt, following initial suggestions from Sue Flowers, the artistic director of the Lancashire-based arts organization, Green Close.
The sustainable 51-mile Long-Distance Walk commemorates the 400th Anniversary of the hanging of nine of the Lancashire Witches. Starting in Barrowford and finishing at Lancaster Castle, where the witches were tried, (which itself makes a fascinating visit) the walk follows the most believable route that the witches were taken, on their way to be sentenced and hung. Conveniently, the route also makes the best of a string of some of Lancashire’s best fells, using Slaidburn YHA as an ideal base, almost exactly halfway along. While the start-, finish- and mid-points are accessible by public transport, much of the rest is wonderfully remote, and most parts can afford magnificent views. Green Close, a rural arts organisation based in the village of Melling, organised the installation of 10 ½-tonne cast-iron installations on or near the path, embossed with stanzas of the walk’s poem, written by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, all funded by Lottery money. The route has already attracted use by seven walking festivals (One by Clitheroe, two by Bowland and four by The Pendle Walking Festival), but remains remote and peaceful. One originally Lancaster-based charity has used it to raise £5,200, by getting 50 youngsters to walk the northern half on midsummer's days.
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