Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0
Free guide · by Spring Cottage, Trawden
The Ultimate Guide to Pendle, Lancashire and the Yorkshire Dales
Witches, Brontës, moorland walks, pubs and days out, from Trawden and Pendle Hill to Skipton, gateway to the Dales.
Witches, Brontës, moorland walks and a village that owns itself. A free guide to Pendle, Lancashire and the Yorkshire Dales, written by locals in Trawden and checked October 2026.
Free to print and share unchanged with credit (text and design CC BY-ND 4.0; photos keep their own licences).
Welcome
This is a free guide to one of the most interesting corners of the north of England: the stone villages, moors and market towns where Lancashire meets Yorkshire, between Pendle Hill and Haworth Moor.
It's the guide we wish we'd been handed when we first came here. You'll find the true story of the Pendle witches, the ruined hall that Charlotte Brontë is believed to have used for Jane Eyre, the village that bought its own pub, twelve walks (most with a free printable route leaflet), honest food and drink tips, rainy-day plans, a dog owner's page, an events calendar and the practical bits: buses, parking, weather and the Countryside Code.
Whether you are staying with us, staying somewhere else or just passing through, please use it, print it and share it. It's free, there's no sign-up, and you're welcome to share it unchanged with credit (text and design under CC BY-ND 4.0; photos keep their own licences, credited where they appear).
How to use this guide. Distances and drive times are approximate and measured from Trawden village. Opening times, prices and bus timetables change, so check the linked websites before you set off. Everything here was checked in October 2026.
Trawden: the village that owns itself
Trawden sits at the foot of Boulsworth Hill, a mile and a half from Colne, right where Lancashire's green fields give way to the high moors of the Yorkshire border. It's a small stone village with a big reputation.
The village that bought itself back
When the community centre faced closure, villagers took it on in 2014. Then came the shop, and the library, which has the post office inside, all run by a small army of volunteers. In 2021 the last pub, the Trawden Arms, came up for sale. The village had already listed it as an asset of community value, so a community benefit society sold shares to more than 400 people, raised about half a million pounds and completed the purchase on 29 October 2021. The BBC reported that Trawden is believed to be the only village in the UK where all four (pub, shop, library and community centre) are in community hands.
In April 2022 the Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide named Trawden the best place to live in the North West, asking: "Is this the most community-spirited village in the country?" On a very wet 10 April 2024 the Princess Royal came to see for herself, visiting the pub, the community centre, the shop and the library.
Spend a penny here. A pint at the Trawden Arms or a loaf from the community shop on Church Street helps keep the whole village going.
A royal forest with no trees
The parish is still called Trawden Forest, but "forest" meant hunting ground, not woodland. By 1296 there were great cattle farms, or vaccaries, at Wycoller, Winewall and Beardshaw, with the land between kept for deer. The forest later passed to the Crown, and in 1507 it was let to the tenants and became farmland. In the 1600s yeoman farmers began building solid stone houses, hand-loom weaving followed, and in the 1800s cotton mills were strung along Trawden Brook. Look out for mullioned windows, gritstone quoins and miles of drystone wall.
Jam, poems and folklore
In the middle of the village a little Poetry Garden of local verse, some of it in Lancashire dialect, grew up on the site of an old public toilet. Beside it sits a big black cast-iron jam pan whose plaque says, carefully, "Jam pan possibly Hartleys circa 1900". The link is real: Sir William Pickles Hartley, born in Colne in 1846, founded Hartley's jam, and when he died in 1922 he was brought home to be buried at Trawden.
Up on Boulsworth Hill, the summit is called Lad Law. Victorian antiquarians guessed the name came from an old word for sacrifice, and the weathered boulders picked up names like the "Druid's Slaughter Stone". It's a good tale for the top; the hollows are almost certainly natural. Over the hill, local legend tells of a spectral black dog in the lanes, the Guytrash, the same northern spirit Charlotte Brontë used in Jane Eyre.
Sources
BBC News 22 Jun 2021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-57568017 · CAMRA, Trawden Arms https://camra.org.uk/pubs/trawden-arms-trawden-175820 · Lancs Live 8 Apr 2022 https://www.lancs.live/whats-on/whats-on-news/beautiful-lancashire-village-named-best-23610775 · Lancashire Lieutenancy https://www.lancashire-lieutenancy.org/the-princess-royals-visit-to-lancashire-in-april/ · Victoria County History, Trawden https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp548-552 · Pendle Council, Trawden Forest Conservation Area Appraisal https://www.pendle.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/6052/trawden_forest_conservation_area_character_appraisal.pdf · Geograph, jam pan plaque https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3414550 · Wikipedia, William Pickles Hartley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pickles_Hartley · Wikipedia, Boulsworth Hill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulsworth_Hill · Lancs Live 10 Oct 2021 https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/haunted-lancashire-village-traffic-banned-21721074
The Pendle witches: what really happened
Forget pointed hats. The real story of the Pendle witches is about poverty, feuding families, fear and a frightening legal system, and almost everything we know about it comes from one book: The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, written by the court clerk Thomas Potts and published in 1613.
It began on the road to Trawden
In March 1612, according to her own confession as Potts records it, a young woman called Alizon Device met a pedlar from Halifax, John Law, on the highway at Colne Field, near Colne. She asked him for pins; he wouldn't open his pack. Moments later he collapsed, probably from a stroke. Alizon, who seems to have believed she had cursed him, "went begging in Trawden Forrest that day". Potts gives the date as the eighteenth of March; some historians prefer 21 March.
Two families, one magistrate
The local magistrate, Roger Nowell, soon drew in two rival families, each headed by an elderly woman with a long reputation for witchcraft: Elizabeth Southerns, "Old Demdike", Alizon's grandmother, and Anne Whittle, "Old Chattox". On Good Friday, 10 April 1612, friends of the Demdike family met at Malkin Tower, Demdike's home; it was later claimed they had plotted to blow up Lancaster Castle, a story some historians think the magistrates invented. Nobody knows for certain where Malkin Tower stood. It is believed to have been near Newchurch-in-Pendle or at Blacko.
The trials
Jennet Preston of Gisburn, then in Yorkshire, was tried at York in July and hanged there. The rest were tried at Lancaster on 18 and 19 August 1612, where the star witness was Alizon's nine-year-old sister, Jennet Device, who gave evidence against her own mother, brother and sister. Nine of the Pendle accused were hanged at Lancaster on 20 August 1612; Alice Grey was found not guilty, and Old Demdike never came to trial: she died in the castle's gaol. With Jennet Preston, that is ten executions, one of the largest witch trials in English history.
See it for yourself. Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford tells the story and is the start of the 45-mile Pendle Witch Trail driving route to Lancaster Castle, where guided tours visit the courts and cells. Around Barley, the Pendle Sculpture Trail in Aitken Wood has ten plaques, one for each of the Pendle people who were hanged. At Newchurch-in-Pendle, look for the oval "Eye of God" carved on St Mary's tower.
Sources
Potts, The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches (1613), Project Gutenberg https://gutenberg.org/files/18253/18253-h/18253-h.htm · Wikipedia, Pendle witches (citing Sharpe, Hasted, Pumfrey) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendle_witches · Lancaster Castle https://www.lancastercastle.com/history-heritage/further-articles/the-pendle-witches · Visit Lancashire, Pendle Witch Trail https://www.visitlancashire.com/business-directory/pendle-witch-trail-lancaster-to-pendle · Visit Pendle, Pendle Sculpture Trail https://www.visitpendle.com/things-to-do/pendle-sculpture-trail · Wikipedia, St Mary's Church, Newchurch in Pendle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary's_Church,_Newchurch_in_Pendle
Wycoller and the Brontës
Hidden in a wooded valley just over the hill from Trawden, Wycoller feels like a village that time forgot, and in a sense it was. A busy hand-loom weaving hamlet in the late 1700s, it emptied as weavers left for the mills. Lancashire County Council bought it in 1973 and it is now a country park.
At its heart are the romantic ruins of Wycoller Hall, a late 16th-century manor house. Its last squire, Henry Owen Cunliffe, died heavily in debt in 1818, and the hall was slowly plundered for stone. It is believed to be the model for Ferndean Manor, where Mr Rochester retreats in Jane Eyre. Several old bridges cross Wycoller Beck, among them the single-slab Clam Bridge, possibly more than a thousand years old, and a humped packhorse bridge. Tradition says a spectral horseman in Stuart dress gallops to the hall on wild nights (local historians point out there never was a squire of the name the story gives).
Getting to Wycoller. Cars stop at the two pay-and-display car parks (Trawden Road and Haworth Road; £1 a day by card or phone in October 2026). Or walk in from Trawden on Walk 1. There are toilets and a picnic area. The old tearooms have closed, so pack a picnic, or call at the Old Rock Café in Trawden on the way home.
Over the moor to Haworth
Haworth, where Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë grew up in their father's parsonage and wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, is only about 25 minutes' drive from Trawden over the moor road. The parsonage is now the Brontë Parsonage Museum. The long-distance Brontë Way runs from Wycoller over the moor to Haworth, and our Walk 12 climbs to Top Withins, the lonely ruin long linked with Wuthering Heights. There's a Colne connection too: the first curate of Christ Church, Colne, the Reverend David Pryce, proposed to Charlotte in 1839. She turned him down.
Sources
Lancashire County Council, Wycoller Country Park https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/countryside/country-parks/wycoller-country-park · Wikipedia, Wycoller Hall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wycoller_Hall · Historic UK, Wycoller https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Wycoller-Lancashire · Brontë Parsonage Museum https://www.bronte.org.uk/the-lives-of-the-brontes · Wikipedia, Colne (Brontë Way) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colne · Place Pendle, Winewall walk (David Pryce) https://placependle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Winewall-print-friendly-1.pdf
Pendle Hill
You'll see Pendle Hill from all over the valley: a great isolated whaleback rising to 557 metres. In 1652 a young preacher, George Fox, climbed it. "I was moved of the Lord to go atop of it," he wrote, "and when I came atop of it I saw Lancashire sea." That vision is remembered as the beginning of the Quaker movement.
The classic climb starts from Barley (a 25-minute drive from Trawden on narrow lanes), and our Walk 11 follows it: past the Ogden reservoirs, up onto the summit and down the famous stone steps. For something gentler, walk from Barley up to Aitken Wood for the Pendle Sculpture Trail, about 3 miles there and back. There is no parking at the wood, so use the village car park.
Barley practicalities. The village car park (The Avenue) is pay and display, with toilets and The Cabin café alongside, and the Pendle Inn and Barley Mow in the village. It fills fast on sunny weekends: arrive early. Many people climb the hill at Halloween; it's busy, dark early and the top is exposed, so go prepared.
Sources
Quaker faith & practice 19.06 https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/passage/19-06/ · Wikipedia, Pendle Hill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendle_Hill · Let's Walk in Pendle, Sculpture Trail guide (no parking at Aitken Wood; about 3 miles) https://letswalkinpendle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/sculpture_trail_print_friendly_2019_v2.pdf · Pendle Council, The Avenue car park https://www.pendle.gov.uk/directory_record/137/the_avenue · Visit Lancashire, Barley Picnic Site https://www.visitlancashire.com/business-directory/barley-picnic-site
Colne, Foulridge and Barnoldswick
Colne
A mile and a half from Trawden, Colne is a hilltop market town at the end of the M65 and the end of the railway line from Preston. Its parish church, St Bartholomew's, dates from before 1122, when the market was held in the churchyard. By the 1400s the town was famous for a lightweight woollen cloth called kersey; cotton followed, and by 1891 there were 30 mills.
Colne's most famous son is Wallace Hartley, bandmaster of the Titanic, who led his band as the ship went down on 15 April 1912. His body was brought home, thousands lined the streets for his funeral, and in 1915 the town raised a memorial bust, off Albert Road. His grave in Colne Cemetery is carved with a violin.
Every August bank holiday weekend the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival fills the town with music. The rest of the year, look in at Colne Market Hall's food hall, the Edwardian Muni theatre and the independent shops and bars on Albert Road.
Foulridge
Just north of Colne (locals say "Foal-ridge"), Foulridge is where the Leeds and Liverpool Canal plunges into the Mile Tunnel, opened in 1796. With no towpath, boats were "legged" through by men lying on their backs and walking along the roof. A much-loved local tale says a cow fell into the canal and swam the whole tunnel, to be revived with brandy at the far end. Lake Burwain, one of the reservoirs that feeds the canal, has a sailing club and an easy walk round it (Walk 9).
Barnoldswick
"Barlick" to locals, Barnoldswick is the highest town on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, with Greenberfield Locks just north-east of town. Rolls-Royce's jet-engine story runs through it: the firm took over a cotton mill here in 1943, and many of its engines carry the initials RB, for Rolls Barnoldswick. Don't miss Bancroft Mill Engine Museum, home of the largest working mill steam engine in Lancashire, a 600 hp engine built in 1920, run by volunteers on regular steaming days (check its website). ESSE, which has made stoves in the town since 1854, has a factory café.
Sources
Wikipedia, Colne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colne · Historic England, Wallace Hartley Memorial https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1423584 · Historic England, Wallace Hartley gravestone https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1423381 · Great British R&B Festival https://www.bluesfestival.co.uk/ · Canal & River Trust https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/canals-and-rivers/leeds-and-liverpool-canal/history-of-the-leeds-and-liverpool-canal · Wikipedia, Foulridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foulridge · Wikipedia, Barnoldswick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnoldswick · Bancroft Mill Engine Museum https://bancroftmill.org.uk/
Top walks
These twelve routes follow published guides, and each has a free printable leaflet with a map, directions, "look out for" notes and a pub or café stop. Download them all at thespringcottage.co.uk/walks. Paths here cross working farmland and open moor: wear boots, carry a waterproof and OS Explorer OL21 (OL41 for Pendle Hill), and follow the waymarks.
From Trawden village
- 1. Trawden to Wycoller. 4 miles one way, about 2½ hours. Easy to moderate. Pulpit stiles, Pendle views and Wycoller's bridges and ruined hall. Leaflet (PDF)
- 2. Boulsworth Hill via Lumb Spout. 5.5 miles, about 3½ hours. Moderate. A hidden waterfall, gritstone tors and the summit of Lad Law. Leaflet (PDF)
- 3. Boulsworth Ridge and Wycoller. 10 miles, about 6 hours. Moderate, with navigation needed in mist. The big Trawden day. Leaflet (PDF)
- 4. Coldwell, Bedding Hill Moor and Wycoller. 7½ miles, about 4 hours. Moderate. Reservoirs and big-sky moorland. Leaflet (PDF)
- 5. Winewall and Laneshaw Bridge. 5¾ miles (short version 4½), 2 to 4 hours. Easy to moderate. Old farmhouses and a story at every stile. Leaflet (PDF)
Family and easy
- 6. The Wycoller Panopticon Walk. 2.5 km, about 1 hour. Easy, narrow in places. Atom, the strange viewing pod, then down to the ancient bridges. Leaflet (PDF)
- 7. Wycoller Country Park circular. 4 miles, about 2 hours. Easy. The hamlet, the hall and views to Pendle. Leaflet (PDF)
- 8. Ball Grove and the East Colne Way. Park loop 2.4 km or 5 miles. A toddler favourite with a café, play area and riverside paths. Leaflet (PDF)
- 9. Foulridge reservoirs. 3½ miles, 1 to 1½ hours. Flat and easy, muddy when wet. Lake Burwain and the Upper Reservoir. Leaflet (PDF)
Big days out
- 10. Mile Tunnel, Blacko Tower and Lake Burwain. 6 miles, about 3 hours. Easy. Canal history, witch country and a folly. Leaflet (PDF)
- 11. Pendle Hill from Barley. 5 miles, about 2 hours 20 minutes. Steep climbs, slippery when wet. The classic circuit. Leaflet (PDF)
- 12. Top Withins and the Brontë Waterfall. 6.8 miles, about 3½ hours. Moderate, rough and exposed. Over the border onto Haworth Moor. Leaflet (PDF)
Sources
each leaflet names the published guide its directions follow. Distances and times are the sources' own.
Eating and drinking
A short list of places we'd send a friend. Menus and opening times change, so check before you go and book the special ones well ahead.
In Trawden
- Trawden Arms, Church Street. The community-owned village local: real ale and food cooked fresh to order from local suppliers wherever possible. Follow its Facebook page for events. trawden-arms.mydirectstay.com
- Jackie & Francesca's Old Rock Café & Cake Shop, Keighley Road. Mother-and-daughter bakers with cooked breakfasts, lunches and a counter of home-made cakes. Check Facebook for opening days. facebook.com/jackiemakesandbakes
Country pubs close by
- The Emmott Arms, Laneshaw Bridge (about 10 minutes). AA Rosette farm-to-fork cooking; dogs in certain rooms, so mention them when you book. emmottarms.co.uk
- The Alma Inn, Laneshaw Bridge (about 10 minutes). A stone country inn on the lane towards Wycoller, serving breakfast as well as lunch and dinner; dogs on leads welcome in the bar. thealmainn.com
- Black Lane Ends Tavern (about 15 minutes). A traditional hilltop pub between Colne and Skipton with log fires, a beer garden with big views and a children's play area; dogs welcome in the bar. blacklaneendstavern.co.uk
- The Pendle Inn and the Barley Mow, Barley (about 25 minutes). The natural reward after Pendle Hill; both welcome dogs.
Colne
- Colne Market Hall, Market Street. A food hall with six independent kitchens, local craft beer and coffee: ideal when everyone wants something different. colnemarkethall.co.uk
- Albert Road has a run of good independents, including family-run Little Italy, Meechok Thai and Tubbs Restaurant and Bar.
- Boyce's Barrel, New Market Street. Colne's first micropub: ever-changing cask ales and real cider, no food, dogs welcome (CAMRA).
Worth the drive
- Eight at Gazegill, Rimington (about 25 minutes). A Green Michelin Star restaurant on a working organic farm below Pendle Hill. eightatgazegill.co.uk
- The Freemasons at Wiswell (about 30–35 minutes). A Michelin-listed gastropub for a proper special occasion. freemasonsatwiswell.com
- The White Swan at Fence (about 15–20 minutes). A Michelin-starred village pub; no pets.
Sources
our Eating Out research, each entry checked on the venue's own site, CAMRA or the Michelin Guide in October 2026: /eating-out/
Family days out
- Wycoller Country Park. Car-free lanes, a beck to paddle in, old bridges to cross and a ruined hall to explore, about 10 minutes away.
- Ball Grove, Colne. A former mill and tannery turned nature reserve, with a lake, play area, riverside paths and the Lakeside Café.
- Pendle Sculpture Trail, Barley. Stone witches, bats and riddles in the woods (about 3 miles there and back).
- Thornton Hall Country Park, Thornton-in-Craven (about 20 minutes). A working farm park with animals, outdoor play and indoor soft play, open year-round. Guide dogs only. thorntonhallfarm.co.uk
- Skipton Castle (about 30 minutes). One of England's best-preserved medieval castles, from dungeon to watchtower; dogs allowed on a short lead. skiptoncastle.co.uk
- Steam trains. The Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway near Skipton (about 30–35 minutes) and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway from Haworth (about 25 minutes), whose Oakworth station starred in The Railway Children.
- Bolton Abbey (about 35–40 minutes). Priory ruins, the River Wharfe and more than 80 miles of paths.
- Malham Cove (about 45 minutes). A 70-metre curving limestone cliff a short walk from Malham village.
- Eureka! The National Children's Museum, Halifax (about 22 miles, around 50 minutes by car). Hands-on galleries built for children aged 0 to 11, right next to Halifax railway station. In term time it's open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays); in school holidays it's open every day. Booking online is recommended (walk-up tickets depend on space), and paying for your first visit gets you a free Annual Pass with unlimited return visits for 12 months. play.eureka.org.uk
- Pendle Wavelengths, Nelson (about 15 minutes). A family leisure pool with a 130 ft slide and wave machine.
Sources
Things to Do research, each venue checked on its own website in October 2026: /things-to-do/ · Eureka! https://play.eureka.org.uk/ and https://play.eureka.org.uk/plan-your-visit/annual-pass/ (drive time: OpenStreetMap routing from Trawden, rounded up)
Rainy days
The Pennines do rain properly. Here's what we do when they do.
- Queen Street Mill Textile Museum, Burnley (about 15–20 minutes). The world's last surviving 19th-century steam-powered weaving mill, with 308 looms. Open limited days, mainly March to October. lancashire.gov.uk/museums
- Bancroft Mill Engine Museum, Barnoldswick (about 15–20 minutes). A working mill steam engine on steaming days. bancroftmill.org.uk
- Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowford (about 10–15 minutes). The witches' story, a walled garden and a tea room. Closed Mondays. pendleheritage.co.uk
- Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth (about 25 minutes). The sisters' home, with Haworth's steep cobbled Main Street outside. bronte.org.uk
- Clitheroe Castle Museum (about 35 minutes). Interactive local history; under-18s free.
- Holmes Mill, Clitheroe (about 35 minutes). A converted mill with a beer hall, brewery and food hall.
- The Muni, Colne. Live music, comedy, children's shows and theatre in an Edwardian hall. themuni.co.uk
- Eureka! The National Children's Museum, Halifax (around 50 minutes). A whole indoor day for under-12s; see Family days out.
- Soft play for little ones. Giddy Kippers in Nelson (book online, no walk-ins) and FUNDA LAND in Brierfield for older children.
Sources
Things to Do research, checked October 2026: /things-to-do/
The Lancashire coast
Lancashire's seaside is an easy day out from Trawden. Drive times are approximate, from Trawden, and longer in holiday traffic.
- Blackpool (about 1 hour 15 minutes). The Blackpool Tower, with its ballroom, circus and the Blackpool Tower Dungeon inside, plus SEA LIFE Blackpool and Madame Tussauds Blackpool on the seafront. theblackpooltower.com · SEA LIFE Blackpool · Madame Tussauds Blackpool · The Blackpool Dungeon
- Southport (about 1 hour 20 minutes). A Victorian resort with the elegant boulevard of Lord Street, the Marine Lake (boat hire April to September) and Adventure Coast (the old Pleasureland), a family theme park with seasonal opening hours. The pier has been closed for repairs since December 2022. adventurecoastsouthport.co.uk
Sources
each attraction's own website (October 2026) · Visit England, Southport https://www.visitengland.com/trip-ideas/things-do-two-day-break-southport · drive times: owner estimate for Blackpool; OpenStreetMap routing from Trawden, rounded up, for Southport.
Out with the dog
This is great dog country, but it's also sheep country. A few local tips:
Trawden Recreation Ground
High above the village on Keighley Road, the Recreation Ground is a big field surrounded by sturdy drystone walls, with sweeping views to Pendle Hill, and it's popular with local dog walkers. Pendle Council's dog rules for sports grounds (its Public Spaces Protection Order) place no restrictions on dogs here, and in November 2024 Trawden Forest Parish Council decided not to bring in rules on how many dogs you may walk or on leads. It's a walled field rather than a secure dog field, so it's a good place to let dogs stretch their legs off the lead if they have good recall. Football pitches are used by local clubs from August to May, mostly at weekends (and some midweek evenings in the lighter months), so keep dogs well clear of pitches in use, and please pick up after your dog.
On the moors and farmland
- Leads around livestock, always. On open access land, which covers most of the moorland here, dogs must be on a short lead from 1 March to 31 July (ground-nesting birds) and near livestock at any time.
- Cattle. If cattle threaten you, let your dog off the lead so you can both get to safety.
- Stiles. Some walks have ladder or pulpit stiles; each walk leaflet says what to expect.
- Bag it and bin it, and carry water: there's none on the tops.
Dog-friendly stops
The Emmott Arms (certain rooms; mention it when booking), the Alma Inn (bar, on a lead), Black Lane Ends (bar), the Pendle Inn and Barley Mow in Barley, and Boyce's Barrel in Colne all welcome dogs. Skipton Castle, Bolton Abbey and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway take dogs too; Thornton Hall farm park and Queen Street Mill do not.
Sources
Pendle Council, PSPO Sports Grounds https://www.pendle.gov.uk/info/20088/parks_and_outdoor_recreation/339/public_spaces_protection_orders/5 · Trawden Forest Parish Council, consultations https://www.trawdenparishcouncil.org.uk/consultations/ · Pendle Council, Trawden Recreation Ground https://www.pendle.gov.uk/directory_record/679282/trawden_recreation_ground · GOV.UK, The Countryside Code https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code-advice-for-countryside-visitors · venue dog policies as listed in our research files.
Events through the year
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Lambing season: leads on, and give ewes and lambs a wide berth | Everywhere |
| Early July | Trawden Garden Festival & Scarecrow Trail (traditionally the first weekend of July; ran 4–5 July in 2026) | Trawden village |
| A Sunday in August | Trawden Agricultural Show: animals, dog show, dry-stone walling, fell race (next: Sunday 8 August 2027) | Trawden Recreation Ground |
| August bank holiday weekend | Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival | Colne |
| September | Trawden Arms Music & Beer Festival (11–13 September in 2026) | Trawden Arms |
| Late October | Halloween in witch country: the Sculpture Trail, Newchurch and a crowded Pendle Hill | Barley and around |
| Winter | Long dark nights for stargazing, and the Muni's pantomime in Colne | Colne and the garden |
Check the dates. Village events are run by volunteers and dates move, so check the event's own page or Facebook before you plan around one.
Sources
Wikipedia, Trawden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trawden · Trawden Forest Primary School, July 2026 https://trawden.lancs.sch.uk/news/2026-07-05-what-an-incredible-weekend-it-s-been-in-our-school-garden · Trawden Show https://trawdenshow.co.uk/ · East Lancs CAMRA https://eastlancs.camra.org.uk/viewnode.php?id=90330 · Great British R&B Festival https://www.bluesfestival.co.uk/ · Wikipedia, Colne (the Muni's pantomime) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colne
Getting here and getting around
- By car. Trawden is about an hour by road from both Manchester and Leeds. The M65 ends just west of Colne, and Trawden is about 5 minutes' drive beyond the town centre. Roads over the moors are narrow and can be icy in winter.
- By train. Colne station (about 2 miles away) is the end of the East Lancashire line, with an hourly train to Preston via Burnley. For Manchester and Leeds, Burnley Manchester Road station (a 15–20 minute drive) has hourly direct trains to Manchester Victoria (about 45–50 minutes) and Leeds (about 1 hour 5 minutes). Skipton (about 12 miles) has trains to Leeds every 30 minutes (about 40 minutes).
- By bus. Transdev's Mainline buses (the M3 and M4) link Trawden with Colne, and the Mainline network runs on to Nelson, Burnley, Barnoldswick, Skipton and Keighley. Diversions do happen (in autumn 2026 roadworks stopped the M3 serving Trawden for a while), so check transdevbus.co.uk before you travel.
- Airports. Leeds Bradford is about 55 minutes by road from Trawden, and Manchester Airport about 1 hour 20 minutes.
- On foot. From Trawden you can walk to Wycoller, Winewall and Colne, and onto Boulsworth Hill, without touching the car.
Sources
road and rail journey times supplied by the Spring Cottage owners (October 2026); check National Rail for current timetables · Wikipedia, Colne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colne · Transdev, Mainline M3/M4 https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/services/BPT/M3
Practical information
The Countryside Code
- Respect everyone: be considerate, leave gates and property as you find them, and follow paths unless wider access is available.
- Protect the environment: take your litter home, don't have fires or barbecues on the moors, and always keep dogs under control and in sight.
- Enjoy the outdoors: check your route and local conditions, plan ahead and know what to expect.
Weather and safety
The weather changes fast on the tops, and low cloud can hide the path. Wear proper boots, carry a waterproof, water, food and a map (OS Explorer OL21 South Pennines; OL41 for Pendle Hill), and tell someone your route. Phone signal can be patchy. Check the Met Office forecast, or the Mountain Weather Information Service for the hills, before a big day. In an emergency in the hills, call 999 and ask for the police, then mountain rescue.
Parking
- Wycoller: two pay-and-display car parks (Trawden Road and Haworth Road); cars are not allowed into the hamlet unless driven by a registered disabled person.
- Barley (Pendle Hill): The Avenue car park, pay and display, with toilets. Please don't park on the private road to Aitken Wood.
- Trawden: on-street parking only, and it's limited near the church. Never block gateways or farm lanes.
Useful links: metoffice.gov.uk · mwis.org.uk · transdevbus.co.uk · nationalrail.co.uk
Sources
GOV.UK, The Countryside Code (updated 26 May 2023) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code-advice-for-countryside-visitors · Lancashire County Council, Wycoller Country Park https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/countryside/country-parks/wycoller-country-park · Pendle Council, The Avenue car park https://www.pendle.gov.uk/directory_record/137/the_avenue
Further afield
Bigger days out beyond Pendle, Lancashire, Skipton and the Dales.
- Manchester (about 1 hour). LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and SEA LIFE Manchester sit side by side at Trafford Palazzo, by the Trafford Centre: good for a wet day with younger children. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester · SEA LIFE Manchester
- The Lake District (about 1 hour 45 minutes to Windermere). Windermere Lake Cruises sails from Bowness, Ambleside (Waterhead) and Lakeside, with combined cruise-and-attraction tickets. windermere-lakecruises.co.uk
Sources
each attraction's own website (October 2026) · drive times: owner estimate for Windermere; OpenStreetMap routing from Trawden, rounded up, for Manchester.
Credits
Written and checked by the Spring Cottage family, October 2026. Maps: OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA), map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), SRTM. Photographs are credited where they appear; Wikimedia Commons and Geograph photos are used under their Creative Commons licences. If you spot something that's changed, we'd love to hear: /contact/ Share freely, unchanged and with credit: text and design are licensed CC BY-ND 4.0.
About Spring Cottage
This guide is brought to you by Spring Cottage, a single 300-year-old stone cottage in Trawden, near Colne. We're a local family, not a company, and we've been welcoming guests for four years. We made this guide simply to be useful, to our guests and to anyone else exploring the area.
We still use Airbnb and other booking platforms, and we're grateful for them. But if you'd like to stay, booking direct with us avoids the platforms' commission. That's the whole pitch.
Spring Cottage, Trawden, near Colne. Sleeps 4 (plus a baby in a travel cot), up to 2 well-behaved pets welcome, walks from the door. thespringcottage.co.uk
Take it with you
Print the A5 booklet, or save the phone edition for when the signal drops on the moors.