The Burnley Way

Over the hills and South Pennine moors, through ancient woods and deserted farms, the Burnley Way combines history and heritage, wildlife and nature to make a fascinating 40-mile circular walk around the borough. Divided into six sections each starting and finishing on a public transport route; they can be walked individually or combined to make longer routes for more experienced walkers, and if you keep your eyes peeled on your walk, there is so much for nature lovers to discover from toads, frogs and newts to roe deer, bilberries to bluebells, woodpeckers to short eared owls – you will find all this and much more along the Burnley Way.

Walk One (5 miles)

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Weavers’ Triangle to Queen Street Mill – takes in the Straight Mile on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the Brun Valley, the ancient Houghton Hag Wood and the ‘Ogglty-Cogglty’ to Briercliffe.

Walk Two (8.5 miles)

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Queen Street Mill to Hurstwood – goes past the Horses and Ponies Protection Association (HAPPA), across Thursden Brook and by the side of Hurstwood Reservoir to the Elizabethan village of Hurstwood.

Walk Three (5 miles)

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Hurstwood to Portsmouth – crosses Shedden Clough with its limestone hushings to the Long Causeway and onto the beautiful Cliviger Gorge.

Walk Four (6.5miles)

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Portsmouth to Towneley – ascends to Thieveley Pike, the highest point of the walk, then goes down past the villages of Holme Chapel and Walk Mill to Towneley Hall and Park.

Walk Five (7.5miles)

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Towneley to Hapton –choose either part of the Wayside Arts Trial or the route past Burnley Golf Club, then out towards Hambledon Hill before reaching Castle Clough Woods and Hapton village.

Walk Six (7.5miles)

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Hapton to Weavers’ Triangle – passes Shuttleworth Hall crossing the River Calder into Padiham, along Grove Lane Plantation past Gawthorpe Hall, through Hagg Wood then back into Burnley via the Weavers’ Triangle.

The Burnley Way Challenge

The Burnley Walking Festival in May each year offers guided walks along the route including the Burnley Way Challenge where you can join our experienced guides to walk the whole route in three consecutive days. Covering up to 15 miles per day, this is for experienced walkers looking for new routes where they can push themselves. Participants who complete all three days will receive a challenge certificate to recognise their achievement.