JUL 2022 – 9 MILES – RIBCHESTER, STONYHURST AND RIVER RIBBLE (LANCASHIRE)

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Scheduled a hike with one of my best friends for today,  turned out to be one of the hottest days in the UK in history.  We contemplated rescheduling however we went ahead as we figured it would be like walking abroad 😳.

Total Distance: 9 Miles
Steps: ~25,000 Steps
Highest Point: 512 Feet
Total Realistic Time: ~5 Hours

My friend had a book of walks which contained this route and we were following that for today, we were planning to do this one for a while.

Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, six miles (10 km) northwest of Blackburn and twelve miles (19 km) east of Preston.

The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings. More information click on following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribchester

The car park is set in the lovely village of Ribchester just outside of Preston where the walk starts.  There are free public toilets available near the car park and a cafe called Potters Barn.  It is a pay and display car park which takes coins and contactless payments.

This is the route we took from the book, we did amend it slightly, we skipped the little loop around Hurst Green as it was so so hot and plus we had already been around the small area before on the Tolkien Trail.

Head towards Bath House roman ruins which is near the River Ribble, could not see the roman ruins as it was in an overgrown area.

Part of the River Ribble, going towards the roman ruins on the path

You go past Ribchester Arms pub.

The walk consisted of mainly farmer’s fields and woodland, some with paths, some a bit overgrown so it was hard to see a path sometimes.

A lot of greenery and nice building

The day was getting hotter, so glad we started early.

We stopped off by an orienteering bench and ate our lunch in the shade before we carried on.  Definitely feeling the heat now 🥵.

A bit of shade from the beating heat of the sun

We recognised the area when we got closer to Hurst Green as it was part of a hike we did last year, the Tolkien Trail.  The Shireburn Arms was where we stopped off at the end of the Tolkien Trail for food and drinks.  This time the Shireburn Arms was midway through our route so we stopped off for a pint of Coke before we carried on, we needed the hydration due to the heat being 34º at this point.

A well needed stop off for some cold hydration

The remaining route took us along River Ribble where we got some lovely views of the surrounding river area.

Some of the lovely views we got along the River Ribble

This then takes you back to the beginning where the benches are near the Bath House roman ruins.

The heat was only just bearable, plenty of fluids, cap and shades, we managed to make it back to the cafe Potter’s Barn for a well deserved local farm produced ice cream by Mrs Dowson’s 😋.

A cool end to the day 😎

Conclusion:

A very grassy walk overall on low ground, in many farmer’s fields, some stone paths.  It was a good leisurely hike, no hills or mountains to climb and with many pubs around the area.   Not recommended to do it in the temperature that we did it in though, 34º 🥵 luckily we did not burn.

GENERAL EQUIPMENT

  • Apple iPhone 12 Pro (for taking photos/videos and mapping using OS Maps)
  • Comfy walking shoes (most important)
  • 2 Litre bladder with water (keeping hydrated in the heat)
  • Cap and Shades (SunGod)
  • Altruist Sunscreen (at least factor 30 if not higher)
  • ibuprofen (helping hand if you have any aches and pains)
  • Food and snacks (fuel to keep you going)

 

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