Walks near Blackburn by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Blackburn and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Blackburn.
Clitheroe Circular via Pendle Hill (Lancashire)
30 minutes direct from Blackburn.
Challenging circular climbing steeply to the summit of iconic Pendle Hill, with sweeping views over the Ribble Valley and southern Forest of Bowland, through the village of Pendleton.
Time: 4h30
Warnings: Steep climb; chilly and exposed on the summit. Decent footwear, waterproofs and extra layers essential.
Walk details: Discover Bowland (PDF).
Settle Circular via Malham Cove (Yorkshire)
1 hour direct from Blackburn.
Limestone outcrops, crags, pavements, caves, dry valleys, steep pastures, gravel farm tracks, stony ground, moorland and panoramic upland views.
Time: 6h
Warnings: Hard on feet/knees.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Whalley to Clitheroe (Lancashire)
15 minutes direct from Blackburn.
Abbey precinct, town centre, riverside path, golf course, open pasture, old drove road, moorland ridge, plateau summit, steep scarp, lush valley, meandering river and nature reserve.
Time: 2h30–5h
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Hellifield to Gargrave (Yorkshire)
45 minutes direct from Blackburn.
Southern Dales fields and woodland crossing the River Aire, past Otterburn and Airton, descending over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to St Andrew's Church at Gargrave.
Time: 3h–5h30
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Gargrave to Skipton (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Blackburn, with one change.
Easy, peaceful Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath: locks, swing bridges, wharves and the River Aire near St Andrew's Church, Gargrave to Skipton.
Waterway: almost all along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Time: 2h–4h30
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Giggleswick to Long Preston (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Blackburn, with one change.
Ribble Way riverside through the market town of Settle, Runley Mill, Turnpike House and a viewpoint towards Pendle Hill.
Time: 3h
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Settle (Yorkshire)
1 hour direct from Blackburn.
Wild remote fell, moorland plateau, Pennine Way paths, lonely pastures, limestone country, waterfall, elevated bridleways above valley and views of green dales and tarn.
Time: 3h–6h
Warnings: Can be boggy/rough.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Clapham to Giggleswick (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Blackburn, with one change.
Limestone hill country of caves, cairns and crags, dropping to the hamlet of Feizor and rising again with views to Pendle Hill and Giggleswick School Chapel before a steep descent. One of the finest of the Bentham Line walks.
Time: 4h30
Warnings: Strenuous full day over limestone hill country; sturdy footwear and a map recommended.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Accrington Circular via Baxenden (Lancashire)
7 minutes direct from Blackburn.
Moorland circular up the high ground above Baxenden along the closed Accrington-Manchester railway, past bridge piers, old stone waggonway, the castellated New High Riley farm and broad town viewpoints.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Langho Circular via Dinkley Suspension Bridge (Lancashire)
15 minutes direct from Blackburn.
Countryside circular to a never-used railway cutting, crossing the Ribble on the Dinkley Suspension Bridge on the Ribble Way, past the twelfth-century Old Langho Church and an old Roman road.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Entwistle Circular via Turton Tower (Lancashire)
15 minutes direct from Blackburn.
West Pennine Moors circular on the Witton Weavers Way, past a string of reservoirs, into the steep-sided Turton Bottoms valley and Grade I-listed Turton Tower. Rich in industrial heritage and birdlife.
Turton Tower: A Grade I-listed manor house built around a medieval peel tower.
Warnings: A few short steep ascents.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Whalley Circular via Whalley Viaduct (Lancashire)
15 minutes direct from Blackburn.
River Calder circular contrasting two viaducts: the 48-arch brick Whalley Viaduct and the disused ten-arch stone Martholme Viaduct, near the historic village of Whalley with its parish church and abbey ruins.
Whalley Viaduct: A 48-arch brick railway viaduct striding across the Calder valley.
Whalley Abbey: The ruins of a 14th-century Cistercian abbey beside the River Calder.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).