Lancashire for Weekenders: A Guide to the Ribble Valley and Beyond

Lancashire sits in an odd blind spot for a lot of weekend travellers, overshadowed by the Lake District to the north and the Peak District to the south, despite having genuinely excellent walking country, food, and market towns of its own. If you've never given it a proper weekend, here's where to start.

Day one: the Ribble Valley

Start in Clitheroe. It's a proper market town with a Saturday market, a scattering of independent shops, and a castle keep you can walk up to for a view over the valley in about ten minutes. From there, Whalley is a short drive, worth it for the abbey ruins and a slower, quieter pace than Clitheroe.

If you've got walking boots, Pendle Hill is the obvious draw, a proper climb with views across Lancashire on a clear day, and enough local history (Pendle's witch trials are still very much part of the area's identity) to make the pub afterwards more interesting.

Day two: the Forest of Bowland

Bowland is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that most people driving the M6 have never heard of, which is part of the appeal. It's genuinely quiet, open moorland, small villages like Slaidburn and Dunsop Bridge, and some of the darkest skies in the North West if you're around after sunset. Bring proper walking gear; this isn't a stroll-in-trainers landscape.

Don't skip Blackburn itself

Blackburn is worth a stop in its own right, not just a base to sleep in between days out. The Cathedral is worth ten minutes even if you're not religious, the modern additions to the older building are genuinely interesting architecturally. The Museum and Art Gallery has a surprisingly good collection for a town its size, including an Egyptology section that catches most first-time visitors off guard. And if you're around on a Wednesday, Saturday, or Sunday, Blackburn Market is one of the larger indoor/outdoor markets left in the North West.

Where to base yourself

A self-catering property beats a hotel for this kind of weekend for one simple reason: you're out all day, and coming back to somewhere you can cook, put your feet up, and spread out, rather than one hotel room, makes the evenings better. It's also considerably cheaper if you're travelling as a couple or a small group splitting the cost.

Lancstays in Blackburn

Our property gives you a comfortable, central base for exploring the Ribble Valley, Bowland, and Blackburn itself, full kitchen, free parking, and enough space to actually relax in after a day on your feet. Weekend and short-break rates from £65 a night.