The Eastern Loop

Looking towards East Lancashire with friends!

When I finished the Northern Loop in early 2018 I felt that was it and I had done justice to the wonderful county of Lancashire and had put together what I thought was a long distance walk that would be one of the best in Britain. Perhaps I am now getting itchy feet again and am no longer content with re walking the existing 291 miles of the Lancashire Way but I have over the months come to the conclusion that there has to be one final Loop – the Eastern Loop. The reasoning behind this is that there are large parts of eastern Lancashire that have been missed and deserve inclusion. It is also quite a bit different from the three other Loops – its very much Pennine country typified by boggy moorland. It is also much quieter and also wetter so save it for the drier parts of the year.

Cloud in the Cliviger Gorge on a Winter’s morning

I already have a draft route of over 100 miles long and have now started the long process of walking all the alternatives to make sure that it is the very best route with the best paths and includes all the not to be missed places. Once each part of the route is finalised I then have to write up the full directions and create a page on the website for each Stage. I am hoping to complete this by the Spring of 2019 but I feel that it may take longer than this!

In terms of the route this part of Lancashire is actually easier than the others as it already has some very good Ways of its own already. These are

The Pendle Way
The Burnley Way
The Bronte Way
The Pennine Bridleway
The Rossendale Way

These already cover the best parts of eastern Lancashire so the task is really how best to combine these into one continuous route. So my route may not be as original as the first three Loops but I really hope it will compliment them and be the final piece of Lancashire’s very best walk – The Lancashire Way.