The Market Cross at the end of the stage in Garstang
STAGE 67 (W8) – CALDER VALE TO GARSTANG
4 miles – 1.5 hours walk
275 feet climbed – highest point 629 feet – Kelbrick Farm
There would have been easier routes to Garstang but we make one final climb so that we get the best views back to the Bowland Fells and views west to Blackpool, our ultimate destination, on our decent.
A map of Stage 60 can be found below courtesy of Ordnance Survey maps. You can subscribe yourself using this link, https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk, which will enable you to import the GPX file which can be downloaded below.
Download file for GPS
To download the GPX file for this stage click on the link above.
Cross the bridge over the river and turn immediately right – note footpath sign. Then look out for a footpath on your left. Take this and head up into the woods. It’s not the best path but we quickly climb the hill and exit into a field. Turn right, follow the boundary of the wood and then bear left and head across the field to the top left-hand corner of the field with two gates. Pass through the right-hand gate and continue up the track in the same direction. Pass through the next gate and then bear left off the track to a broken stile at the top of the field on the corner of Kelbrick Farm. Look back for great views of the other side of Calder Vale and the Bowland Fells. Head around the boundary of the farm and over the stile on to the driveway that serves the farm. Turn left and head to the main road.
Views west on descending from Kelbrick Farm
Turn left and head down the road. The road then turns left through 90 degrees. At this point look out for a stile into the field on the right-hand side of the road. Head downhill keeping the edge of the field just to you right. Pass into another field and then exit to the side of a property and on to a track. Turn left and head along the track. After about 250m find a stile on your right. Use this to enter into the field. Continue straight on and then over another stile into another field. Bear slightly left and follow the boundary on your right downhill. There are magnificent views on this section west across the Fylde. Pass through two more fields and then along the side of a wood down to a gate, which exits onto a road.
Follow the road straight on past the Church on your left. Just after the church take the stile on your left down the side of the property with the churchyard on your left. Alternatively visit the church and cut through the churchyard. Continue along the path with a small wood on your left to a drive to various properties including Clarkson’s Farm. The path does not use the drive but enters the field on its left and follow the drive on the other side of the fence. Cross onto the road. Turn right and follow the road down to the start of two drives to two properties. Ignore the drive on your left and enter the drive straight ahead. Almost immediately look for the stile gate on your right with gives access to a path which carries straight on in the same direction past the property on your left.
Continue straight on and then cross over the motorway bridge and a disused railway. Turn left into a field by a wood. Pass along the side of the wood and then bear left across the field to a stile gate and steps down to another disused railway. Turn right and follow the railway cutting ,and in some places an embankment, as far as the River Wyre. On this section look to your left and try and find the distinctive remains of Greenhalgh Castle in the distance – more details below.
Cross over the river using the flood defences and then immediately take the steps on your left down to the riverbank. Turn right and follow the river downstream away from the flood defences. The path along the river bends firstly right and then starts to bend left. At this point come off the riverside path and enter the car park on your right. Exit the car park on to the main road. Note the old Grammar School to your right, dating back to 1756 and which is now an arts centre.
The Old Grammar School
Turn left and follow the High Street through the centre of Garstang to the market square with its cross and the Royal Oak Hotel behind it, which marks the end of the Stage. The Market Cross is a scheduled ancient monument and possibly lost its cross around the time of Cromwell. The steps date back to the 17th century and the column and pedestal date from 1754. It was restored in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. The Royal Oak was the town’s Principal Posting House on the London to Edinburgh route – now the A6, with many famous travellers having rested there including Sir Walter Scott.
Look out for Information Boards in the car park and at the beginning of the main road.
On your walk in the town you may see reference to Garstang being the world’s first Fairtrade Town. It is actually a recent initiative dating back to the year 2000, when the town voted to promote products bearing the Fairtrade Mark, which is an international certification label that guarantees producers in developing countries get a fair deal, and thereby becoming the first town in the world to do so.
Garstang is an old market town and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has a rich history with many interesting buildings including its distinctive Town Hall just before the market square. This attractive red brick and stone building was opened in 1680 but had to be rebuilt in 1755 after it was burnt down. It suffered another fire in 1939 and lost many of the town’s old records but not its Market Charter. The clock tower was added in 1847 by public subscription. It still has a weekly market when the High Street is closed – NB this changes the bus stops to Preston on a Thursday!
The Town Hall
The town has always been on the main route north to Scotland and therefore held a strategic location in the county. In 1490 Thomas Stanley, first Earl of Derby, built Greenhalgh Castle on the outskirts of the town to defend his estates in the area. It was apparently a gift from Henry Tudor, (Henry VII) for his assistance in winning the Battle of Bosworth field in 1845, when Henry gained the crown by defeating Richard III. During the Civil War, James, the seventh Earl of Derby, garrisoned the castle in support of Charles I. He held out against a bitter siege from Parliamentary Troops in 1644 to 1645 but then eventually surrendered. The castle was dismantled in 1650 and much of the stone used in local buildings. Unfortunately, only part of one tower remains and it is situated on private land so the Lancashire Way does not visit it but hopefully you have seen its remains on your walk into Garstang.
