Pendle Hill Walk and Lancashire’s Deadly Witch Trials
Whether you go for the hillside views or its witchy history, the Pendle Hill walk is well worth a stop while exploring Lancashire.
Beneath the shadow of this hill, a community would be changed forever following the summer of the notorious 1612 Pendle witch trials. But for visitors today, the most treacherous part of this 8km walk is simply the steep climb to the top.
While taking sublime views of the surrounding area from the 577m summit of Pendle Hill, we can remember the harrowing history of those deemed too dangerous to walk among us – those who were convicted in the Pendle witch trials.
🧠Quick Facts About the Pendle Hill Walking Route
Distance: 8km (5 miles) circular walk
Time: 2.5 hours
Summit: 577 metres with a climb
Start and end point: Barley
Difficulty: While not a super long walk, the steep climb up the hill can be challenging and much of the pathway isn’t smooth.
Where to park for the Pendle Hill Walk?
The walk begins at the picturesque village of Barley. There is a Pay and Display car park here. Or, if it’s full, there’s plenty of on-road parking on the lanes around the village.
The pay and display car park will cost you £1.50 for 3 hours, or £3 for 3 hours plus. The walk shouldn’t take much longer than that, unless you plan to have lunch at one of the village pubs. My friend and I took exactly three hours to do the walk and then stop at Pendle Inn for a coffee and a snack.
At the car park, you’ll find toilets, a coffee kiosk called ‘The Cabin’, and an information board with a map.
Pendle Hill Walk
Below details the easiest route up Pendle Hill, as that’s the one I took!
After turning right out of the Barley car park, your beautiful walk begins with a simple stroll through the lanes of pretty Barley village. Soon, a gentle slope will prepare you for the dramatic hill ahead.
The walk is signposted and relatively easy to follow – especially on a weekend, as you can just follow the other walkers! If needed, you can always check the map in the car park.
The way ahead is evident once you reach the bottom of the hill; the climb begins with stone steps before the trail stretches ahead above, cutting into the hillside like a scar.
You won’t be alone during the ascent if you take plenty of breaks during the steepest stretch up the hill. In fact, catching your breath is a great excuse to check out the views! Behind you, back over Barley, Fell Wood, Black Moss Reservoirs, and the hilly countryside beyond.
The summit is marked by a trig point, with gorgeous views across Barley, Fell Wood, and Black Moss Reservoirs and the hilly countryside beyond. On a clear day, you can even see the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
The path back down begins 200m from the summit, and there are a series of lanes to choose from that head back to the village.
Once back in Barley, we enjoyed a well-deserved drink and snack at the Pendle Inn – a very charming, traditional English pub with a lovely interior and garden area – before returning home.
The Pendle Witches
While the Pendle Hill Walk is a gorgeous hiking spot in its own right, the notorious 17th-century Lancashire witch hunt made it the infamous site of one of England’s biggest witch trials. In 1612, after ten women and two men were tried for witchcraft, ten were found guilty and sentenced to execution by hanging.
Of course, the ten women and two men eventually executed were ordinary people, not witches, and this story is truly a tragic tale of mistrust, neighbourly rivalry, and what happens when folklore and superstition go terribly wrong.
What led to the witch trials?
However, the story really begins much earlier, when the nearby Whalley Abbey was dissolved in 1537 during Henry VIII’s reforms. At a time when organised religion played an enormous role in economic and societal structures, this left a massive void within the parish of Whalley, which Pendle was a part of. By the early 17th century, Pendle was regarded as a relatively lawless place.
After King James I took the throne in 1602, his interest in witches and subsequent book Daemonologie led his superstitious beliefs to spread throughout the country. He believed witches must be convicted and prosecuted, and urged others to follow suit.
Who was accused of witchcraft in Pendle… and why?
But it was local relationships that made these particular witch trials so brutal, as many of the allegations came from two rival families who both began to accuse one another.
The events of 1612 were triggered when an ordinary teenager, Alizon Device, was walking down an ordinary countryside pathway… only to be accused of cursing a passing pedlar after he fell to the floor following his reluctance to sell pins to her. These days, we can assume he had a stroke or something similar, but in the 17th century, this was enough to raise suspicions. Rumours spread that she had conjured a talking dog to harm him.
Panic followed.
Twelve in the area were eventually accused of witchcraft and sent to prison to await trial.
Four were from Alizon Device’s family (her grandmother Elizabeth Southerns, who died in prison, her mother Elizabeth Device, and her brother James).
Two accused were from the rival Chattox family (Anne Whittle and her daughter Anne Redfern).
Tragically, many allegations came from these two rival families pitting accusations against each other – records suggest there was already bad blood between them.
The final four victims were Jane Bulcock, Jennet Preston, John Bulcock, Katherine Hewitt, and Alice Nutter. (Alice Grey was found not guilty.)
The Pendle Witch Trials
Some confessed, either under torture (like Anne Whittle) or convinced of their witchcraft (like Alizon), while most maintained their innocence.
Nonetheless, after the two-day trials in York and Lancaster, all ten of the condemned were sentenced to execution by hanging.
Nine-year-old Jennet Device was a key witness for the prosecution and provided ‘evidence’ that would lead to many of their deaths, including that of her own relatives. She identified the victims as having attended a suspicious meeting at Malkin Tower together.
In addition, Jennet told the court that she believed her mother, Elizabeth, had been a witch for three or four years and had a familiar in the shape of a brown dog, and that her brother, James, had conjured up a black dog to kill a man. While one report suggested she was thrilled when condemning her family, it’s more likely that the prosecutor coached her on what to say.
Of course, there was no evidence, so it was hearsay and local superstition that finally sealed their fate.
The legacy of the Pendle Witches
Although the English witch trials spanned three centuries, these resulted in fewer than 500 executions – the Pendle witch trials resulted in 2% of the executions.
Pendle is also one of the best-recorded witch trials in England, so it’s no wonder that Pendle has become synonymous with the subject. Today, thousands walk up Pendle Hill each year to contemplate the communities torn apart by superstition and look down upon where those accused would once have lived.
More witch-themed things to do around Pendle Hill today
After finishing the Pendle Hill Witches Walk, you wish to follow in their footsteps further, the 45-mile Pendle Way winds through the surrounding area. This 72km circular loop passes through spots well-known for their connection to the Pendle witches, along with the Brontë sisters (who lived in nearby Haworth during the 19th century), and beautiful stone-built traditional villages.Â
In nearby Rouglee village, a statue of Alice Nutter was installed in 2012 to commemorate 400 years since her death. She was unusual amongst the accused as she came from a wealthier family, and, as the sculpture shows, she was an ordinary woman who was the victim of superstitious persecution.
Finally, take a 1-mile stroll from the Barley car park to the Pendle Sculpture Trail. This woodland path winds around Atiken Wood for about another mile. Within the branches, you’ll spot a series of sculptures and plaques inspired by the historic tale of the Pendle Witches and the natural beauty of Lancashire. Note that the path up is quite steep and the sculptures aren’t as well-maintained as they could be, but this pretty walk is worth a look if you’ve got more time in the area.
Looks like a beautiful trail. The pictures are stunning! Thanks for sharing.
I’m very familiar with the Salem witch trials (in the US), but hadn’t heard of the Pendle Hill ones. The walk sounds lovely.
I had no idea of the history behind this spot! All that aside, it does look like a peaceful and idyllic walking area!
Aside the horrid and tragic history, Pendle Hill walk sounds and looks like a great walking trail, with amazing rolling landscape.
Pendle Inn sounds like a great spot to rest and munch after a decent hike!