Burnley Way
A 40-mile long distance footpath in the Burnley area of Lancashire featuring a walk of varied terrain including canal towpath, parkland, riverside, and moorland. With map, statistics, and GPX route file.
Statistics and Files
Grid Ref: SD 838 322
Distance: 40 miles (64 km)
Time: 20–30 hours
Duration: 2–4 days
Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps (1:25,000):
OL21 South Pennines – Burnley, Hebden Bridge, Keighley and Todmorden
287 West Pennine Moors, Blackburn, Darwen, Accrington and Bolton North
Summary
A varied route around Burnley with a wide range of terrain, moving from the town centre, the Calder riverside, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath past a number of reservoirs, before climbing onto high moorland. It includes Forest of Burnley woodlands and the wilder South Pennine Moors, with the route’s highest point at Thieveley Pike, alongside industrial heritage such as past limestone extraction at Shedden Clough contrasted with the nearby wind farm at Coal Clough. Updated in 2008, it is described in six sections, each with public transport links. There are connections to the Brontë and Pendle Ways, the Pennine Bridleway National Trail’s Mary Towneley Loop, and the Rossendale Way, which passes near the southern end of this trail. (Source: LDWA)