WALKING ROUTE
'The Clarion House Way'
The Clarion is situated in its own grounds within the "Hidden Valley" and is surrounded by a myriad of public footpaths. It is close to the "Pendle Way" and the "Two Roses Way". We have also devised our own 40K walk The Clarion House Way which visits the Nelson Clarion House and the two former Clarion Houses at Burnley and Colne.
We are deep in the heart of "Pendle Witch Country". Roughlee, Barley, Read and the Historic towns of Colne, Clitheroe and Whalley are within walking distance.
There is a magnificent view to the North.
Celebrated Pendle Hill is to the immediate North West, Blacko Tower and Weets Hill to the North East and a few miles to the East, Boulswourth Hill towers over the Pennine Way.
Within the grounds children can play under the watchful eye of their parents. There are lawned areas and an adventure playground. We will even lend you a bat and ball free of charge.
Part of the grounds have been set aside for wildlife and a pond as been dug to develop this potential.
NB: since the PDF was produced, Coldwell Activity Centre Cafe is no longer open.
Map used in defining route:
Ordnance Survey South Pennines, OL21 1:25 000 scale.
Much of the route borrows sections of the Pendle Way, the Burnley Way and the Bronte Way. These routes are waymarked.
Care should be taken to avoid confusing the emblems used for the Burnley Way and the Bronte Way. Both routes use the symbol ‘B’, however the colours are different.
Since writing this guide we have discovered that the SDF had a Clarion House at Robin Houses, Briercliffe. This building still exists and is today a private dwelling. Whilst this building is near to the route of the Clarion House Way, Out of curtesy to the people who live there, I have decided not to modify the route to include it. Information about the Briercliffe Clarion House is included on our Other Resources Page.
All distances and bearings are given as a guide and are approximate. This guide starts from the centre of Nelson because the railway station and the bus station are close by.
The Clarion House Way is a circular walk that can be started at any suitable access point. The walk is designed to be done in a day by fit and experienced walkers.
Splitting the route into a two day walk is made very easy by ending day one in Burnley which has a railway station and a bus station near to the town centre. The Clarion House Way crosses the main road to Nelson and a bus stop is nearby.
The guide has been put together in 7 parts, all of which can be completed in less than three hours at a gentle pace, alternative transport arrangements will have to be made to the start and the finish of each section.
Download PDF version of the Guide here.
Please note that since this PDF version was produced that some of the hostelries and cafes are no longer open. We strongly recommend that you check in advance and carry appropriate food and drink with you.
To view the PDF version of the guide you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This can be downloaded free of charge from the Adobe website by following the link: https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
Southfield Methodist Church
Catlow Bottoms
Colne Clarion House
Thursden Valley
Parking is available at:
www.pendle.gov.uk/info/20074/car_parks/175/parking_in_pendle
There are also maps of Burnley on the Burnley Borough Council Web site the files are in the magnitude of 600 KB each.
Weather on the Lancashire Moors can quickly deteriorate.
Please avoid the moorland sections when visibility is poor.
The only safe way to keep your feet dry on most sections of this walk is by wearing a pair of waterproof boots.
Please follow the Countryside Code at all times.