Hurst Green walk (From This Is Lancashire)

Hurst Green walk

1:30pm Monday 26th October 2009 in

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This is a lovely autumn stroll because it passes through some wonderful woodland alongside the River Hodder.

Choose a nice day and take your time to enjoy the colours and the reflections.

From the Shireburn Arms cross the B6243 and follow a gentle incline up into the village.

Pass the Bayley Arms on the right, a line of alternative cottages on the left and then a splendid group of alms houses on the right.

Continue along the narrow road through a woodland road and reach a religious statue on the left.

Turn sharp right and enjoy a splendid view of Stonyhurst college in front of you.

Follow the long drive up to the school with two large lakes on either side of the drive. The route turns sharp left in front of the school gates.

The Shireburn or Sherburn family were strict Roman Catholics and when the sole male heir as a child was poisoned by eating yew berries the estate passed into the hands of a lady who was married to the Duke of Norfolk.

After her death the Weld family inherited in 1794 they gave the building to the Jesuits who have run a successful public school every since.

Follow the winding road keeping the school on the right.

Do not worry about walking on a road of tarmac.

It was on this route in 1826 that John L Macadam first tried out his new road making techniques so you are walking over history.

Continue onwards to a cross roads. Turn right and descend past Kemple End car park with splendid views of the Hodder Valley over to the right.

The road descends to another T junction, turn right and descend towards the Higher Hodder Bridge.

This river was used by JRR Tolkien who wrote Lord of the Rings at a time when his two sons were resident at Stonyhurst.

Look out for a stone stile leading to a footpath into the Hodder Woods.

A master at Stonyhurst was Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) who is now a much studied poet and wrote 'The Hodder Woods.

Approach the Lower Hodder Bridge and cross the road. Look out from the road bridge to see one of the most famous packhorse bridges in England.

This was built in 1562 and is still locally called Cromwell’s Bridge. It is said that in 1648 Cromwell troops crossed it on the way to Civil War victory at the battle of Preston.

From the road bridge turn right and follow another of Macadam’s winding roads back into Hurst Green and the starting point.

Look out to the moorlands and think of another Stonyhurst boy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.