The Ribble way is a long-distance walk between the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

coast and the

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designat ...

largely following the course of the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

. The route begins in

Longton Longton may refer to several places: * Longton, Kansas, United States * Longton, Lancashire, United Kingdom * Longton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom See also * Longtan (disambiguation) * Longtown (disambiguation) Longtown may refer to several plac ...

and ends at the source of the Ribble at

Gayle Moor Gayle or Gayl may refer to: People * Gayle (given name), people with the given name * Gayle (surname), people with the surname * Gayle (singer) (born 2004), American singer-songwriter Places * Gayle, North Yorkshire, England * Gayle, Jamaica, a ...

near

Ribblehead Ribblehead is the area of moorland at the head of the River Ribble in the area known as Ribblesdale, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, England. Ribblehead is most notable for Ribblehead railway station and Ribblehead Viaduct on the Sett ...

, it is around in length. The route passes through a variety of landscapes including

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...

, open moorland and limestone gorges. It begins to the south of the Ribble estuary, the route then runs through Preston and on to the historic town of

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

. Next it heads up into the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

to reach its source on remote

Cam Fell Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bind ...

History

The idea of opening a walk along the Ribble called the Ribble Way was first suggested back in 1967 at the inaugural meeting of the Preston and Fylde branch of the

Ramblers' Association The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...

. ''The Guardian'' reported in 1972 that the Ramblers Association were planning Britain's first riverside long footpath called the Ribble Way. At that time, the route being discussed was from the estuary of the

Walmer Bridge Walmer Bridge is a small village in Lancashire, England. Surrounding villages are Much Hoole and Longton. History Walmer Bridge is first recorded in 1251 in the chartulary of Cockersand Abbey as ''Waldemurebruge''. Walmer Bridge was once home ...

close to Preston to its source near the farmhouse of Far Gearstones in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

fells; just of the planned route was designated

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

. The idea eventually attracted official support and was opened in 1985. The Ribble Valley is an area of of natural beauty from the north-west coast to the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. The official course of the Ribble Way that is marked on the Ordnance Survey (2010) OS Openspace maps starts at

, the mouth of the

just west of Preston, above mean sea level and finishes at Grove head, just north of Cam Fell, above mean sea level. Grove head is actually the source of the Gayle Beck which feeds into the River Ribble near

Route

The Ribble Way and Sikesdale Gill - geograph

The official start of the Ribble Way is the Dolphin Inn on Marsh Lane in Longton. The Ribble Way connects with several other long-distance walks, including the

Dales Way The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'lead ...

, the

Pennine Way The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...

, the

Pennine Bridleway The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England. It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbria. ...

and the Round Preston Walk.

Settlements

*Longton *Preston *

Frenchwood Avenham and Frenchwood are the central communities which make up the Town Centre ward of Preston City Council, in Lancashire, England. The name of the ward was chosen by the Boundary Committee for England prior to Preston being awarded city stat ...

Ribchester Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston. The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze ...

* Little Town * Winckley Hall *Clitheroe * Horrocksford *

Paythorne Paythorne is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is situated alongside the River Ribble, north-east of Clitheroe, and on the boundary with North Yorkshire. Other parishes adjacent to Paythorne are Halton ...

Rathmell Rathmell is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish in the 2011 census was 305. It is close to the River Ribble and about three miles south of Settle. Other towns and v ...

*Giggleswick *Stainforth *

Horton in Ribblesdale Horton in Ribblesdale is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in Ribblesdale on the Settle–Carlisle Railway to the west of Pen-y-ghent. Its population in the 2001 census ...

Chapel-le-Dale Chapel-le-Dale is a hamlet in the civil parish of Ingleton, North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Yorkshire Dales and was previously in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History The hamlet is situated on the B6255 road between Ingleton and Ribble ...

After which the route joins the

History

Route

Settlements

References

Further reading