A Stroll Across Clitheroe's Limestone Ridge

**EVENT UPDATE: Please note the walk on the 19th has been cancelled. However, the walk on the 12th will still take place.**

Before Clitheroe benefited from ‘mains’ piped water in 1856, water sprang naturally out of the ground around the limestone knoll bearing the Castle. This, due to the geological formation of the rock outcrop on which the medieval settlement of ‘Clyderhowe’ (Possibly a combination of the Old English ‘clyder’ or clither’ - for loose stones and ‘hoh’ – for hill.) was built.

Here then is the natural geological and hydrological connection, wisely taken advantage of by generations of settlers here in the lee of Pendle. As indicated in the extract from the British Geological Survey above, this eventually springs out in many places around this interface.

These springs – and there could have be many more than we can see today – provided an essential and reliable source of drinking water. Initially, they would have been enclosed in some very basic form of enclosure – if at all - similar to that still visible at St Helens Well in Eshton, North Yorkshire.

Timings

Saturday 12 September:

1000

Saturday 19 September:

Cancelled

Location & directions

Clitheroe Castle Museum, Clitheroe Castle, Castlegate, Clitheroe, Lancashire, BB7 1AZ

Directions:

Guided and Self Guided walks commence outside the Castle Museum, Castle Hill Clitheroe. The Tour ends at St Mary's Parish Church, Church Street, Clitheroe.

Contact on day:

Steve Burke

Telephone number:

+447975518113

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking preferred

Booking conditions:

Please contact CTWCC Secretary Steve Burke in advance to ensure a place on the Guided Tour. Visitors turning up on the 'off chance' will be accepted on the Tours providing the max number of 16 is not exceed.

Booking contact name:

Steve Burke

Booking telephone number:

+447975518113

Booking email:

[email protected]

Booking opens:

31 Jul 2026 12:00 AM

Accessibility details

Pay/Display Parking: https://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/car-parks/car-parks-parking/ 8 Lowergate Car Park, Lowergate BB7 1AD; Market Street Car Park BB7 2JN; Railway View Car Park BB7 2RA. Assembly: Outside the Stewards Gallery Clitheroe Castle. Duration: Approx. 90–120 minutes Stops: Clitheroe Castle Keep → Stock Well → Heald Well → St Mary’s Well → St Mary Magdalene’s Church Group size: 16 participants max.

Additional information

Please note: This tour includes moderate slopes and uneven surfaces — suitable for those in reasonable health. Public Facilities: Clitheroe castle Grounds – Opposite Stock Well; Clitheroe Open Market -Between Parson Lane and King Street; Most Hostelries!

Max number of people:

16

Estimated duration:

2 hour(s)

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