Why You Should Spend a Weekend in The Forest of Bowland

September 2025

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Get away from it all and spend a relaxing weekend in the Forest of Bowland

All rolling fells and peat moorland, covering 300 square miles, and one of just 46 areas in the country designated part of the National Landscape scheme, the stunningly beautiful Forest of Bowland offers plenty of opportunities for walking, cycling, wildlife watching and stargazing under its black velvet skies. In short, it's a great place for a weekend when you simply want to get out into the countryside.

Eight at Gazegill

EAT

Clitheroe’s Bowland Food Hall is where to stock up on local produce, or head to the on-site restaurant to refuel and the Bowland Brewery to try its small-batch beers. Pop into the Shireburn Arms at Hurst Green post-Tolkien walk for pub classics by the fire, or try Eight at Gazegill in the shadow of the iconic Pendle Hill for everything from lazy brunch to four-course dinner. Slightly further afield, in the historic village of Whalley, Mitton Hall Brasserie and Bar is a smarter choice serving freshly-sourced local ingredients.

STAY

The antique-filled Inn at Whitewell, a 16th century coaching inn beside the River Hodder, is a perennial favourite, renowned for its good food. For rather more rustic accommodation, Woodland Glade Glamping Pods on the Brownsholme Hall Estate boast big beds, ensuite showers, and underfloor heating means you’ll stay cosy whatever the weather, whilst an outdoor firepit allows you to relax beneath a sky full of stars. In the idyllic village of Bolton-by-Bowland, the newly refurbished Coach and Horses has a cosy bar, elegant restaurant and seven beautiful bedrooms.

It’s a landscape rich in history. It was the medieval period that had the greatest impact on the Bowland landscape when the Royal hunting forests were established: the title ‘forest’ refers to hunting rights, not to a large expanse of woodland, and managing the land for game hunting, primarily grouse shooting, has remained a predominant influence on the landscape. Medieval buildings still exist and it’s definitely worth seeking out the Norman motte and bailey Castle Stede dating back to 1086, Halton Castle with its commanding views over the Lune Valley, and the monastic ruins of Sawley and Whalley Abbeys.

Walkers will love the steep but rewarding six-mile Nicky Nook Loop, with sweeping views reaching the Lake District, Morecambe Bay, and even to the Isle of Man and the Tolkien Trail, which takes in seven miles of woodland and wildflower meadows, and offers panoramic views of the Ribble Valley. Legend has it that JRR Tolkien modelled his Middle Earth on the Forest of Bowland. Cyclists will want to test the white-knuckle downhills in Gisburn Forest (bike hire is available).