Newton to Dunsop
and
Hodder Bank
15th April 2025
8.9 miles / 14.3 km
333 m ascent
Moderate
10.5 Naismith miles
Newton to Dunsop
Step by Step | OS Map | Downloads | Gallery | Fly through
Within the Bentham Footpath Group, we regard the Yorkshire Dales, the South Lakes and the Forest of Bowland as our home patch. Of those three, it’s the latter that offers the best opportunity for quiet walks free from the more popular tourist hotspots.
Does that mean that the Forest of Bowland is remote and inaccessible then? Not in our opinion – in fact this walk passes through the centre of the United Kingdom which, as it turns out is Dunsop Bridge.
We start though in Newton – where there is good parking, then go via Beatrix to Dunsop Bridge with great views of Beatrix and Burn Fells along the way. We then stroll along the banks of the Hodder down to Burholme before returning via Hodder Bank Fell.
Step-by-Step
We start in Newton-in-Bowland, taking advantage of the excellent (free) parking facilities. The village sits fairly well at the centre of the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, so obviously the roads to it are small and interesting. The best way from Bentham is via the Slaidburn Road, and then at Slaidburn taking the B6478 which is signposted for Newton and Dunsop Bridge. The car park at Newton is just a few metres past the boundary sign for the village and is on the right as you approach.
If you are using Satnav to get to Newton, try BB7 3EB as a postcode., or if your device accepts What-3-Words tags, demanding.fancy.slows pinpoints the carpark. If you prefer paper maps, the OS grid reference is SD69845063. Once at the car park, look for the information board and take the path to the right of this to head down to a footbridge over a small stream. The path then climbs back up to the B6478 giving us a glimpse of the village and the Parkers Arms – don’t worry about missing out – our return at the end of the walk is through the village.
To read more about Newton-in-Bowland click . . .
We stay on the road for just a few metres and then take a track on the right to climb toward a stile through a drystone wall giving us access to open countryside. We need to be a little careful here as there are two footpaths from this track – we want the one to the left which heads northwest on to the hill, The one further to the right heads to Pain Hill and is not for us today.
Once over the stile we continue in much the same direction, climbing steadily as we go – don’t forget to look back though, as the best views of the village and the fells opposite are behind us along this section of the walk. Ahead of us meanwhile we see a small stand of trees and aim just to the left of this where the path continues upward, never more than 50m from the trees through two more fields, eventually arriving at a small footbridge over a beck.
We undertook this walk in mid-April, so within the breeding season for both Curlew and Oystercatcher, both of which are found here. Both birds are ground nesting, and largely by chance we came across a Curlew nest. The eggs of the two birds are similar in appearance and size, but Curlews typically lay four eggs and then arrange them in a star shaped cluster whilst Oystercatchers typically lay three. If you are lucky enough to see a nest, please do not disturb it – this may prevent the parents returning.
Once over the footbridge, we see a hedge line 100m ahead, and head toward this to find a stile onto a minor road. We cross that road to find a stile with a footpath sign, and a gate to the right of this. We take the gate and continue through fields – the footpath over the stile returns to the main road through Newton, whilst our path, slightly to the right heads to the top left hand corner of the field. A stile into the next field brings Gamble Hole Farm into view, and we head toward the farm, skirting round to the right of it to pick up a track.
We join that track at a bend and so could go right or left – right would just take us back to the road we crossed a few minutes ago, so we will head left. Before we do that though we pause at the elbow of that bend and look forward across the field – what we have in our sight here is the route of the Roman Road from Ribchester to Burrow Fort. In truth there is not much to see for the untrained eye here, the evidence is somewhat clearer in more northern parts of the route as we saw in our Tatham Fells walk.
The lane we were on once served a small quarry – now disused – just beyond the farm so beyond here we are back to field walking. We continue northwest for 400m, to arrive at the end of another ancient green lane – this is Bull Lane and is a route that we have used before – on our Dunsop Bridge walk.
We keep left here to follow the lane round to a bend 50m ahead where we again go left. From here we have great views of Beatrix Fell, and we keep these in sight for a while as we start to head downhill toward a large pile of rubble that is identified as Rough Syke Barn. Although hard to image from the random piles of rock that we see now, this was a standing structure until fairly recently.
The path now continues downhill heading toward a farm at Beatrix – the route is clear so navigation should not be a problem. Beatrix was originally a small hamlet called Battrix and was an important stock-rearing centre. Markets were held here in the 17th and 18th centuries, but by 1822 it had become less prominent consisting of 2 just farmhouses.
We follow the road through Beatrix and just beyond the second farmhouse, look to the right for a footpath sign taking us back into open fields. We now need to walk 400m across the field toward the river Dunsop. Our general direction of travel is southwest, but as you can see from our recorded GPX trail, the path apparent on the ground does not always coincide with the “official” route drawn on the OS map. As long as you head toward the rounded peak ahead (Mellor Knoll) you will eventually arrive at a stile into woodland and then a steepish scramble down to a well made track at the side of the river, where we go left.
We now follow the track for 800m down to Dunsop Bridge arriving in the village at the rear of the Post Office and the Puddleduck Tearooms.
Dunsop Bridge is a very attractive place and is often cited as the geographic centre of the United Kingdom, although the exact point is more likely at Whitendale Hanging Stones, near Brennand Farm, 4.5 miles (7 km) north of here.
Dunsop Bridge has other claims to fame: The 100,000th BT payphone was installed here in 1992 and included a plaque to explain its significance. The telephone box was unveiled by explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
On 8 August 1967, Dunsop Valley entered the UK Weather records with the highest 90 minute total rainfall at 117 mm. That record still stands.
There is a rather lovely village green in Dunsop Bridge, and we took the opportunity to have lunch here. The Puddleduck tearooms were not open during our visit, but we hear they are excellent.
To read more about Dunsop Bridge, click . . .
Fully refreshed we cross the bridge and then immediately leave the road to continue to the left on the track down to a farm. At the time of our walk, there was a significant building project underway here, with a safe diversion of the footpath around the site. Beyond that we cross the field to the riverbank and follow the Hodder downstream for the next 300m.
Our next landmark is the bridge over the Hodder. This is essentially a pipe bridge built in 1882 by Blackburn Corporation Waterworks, primarily as an aqueduct carrying the Bowland Main over the Hodder, allowing water collected in the Whitendale and Brennand valleys (the sources of the River Dunsop) to supply the growing industrial town 25 km away. Fortunately for walkers, the pipe bridge includes a pedestrian walkway offering great views of the river.
Once over the bridge we head right to follow the river downstream. We are on the Ribble Valley Jubilee Trail for this part of the route. We soon see the confluence of the Hodder and the Langden Brook one of the hidden gems in the Ribble catchment, this area is one of the few remaining strongholds for salmon, so is favoured by fly fishermen. It is also an important part of our drinking water infrastructure.
The path stays close to the river for about 400m. After this the river meanders away, and the path continues straight ahead with the whitewashed farm building at Burholme ahead. We head just to the left of this. The Ribble Valley path continues through the farmyard, but we take a sharp left and cross a gate onto a steep uphill path up Fielding Clough. The terrain here was fairly easy on the day of our walk, as we were at the end of a four week period without significant rain. Be aware though that it can be quite boggy here.
We press on heading northwest for the next mile. Fielding Clough becomes Hodder Bank Fell, and throughout this section the route is marked by a series of standing marker stones. We follow these until we start to head downhill with an attractive barn to our right. This is Matril Laithe. We see a stile ahead and having crossed it hold that direction for the next 200m to arrive at an access road to Knowlmere Manor. A manor house was first built here in 1805 for J. Peel, industrialist and son of Sir Robert Peel founder of the Police Force; a new larger house was built in 1845 with stables and walled garden, and if it looks familiar to you that may be because you have seen the Sherlock Holmes mystery “Silver Blaze” which was filmed there in the 1970s.
We have passed close to the Manor house before on other Bentham Footpath Group walks, but this time, we head right, and away from the house along the access road. We cross Birkett Brook using Giddy Bridge – grade II listed and dating from the early 19th century – and then continue along the access road for the next 500m. We coincide with the Ribble Valley Jubilee trial again along this section.
The access road to the Manor eventually arrives at a minor road, and we go left for 100m, noting a wall mounted post-box on our right and then almost opposite a stile almost lost with the hedge on the left. We take that stile and strike out across the fields beyond, to get back to the riverbank.
Once we arrive at the river, we follow it upstream until we get to the bridge at Newton – just 400m ahead. We climb up to a stile to get to the road and then head left to cross the bridge.
Once over, we have Newton ahead of us and just need to head up to the car park, possibly via the Parkers Arms to end our walk.
Bentham Footpath Group walks are classified according to distance and elevation change, and this one is “moderate” at 14.3km. You should be aware that the Fielding Clough and Hodder Bank Fell sections can be quite difficult in bad weather – so the route may feel more challenging in those circumstances.
