The Ribble Valley / Forest of Bowland

About 45 minutes north of Manchester (easily the UK’s top city after London!), the Ribble Valley and Forest of Bowland are together an expansive rural area of outstanding natural beauty, rich in local history, traditions, hospitality and wildlife.

Clitheroe, pop. 21,000, is the central market town for the area and boasts a Norman castle keep built as far back as the mid 12th Century. Recently completely updated, the Castle complex and its visitor centre also includes a high quality cafe and art gallery. One of the UK’s most famous wine merchants, D.Byrne & Co, is also right here in Clitheroe.

Three miles away is the pretty village of Whalley, bringing together the area’s best shopping facilities as well as great pubs and places for a relaxing ‘cuppa’. With all its attractions, Whalley is a perfect focal point for ride-outs and country walks.

Close by is the village of Hurst Green, home of the famous Stonyhurst College, a Roman Catholic school founded in 1593 that today attracts pupils from all over the world. Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes was a pupil here between 1869 and 1875 - and there was also a real life Moriarty in his class! The description of Baskerville Hall in The Hound of the Baskervilles is also a genuine ‘take’ on the frontal view of the College. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins taught at Stonyhurst in the 1880s, whilst JRR Tolkein also knew the area well, finding inspiration from the local woodlands and countryside when writing his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy in the dark days of WW2.

Herbert Walker, grandfather of President George Herbert Walker Bush, also spent time as a pupil at Stonyhurst, as did General Vernon Walters, the US diplomat, presidential advisor and Deputy Director of the CIA.

Of particular interest, the design of the college chapel was modelled on one of the UK’s greatest religious buildings, Kings College chapel in Cambridge.

Edging on Stonyhurst is the Forest of Bowland, an area of spectacularly beautiful rolling hills dotted with small rural farms and pretty hamlets. Two of these are particularly famous; firstly Whitewell, with The Inn at Whitewell having a national reputation for both the character and quality of its hospitality. Second is the tiny village of Dunsop Bridge - the exact geographic centre of Great Britain.

Dunsop Bridge is also the start of the extremely rugged (especially in winter) ‘trough’ road over the bleak fells to the City of Lancaster, a route taken in the early 1600s by those unfortunate women (the Pendle Witches) then being accused of various levels of devilish deeds. Few returned, with most facing speedy trial, conviction and execution. For a prison cart making this trek 400 years ago, now you can simply substitute a 21st Century Great Rides BMW!

Three miles from Dunsop Bridge is the pretty riverside village of Slaidburn, a noteworthy venue for motorcyclists thanks to easy parking and the lovely Riverbank Tea Rooms on the village green, open throughout the week (except Monday) which also provides a splendid Sunday morning service of tea / coffee and wonderful breakfast buns!

With much of the Forest of Bowland still belonging to the Crown through The Duchy of Lancaster, this expansive area of completely natural hill fells provides a perfect habitat for all kinds of wildlife, especially hawks and the particularly rare ground-nesting hen harriers.

Blessed by a perfect landscape, the Ribble Valley and Forest of Bowland make for ideal, unhurried rural motorcycling where you will want to stop every few miles simply to take in the breathtaking views. This is the heart and soul of real England; poet / painter William Blake’s words for ‘Jerusalem’ - begun in 1804 but later committed to music by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916 - have no greater resonance than here. Incredibly perhaps, many of the ‘Dark Satanic Mills’ of industrial Lancashire two hundred years ago were but 15 - 20 miles away on the other side of Pendle Hill.

Best Roads?
Being a highly rural area, the actual number of roads are relatively few. However, they all make for near - perfect motorcycling, being interesting, generally well maintained and with low volumes of traffic (even in summer). Tractors, livestock (plus their deposits) and the odd rural bus are the main things to look out for. Why not ask us to put together an itinerary / route plan to suit your time schedule for touring this wonderful area?

Best Bike?
Probably an F800 GS (with a top-box), particularly if you are staying locally and riding out somewhere different each day.

Check out some of the best hospitality in our area:

Pubs (doing great food, too)

Pub / Restaurants:

Restaurant / Hotel:

Particular places of interest:



Keep up to date with all our developments by simply adding your name and contact details below: