Wray to Hornby Circular

Starting point  and OS Grid reference: Small lay-by on B6840 immediately outside Wray (SD 605681)		Ordnance Survey Map OL41 – Forest of Bowland & Ribblesdale Buy this map from List of OS Maps     Note: If you use OS Maps on-line, you can download this route via this link.
Distance: 8 miles	Date of Walk:  20 November 2024
Ascent: Descent: See Walking Time Calculator	705ft (215m) 705 ft 215 (m)
Traffic light rating:    (For explanation see My Walks page)
For advice on .gpx files see My Walks page	Click the PDF logo above to give a printable version of this walk without the photos.

To view route as a dynamic Ordnance Survey map click here.

Introduction: This walk is a pleasant Lancashire countryside ramble taking in part of the lovely Lune Valley. It starts from Wray and progresses via Hornby and the tiny hamlet of Tatham with its unusually named church.

Wray is a picturesque village famous for its annual scarecrow festival in April/May. For a small village it is well supplied with pub, post office, tea rooms and even a garden centre.

Hornby is an upmarket small town which boasts Hornby Castle. This started life in the 13^th century to replace Castle Stede, which you pass on the walk. It had additions in the 16^th , 18^th and 19^th centuries. It is privately owned. It is Grade I listed. The gardens are open to the public just a couple of times a year – see their website.

Another notable building is Hornby Village Institute built in 1916 and which must be one of the most ornate of its type. It was built in 1916 and is Grade II listed.

Castle Stede, which you pass on the route, is a well preserved motte and bailey castle, built about 1086. Well worth a look round.

The walk starts from Wray. Parking can be a bit tight in the village so I began the walk from a small lay-by on the edge of the village on the B6480. The lay-by is small and there is only one way in, so you have to do a three point turn to leave. If full, find somewhere in the village if you can! Wray is best reached via High and Low Bentham along the B6480 from the A65 at Clapham or along the same B6480 off the A683 just south of Hornby.

Start: Turn left out of the lay-by and walk along the road into Wray. Pass the end of Main Street and continue along Hornby Road. At the end of a high wall on the right, turn right down The Gars (SD602677), an unusual name which it is believed may mean ‘The Grass’, marking an and of the village where the farmland started.

Look out for a garage on the left, on the far side of which is a sign for “Rowan House” and “Deer Park View”. There is also a small ‘official’ footpath fingerpost on the lamp post. Turn left here.

At first glance, this looks like a dead end but in the far left corner, cross a stile then turn right to follow the right hand field boundary.

At the end of the field, go through a walkers’ gate and turn left along a broad track (SD 601680). There are good views back to Ingleborough here.

At a junction of tracks, keep straight ahead.

Look out for a metal farm gate on the right and turn off the track here (SD 597679). Head for the barn in the diagonally opposite corner of the field and pass to its left, over a stile. The path then curves gently right to cross the old track of the railway, by a red topped wooden post. Continue roughly in the direction of Hornby Castle, clearly visible.

Follow the obvious path through a gap in the trees, where you join a broad track and turn left.

At the farm, follow its drive to the road, emerging by Hornby Village Institute. Turn right over the road bridge then immediately left to follow the right hand side of the River Wenning. After a few yards, you have to cross the flood defence via a ‘bridge’ arrangement and stone step stile but continue to follow the river.

Follow the river until you cannot go any further (SD 572684, then turn right to follow the River Lune, along its right hand bank.

Follow the river until you get to Loyn Road Bridge. Turn right briefly along the road and just round the bend, turn left through a slit stile (SD 588699). An old army pill box is ahead and to the left are the remnants of Castle Stede and its motte and bailey. There is a handy bit of low wall here on which you can perch for a picnic.

Continue past Castle Stede to the farm.

At the farm, there was a bit of a quandary. A footpath sign appeared to indicate to turn left along the fenced track but according to the OS map, the footpath was straight ahead. However a large cylindrical silage tank (?) is built over the route of the footpath. I therefore crossed over the track, passing through two gates and walked round the silo, to follow the official footpath route to the road, exiting via the diagonally opposite corner of the field at SD 589701. It could be that the path has been diverted along the track mentioned and the map has not been updated, in which case a likely route would be to follow the first wall right from SD 588702 up to the road but in the absence of any clear signs, I took the mapped route (see map extract below). The ground round the tank was extremely well trampled by cattle and very muddy.

At the road, turn right along it for about three hundred yards. This is the A683 and can be quite busy so take care. There is a narrow verge.

Look out for a gate on the left bearing a yellow footpath arrow (SD 588699). It is quite well hidden in the hedge. Through this, bear left, climbing towards the small copse of trees. Pass to the right of the trees and through a gate, join a broad track. Follow it as it curves right.

The track leads into a large field. The footpath route arcs round anti-clockwise to end in the opposite corner of the field. Here, cross a ladder stile. More good views of Ingleborough here.

According to the OS map, the footpath route seems slightly different to reality and leaves the field slightly earlier than indicated through a gate on the right. Follow the path through the trees.

At the next field, head to the diagonally opposite corner and in the following field, follow the right hand boundary to the farm.

As you enter the farm. There is a footpath arrow pointing left and it is possible to follow this in a loop round the farm but it would add about a mile to the walk. However I note this route is also shown on the Discover Bowland tourist site (https://www.discoverbowland.uk/) and it seems acceptable to walk through the farmyard to join its access track down to Tatham and the main road, which is what I did.

Walk down to the main road, passing the unusually named St. James the Less church, which was unfortunately covered in scaffolding.

At the road (SD 610693), turn briefly left then right along a narrow lane (called Park Lane – per Google - although there is no sign).

Follow Park Lane for just under half a mile. Go through a farm gate then branch off right, passing a stone building. In the fields beyond the building, follow their right hand boundaries until you reach a newish metal kissing gate on the right.

Follow the right hand boundary downhill and as you get to the bottom of the hill cross a stile marked with a yellow arrow and follow its direction until you reach the road at Mealbank.

At the road turn right. There is an old fingerpost pointing into the farmyard of Meal Bank Farm but this does not work and probably should be removed. Instead, just the other side of the barn is a much newer fingerpost (SD 609672) Follow the one pointing right to pass the large tank.

Once past the tank, turn right to head down the field to a stile in the hedge. Cross and keep roughly in the same direction to the road. A brief two hundred yards return you to the starting point in the lay-by.

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