Little Wolf Stones

About Little Wolf Stones

Rising from the heather-clad plateaus of Ickornshaw Moor, this gritstone-capped summit offers a rugged, quieter alternative to the busy Pennine Way nearby. Navigating the surrounding peat hags is often a sodden challenge, but the reward is a close-up encounter with the weathered, tooth-like outcrops that give this Tump its evocative name.

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Did You Know?

• •The name refers to the weathered gritstone outcrops scattered across the moorland. While folklore often claims such sites were the haunts of England’s last wolves, it is more likely a descriptive term for the jagged, predatory appearance of the eroded rocks.
• •The hill sits just south of the Pennine Way as it traverses the high ground between Cowling and Stanbury. Many long-distance walkers bypass the summit in favour of the established flagstoned path, leaving the Stones to those seeking a more solitary moorland experience.
• •The summit provides a clear line of sight to the distinctive whaleback silhouette of Pendle Hill to the west, while the northern horizon is dominated by the higher fells of the Yorkshire Dales beyond the Aire Valley.
• •If you manage to reach the outcrops without soaking your boots in a hidden bog, you have either visited during a rare heatwave or possess a level of moorland intuition that borders on the supernatural.