Pendle Hill

About Pendle Hill

Rising abruptly from the Ribble Valley, this iconic bulk is much more than its notorious history. While the steep 'Big End' from Barley offers a lung-busting ascent, the summit plateau reveals a vast, peat-covered expanse with clear lines of sight toward the Yorkshire Three Peaks and the distant Lakeland fells.

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Did You Know?

• •Its name is a linguistic stack of three different languages all meaning the same thing. The Cumbric word Penn (hill) was combined with the Old English hyll (hill) to create 'Pendle'. When modern English speakers added 'Hill' to the end, they effectively named it 'Hill Hill Hill'.
• •It is synonymous with the 1612 trials of the Pendle Witches. Ten people were executed following accusations of witchcraft centered around Malkin Tower, an event that remains one of the most famous and well-documented witch trials in English history.
• •In 1652, George Fox climbed the hill and experienced a religious vision that led to the founding of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers. He wrote in his journal that the Lord let him see 'in what places he had a great people to be gathered.'
• •From the trig point, the view to the north is dominated by the distinctive profiles of the Yorkshire Three Peaks—Ingleborough, Whernside, and Pen-y-ghent—while to the west, the Ribble Valley stretches toward the Irish Sea, which is often visible on exceptionally clear days.
• •The most popular ascent from Barley involves a relentless stone staircase known as the 'Big End'. It gains height so rapidly that it has become a staple training ground for local fell runners, who use the punishing gradient to build leg strength.
• •Despite its formidable profile and the fact that most locals refer to it with the reverence usually reserved for a Munro, Pendle Hill is technically 53 metres short of the official 610-metre threshold required to be classified as a mountain.