Length: approx 4.5 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2 hours
Starting Point: The Highwayman
Photo credit: Robin Ree
- Leave the car park and cross the road taking a right and walk through the village past the cottages and Mill Farm ( this is where the cows live who produce the milk for everyone’s favourite ice cream from The Milking Parlour) up to Burrow Bridge.
- Cross over the road once near the bridge, below the bridge you will see the beautiful Leck Beck running through it. Here you will find a stile and a footpath sign to climb over. Pop over the stile and down the steps then over the next stile into the field ahead.
You can use the gates if you wish and have dogs instead of the stile but please make sure they are closed due to the sheep.
- Go straight across the field past the trees until the field starts to open out, then you will bear slightly right towards the farm buildings. It is a grey concrete farm building with a ‘Please Shut The Gate’ on the wall. In winter months you should see some of the cows that help make the lovely ice cream!
- Go through the farm buildings and follow them right round until you reach the gate (you should go past hay bales on your right, containers of logs on the left) then enter the next field. There is a footpath sign on the gate .
These are working farms, the farmers are more than happy for you to walk through and it is a public footpath just keep an eye out if they are working in the grounds.
- Go straight across the fields, pass the drinking troughs towards the big tree. At the top of the field in the right hand corner there is a gate that joins directly to the road. Go through here and remember to shut the gate.
- Take a slight left and follow the road straight ahead to the hamlet of Overtown. The road will eventually bend to the right but go straight ahead off the road where you will see in an information board on your right. Continue straight ahead, there will be a white cottage straight ahead of you.
- You will walk into the grounds of the cottage but bear left as you enter and you will see a gate with a public footpath sign. Go through the gate and follow the path and over the style.
- Keep going straight ahead through the fields right up until you nearly meet the road and you will find a small peculiar walk way next to the house. This will bring you up to Cowan Bridge.
Welcome to Cowan Bridge! The half way point in the walk. If you need refreshments there is a shop just over the road!
- Once you leave the little walk way turn left and head over the bridge. Once over the bridge you will see a foot path sign and the path you will follow back along Leck Beck. However before you turn down here there is a little bit of history that is worth noting. Ahead is a row of cottages formed from an old Clergy School , keeping on the pavement at the side of the building you will see this stone in the wall.
Here is what was the ‘Clergy Daughters School ‘ at Cowan Bridge . Not a happy time for the Bronte girls as the poor conditions in the school would ultimately be largely blamed for the death of Maria and Elizabeth . It is however what Charlotte based the school Lowood in Jane Eyre on.
- Back on the route and heading down the path with Leck Beck on the left you will continue on this until you reach a tarmac path. Keep going straight ahead past two foot bridges on your left until you reach a gate and ladder stile on your right hand side. Enter the field and bear left and walk to the next field. There will be a house and private land on your left and what will look like a nice pathway, however this is private land please through the field instead of this way. Go through this field where you find a stile and a stone footbridge. Before you cross over peer over the wall and see if you can see the donkeys that live here.
- Cross over the stone footbridge and turn left following up the slight hill keeping the boundary on the left. Once you reach the end of this at the top bear left in between the trees and go down the hill keeping the small patch of woodland on your right. Straight ahead you will see the beautiful grounds of Burrow Hall. At the bottom on the right hand side of the field you will find a stile, pop over here and go straight ahead following the wall to the Estate on your left. Continue along the path through two gates, past the barns until you reach the main farm path.
- The path ahead will be waterlogged ( it always is no matter what time of year ) but to the right there is a raised little path that will see you over nice and dry. Keep ahead on the path following it past Johnson House on your right and continuing down the track until you meet the road. Again please stay on the route as these are working farms.
- Once at the road take a left. There are not any paths or grass to walk on for the first part so be very careful. Once you reach Burrow Hall gates you can walk on the grass bank safely all the way back to Burrow Bridge. When at the bridge cross over and head back towards the pub car park.
Now you can pick up your Click & Collect from The Highwayman and eat a well deserved meal!
Click & Collect
Click & Collect orders are available from the Highwayman every weekend:
Friday 5-8pm
Saturday 4-8pm
Sunday 12-7pmOrder online here or call 015242 73338
by Aimee Sharples
