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Some of the best views of Burnleys countryside can be found on horseback where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and enjoy the landscape and natural history around you. From the stunning Cliviger Gorge, the windswept moorlands and packhorse trails to more gentle parkland which ever you choose you are bound to enjoy riding through Burnley.

Cliviger Gorge Packhorse Trails Circuit (10 miles / 16kms)

Download Trail The Cliviger Gorge is an extraordinary product of nature carved out by glacial meltwaters at the end of the ice age. It is significantly different from other Lancashire landscapes and its natural grandeur and scope is best admired on a horse traversing one of the only mainly off-road bridleway circuits in Burnley. The area has plenty of wildlife including peregrine falcons, ravens, deer and a little known hardy breed of sheep the magnificent curly horned Lonk.

The Blue Horseshoe Trail (4.5 miles/7.2 kms)

This route passes over Gorple Moor through the bleak and beautiful landscape of the high South Pennines. The ride incorporates a section of the Mary Towneley Loop and a concessionary route along Rams Clough. Originally marked by a series of blue dipped horseshoes hung from posts to guide the traveller along the driest line, only one now remains although the posts are still present. This is a short off road circuit which can be linked into the other parts of Burnleys bridleway network including the Cliviger Gorge circuit.

Towneley Park (various)

Towneley Park is a unique facility that Burnley is proud to be able to offer to horse riders as it acts as a cross borough link connecting the bridleway networks on the north, east and south of the town to the urban core. A number of definitive and concessionary routes are available and a certain amount of road work is necessary to create circular rides within the park (look out for the new sign going up as park of the park restoration project). A series of longer rides linking to other routes are possible using the park as a pivotal point.

Crown Point (various)

Crown Point is an area of moorland including White Hill, Red Moss, Gambleside and Crown Point itself. Now in the ownership of United Utilities there are a number of concessionary routes that supplement the definitive bridleways and National Trail which pass over it. Horse access can be taken at six points, leaving entry onto the moor entirely up to the visitor. The majority of routes are made up of crush and run and are therefore perfect in both wet and dry weather.

Dominating one of the highest points of the moor is The Singing-Ringing Tree a panopticon which emulates the shape of a blasted hawthorne, its pipes serenade the visitor with ghostly charm depending on the wind. The site can be accessed from the car park half way along Crown Point Road via a hard core track and should not be missed as the most magnificent panorama, embracing the whole of Burnley can be seen.

A number of routes can be ridden over the moor passing along ancient highways and past the historic Comptons Cross, leaving the rider to cover as many or as few miles as time and inclination permit. For the more adventurous Crown Point can be incorporated into the other rides mentioned.

All content © 2008 Burnley Borough Council

Burnley Borough Council, Town Hall, Burnley. BB11 1JA