Marles Wood & Hurst Green 24/05/2026 leader Jan B

Finally summer arrived (for now!) and 17 ramblers, including David’s son -visiting from the south, met at Marles Wood Car Park – a new meeting point for many!

After dropping down through the woods we stopped at a suitable spot, by the beautiful River Ribble, for our start photo. Our route took us through the shady woods, alongside the river, then after a short while out into open fields, where we felt the full strength of the sun. Eventually we crossed the river via the recently rebuilt footbridge, to take a farm track leading up hill to Hurst Green.

Arriving at Hurst Green, after a brief stop, we made our way through the village then down The Dene, passing some very attractive houses along the way, then up to Shire Lane where we turned to pass St. John’s Church.

After crossing Longridge Road, we followed a track past Merricks Hall (formerly known as Priest House), then down to Bailey Brook before passing Bailey Hall with many windows still bricked up, possibly as a result of the 1696 window tax introduced under King William III.

Our route then took us up a farm track for a short while before baring left across a recently cut meadow, then across a footbridge across Clough Bank Wood, more fields and small woods, to reach our spot for lunch, under the shade of an oak tree.

After lunch we reluctantly moved on, down to Dewhurst House, passing a field with bee hives which led on to a farm track beside the Ribble. From here we crossed back over the river via Ribchester Bridge, then taking a path around recently built properties on the former site of the De Tabley pub.

A couple of open fields led us up to recently planted Bradley Wood, where we had good views back across the Ribble Valley to Longridge Fell. Then a left turn took us back towards the cars, but not before walking through a beautiful field of dazzling buttercups.

Thanks to Chris for back marking and Judy for taking the photos; and thanks to all who came on the walk today.

Approximate distance walked: 6.9 miles with 690ft elevation gain.

‘If you wish to see a static view of the pics all in one go, then click here.’

Continuously running slideshow below – you can see it full screen by clicking in top left of picture