Walking Maps

Wray Walks: Roeburndale Walk

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Walk Description

Use of a map for this walk is essential please use OS Explorer OL41

1. Leave Bridge House Farm tearooms and continue straight ahead up the steep road and follow this road for about 1km passing on your left the sawmill at Above Beck. Take the footpath to the right down the track, which is bounded by recently laid hedges on both sides up to Alcocks Farm.
2. At Alcocks Farm turn left and follow this road for about 0.5km.
3. Take the footpath to the right; turn left across a small meadow over a stile in the hedge (take care here not to take the footpath that goes through the gate and down to Outhwaite Wood). This path takes you alongside a hedgerow line through two fields then across Outhwaite farmtrack, and continues alongside drystone walls past the edge of Wray Wood Moor. Keep on the footpath as it crosses several rushy pastures till you reach a field barn.
4. At this point the footpath splits in two. Take the left fork up to Harterbeck Farm. At the farmyard follow the footpath that takes you south out through a field gate and over a small stream. Continue down the grassy back and over a footbridge above the waterfall.
5. Take the footpath that bears right down through several fields and into the yard of Lower Salter Farm. Turn right and follow the road past the Methodist chapel down to Barkin Bridge
6. Cross the bridge and take the concessionary footpath to your right. This path follows the west side of the River Roeburn for 1km then over a footbridge and continues down the east side through the woodland for a further 2.5km to a second footbridge.
7. Do not go over this second footbridge but turn right, through and out of Outhwaite Wood into a steep pasture and walk up to the road. Turn left and follow this road for 2km back into Wray village and Bridge House Farm tearooms.

About this walk

The hedgerows, verges and woodlands along this lane are important for their wildlife, particularly lovely during the spring and summer.

Many of the meadows and pastures in Roeburndale continue to be managed traditionally, supporting a rich variety of plants and invertebrates. The area is also important for ground-nesting birds, in particular lapwing, curlew, oystercatchers and redshank.

This wooded valley is one of the largest and most important areas of ancient semi-natural woodland in Lancashire. Characteristically the valley sides are very steep, and there are some beautiful exposures of rock.

Coppicing in the past was carried out and remains of the charcoal areas are still visible within the woodlands.

Today The Middlewood Trust has started to bring some of these woodlands back into management using traditional techniques coupled with more recently developed equipment. The timber is used for a variety of end products.

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