Series: Historic Rambles in Langho and Billington

This is going to be a series of posts in which I explore the walking routes, landscapes, and histories of the area around my home in Langho. Local history is fascinating. When visiting National Trust or English Heritage properties, the history is there in full view, laid out for all to see. But the stories of our local landscapes are often hidden to the untrained eye, and therein lies the intrigue. There may be mere clues - a scar on the landscape formed by past industry or slight remains of an ancient structure. Or often, there is nothing visible, but as is often the case, local history reveals itself in the place names of our maps, just waiting to be (re)told. 

I remember several years ago when I first became interested in scouring over old maps of my hometown of Spennymoor. Old maps make for a fascinating read. I was searching around the location of Whitworth Park mine, the first major mine to open in Spennymoor. One would hardly know now that a mine existed here. The area now forms the Burton Woods housing development. But on that old OS map, I could see the location of some small mining shafts in the strip of woodland beside the estate. Exploring the woods one day, I came across one of these shafts, which had a tattered Coal Board sign covering the filled hole. 'I wonder how many people know about this?' I thought. Indeed, I wondered just how much else there is out there we don't know about. Now I can barely walk past an old building without wondering why and by whom it was built. 

I now live in Langho, a Lancashire village on the outskirts of the Ribble Valley. Langho is split into "old" and "new". The old part much quieter with fewer houses, albeit with a fine old pub called The Black Bull. New Langho is a more built up village with more amenities and transport links, including a train station on the Ribble Valley Line. It sits within the Langho and Billington County Parish. To the south west is the town of Blackburn and to the north east Whalley, a village known for its historic Abbey, now ruinous, having been a victim of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The historic town of Clitheroe is also close by. 

Billington Moor rises above the village. The old road which goes over the tops of the moor was the original route between Blackburn and Whalley. There are in fact three roads which connect Langho to Whalley. The main road is Whalley Road which passes through the main parts of Langho and Billington toward Whalley. There is Old Whalley Road. From Langho, this can be accessed via York Lane or Snodworth Road. The Lord Nelson pub sits at the top of York Lane. The road then follows the lower slopes of Billinton Moor eventually descending on a notoriously tight bend near Whalley.

The original road between Whalley and Langho is the old road which runs over the top of Billington moor toward Whalley Nab. Really, you wouldn't use this road unless you were seeking out some of the walking territory up on the moor; or if you live in one of the several farm houses. It is a single track road with few passing places or parking spots, other than the parking offered at the Billington Horse Trail.

It seems there are quite a few folk in the area who are unaware of this road, which is a shame, because it offers perhaps the best walking territory in the Langho and Billington parish. The road is so quiet that it offers a peaceful place to walk, with very fine views in parts. To the west, there are views over the flatlands toward the Fylde coast and on a clear day, you can see Blackpool tower. To the north west there are views out to the Bowland Fells, such as Longridge, Fairsnape, Waddington and Easington. Straight ahead, in the Whalley direction, you can see over to Wiswell Moor as it makes its way towards the star attraction of Pendle. To the east there are views over to the industry scarred Great Hambledon Hill near Hapton and to Boulsworth Hill between Burnley and Howarth. The road then descends along the lower slopes of Whalley Nab toward the main road. 

There are plenty public rights of way up on top of the moorland which I will discuss in future post. The parish boundary between Langho/Billington and Great Harwood crosses the top of the moor, with an old and ruined dry stone wall and several old boundary stones marking the way, though these are mainly on inaccessible private land. From the moor, some minor water courses flow down through the village. To the east of the moor, the river Calder meanders its way past Whalley and then heads west where it meets the Ribble near Hacking Hall, a historic home near Old Langho. This is one of the finest spots in the parish, with quite a romantic scene as Hacking Hall stands grandly beside the confluence of the Ribble and Calder. 

In this series of posts, I will be cataloging some of the walking territory around these parts and provide some information on routes. But I will also be exploring the hidden histories of the landscapes. There will be a bit of everything in this one chaps, so if you fancy a bit of historic rambling in the Ribble Valley, stay tuned.