Pendle Witch Trial

From our starting point in Barley we loop round the foot of Pendle Hill & head for the beautiful village of Downham with the ducks on the village pond, and on to Chatburn & Clitheroe where we'll ride right through the town to admire Clitheroe Castle, built in 1186 and see the hole in the side caused by the Devil throwing a boulder from the top of Pendle Hill & hitting the castle, as local legends would have it. From there it's on to Pendleton, home of the local MP, Nigel Evans & on to the climb over Pendle Hill, known as The Nick of Pendle. Stopping on the top for a breather & a chance to admire the stunning views we drop down into Sabden, known as the home of The Sabden Treacle Mines, every child locally has heard of them, but none has actually seen them - yet! Up the other side & along the ridge to the home of The Pendle Witches. In Newchurch there is a Pendle Witch shop where riders can explore whilst others can look at the Churchyard opposite, which has a magic eye set in the entrance arch. Then down the hill to Clarion House, the last surviving Clarion House in the country. These were set up as part of the labour movement in 1912 and is very interesting. These were the founder of the Clarion Cycling Clubs that still exist today & they were trying to get people out on their bikes all those years ago, very much the same as British Cycling & SkyRide are doing today. We'll get a mug of tea & eat our lunch, which you need to bring with you. On then to Roughlee where Alice Nutter lived. She was accused of witchcraft & forced to walk in chains to Lancaster where she was tried & hung in 1612 with 8 others. This is where the Pendle Witch stories come from. We will stop by the statue of her in the village before returning back to the starting point in Barley. This will be a challenging ride with the climbs with some steep kicks & people may prefer walk those. There's a lot to see on this ride which will give people a chance for a breather. There's some stunning countryside too. There is a £1 car park charge. This is our last preparation ride before the RVR next week. We'll ride at a steady pace of 11-12 mph on this ride and we'll keep our pace at a level so that we can all stay together & have a really pleasant ride. We can all do the lumps at our own pace & we'll reform at the top. Please check your bike over the night before the ride, tyres inflated, all bolts tight, lubricated. Clothing, Helmet & lights checked & ready. Please aim to be ready to ride 15 mins before the ride start time, getting away on time is good for everyone. It would be great to have some new & some familiar faces on this ride, you're all welcome & I look forward to riding with you. I'm a SkyRide Ride Leader leading guided rides & I'm also a trained route planner - I enjoy my cycling & appreciate it even more when I have people to ride with. Our group is called the FC's - Friendly Cyclists & you can read all about us & join the group here: https://www.goskyride.com/SCG/GroupDetails?GroupID=2197 Once you join the group you'll get an automatic invite for every ride, you will never miss a ride again!