Clitheroe Castle Museum

Visit the 16-acre manicured grounds of Clitheroe Castle, a Norman Keep teetering on the top of an ancient reef knoll, surrounded by panoramic views of Clitheroe and the valley. As well as showcasing arts and ever-changing exhibitions, the Castle Museum will take you back through 350 million years of local history, starting with the transformation of the landscape we see today.

Museum Manager Claire Sutton (pictured) oversees the management of the museum, where, behind the scenes, documenting and classifying artefacts become second nature.

“It’s a well-used local resource and we’re very family friendly,” Claire observes, the 5,000 school children welcomed at the museum every year being a good testament to the educational value of the museum.

The museum is a journey of discovery, some exhibitions even include games, competitions and interactive aspects such as dress-up and wax rubbings, enabling for a more kinesthetic style of learning. There are great explorer bags, kitted out with an adventurer’s hat, items to looks out for within the museum and toys, helping any young person to explore the castle, and of course the gift shop is packed with pocket-money memories.

For years, people have been coming to the castle grounds, to escape the built-up streets and traffic of Clitheroe.

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Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey was once the wealthiest monastery in Lancashire, the Cistercian abbey still holds mass and offers a place of quiet retreat. The grounds are beautifully trimmed and display the crisscrossing ruins of the old monastery.

Pendle Hill

For generations it has been an inspiration to both visitors and local people, one of the most famous being George Fox, the founding father of the Quaker movement, whose vision of God here, in the early 1600s, inspired him to start what is now a worldwide religious movement. Beneath the hill lies pretty villages, which reveal a history of intrigue and witchcraft spanning 400 years. Twelve alleged witches, who lived in the area, were charged with the murders of ten people by ‘the use of witchcraft.’

Holmes Mill

A stone’s throw from Clitheroe Castle, you will find the former textile mill, Holmes Mill, first established in 1823. In recent years Holmes Mill has been developed into a second-tonone leisure venue. Surrounded by gorgeous décor and original Victorian-style features, including a large mill engine, visitors can explore everything the mill has to offer, from a food court and hotel, to a beer hall housing what is said to be the longest bar in Britain.

Sawley Abbey

Slightly smaller, but equally as exciting as its Whalley-based counterpart, Sawley Abbey lies eight miles away along the banks of the River Ribble. Here you can explore the remains of a Cistercian Abbey that was founded in 1148 and preserved over the centuries following Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.