Oswaldtwistle and Accrington
Location: Accrington, Lancashire
W3W: ///lance.gears.suffice
Distance: 11km, 28km or 40km
Gates: Several bridleway gates onto roads as well as horse styles
Terrain: A mix of grassy/boggy moorland, stoney tracks, roadwork and disused railway lines plus a new multiuser path on the flexipave spongey surface (!)
Livestock: Sheep
Last Ridden: Mar 2025
For starters, it’s pronounced Ozzle-twizzle! This page features three routes in one of differing lengths but covering the same bridleways. The 40km route dubbed Tour de Lancashire is an absolutely fantastic day out if you’ve got the time and fitness. Or try the shorter routes to get a flavour of this unique area. This ride is a complete mix of ultra urban sections and rural moorland. A brave horse and an open mind are critical! Enjoy! It’s quirky and great fun!
TIP: Toggle the layers top right on the map to view the different routes separately instead of on top of each other
Route Description
1. (P) The red and blue loops start from the parking spot in Hoddlesden. Pass through the gate and follow the bridleway northwest, popping out at a sink factory. Cross over the road and head down past lots of cottages. Keep following the road which becomes a stoney track, following the river, past several mini waterfalls. Continue along until you see the signs for the damn. The road now heads uphill and becomes a concrete driveway to a farmhouse. Just before the farmhouse, turn right and follow the bridleway signs through a narrow fenced section and then onto the moors. This bridleway is fairly new and the gates are in lovely condition. Follow the path uphill along the moors, it starts off not well defined and boggy in parts but quickly becomes an obvious grass track with stone underneath. The track sharply bends left then right and brings you out at the top of Pickup Bank. Go through the gate onto an L shaped bridleway. Ride straight along the track and onto the road. Turn left and after a short while, turn right off the road, passing through two gates onto a stone wall lined grassy track heading downhill. This path has fantastic views over Lancashire!
2. Take care when crossing the Grane Road. It is limited to 40mph with speed cameras but is still a busy trunk road. There is ample space to safely wait for a gap in the traffic before crossing over. Follow the farm track downhill, passing a large farm on the right and then an equestrian centre on your left (with oval gallops!). Ride straight over the next road crossing and continue along the bridleway, now hedge lined. You will pop out by a smallholding with lots and lots of motion alarms that sound as you ride past. It doesn’t spook the horses but it’s unusual for sure. Keep riding as the bridleway becomes a tarmac drive. You will ride under a road bridge and parallel to the M65 motorway before going through another gate and back onto a grassy bridleway. You’re now in Brookside Nature Reserve. This area is beautiful and serene with lots of space for canters, if there’s not too many dog walkers. Follow the main track through the park until it reaches Oswaldtwistle and quickly changes from greenery to factories in the blink of an eye!
3. At the T junction with the main road, turn right and then turn left onto a side road just before the mini roundabout. Work your way through the houses, turning right then left and following this road round to the right past the school. You will see the playing field ahead. The bridleway crosses the playing field. Keep to the right by the fence and watch out for stray footballs. Cross the road and continue along the bridleway, skirting the second field and sticking to the tree line. Ride up the hill and then over the other side. Turn right at the track junction and ride along past a very big house on your right. Drop down into another wooded area and find the sloping wide track that heads downhill, just before the footpath gate into the park area. Follow the wide track as it skirts the wooded area with the brick wall on your left. Watch out for boggy bits and debris – it’s a popular site for youths. Rise up through the houses to the main road (B6231). Turn right and ride along the road past the bus stop before taking the lefthand turn signed for the Mill. Follow this side road, past the Mill on your right until it sharply rises uphill. Just before the change in angle, turn left and follow the road all the way to the railway bridge. Turn right just before the railway bridge onto a tarmac cycle path and follow this path through the park. The path is quiet even at weekends and the trains go past slowly along this section. When the path seems to go no further, turn left and then right to continue along the cycle path running parallel to the railway line. Go over a bridge (see photo in the gallery) and through what looks like an old station. Turn right here, just after the bridge and slope down onto the road. This road brings you out at Tesco Extra (we stopped for a meal deal). You’re now in the centre of Accrington – but don’t worry, the next bridleway is only a stones through away.
4. Cross over the road by the giant cog statue and the Waterside Centre and follow the blue circle multi-user signs. This is a permissive bridleway – some signs show a bike and some show a horse without much consistency. The path takes you round the back of a block of waterside apartments and along a lake, with large red pillars (a relic from a more industrial past? More research needed). Follow the blue signs, past factories on your right. Cross the road and over the horse style (or under the trellis arch if you prefer – horses do fit!). This next section of the trail has verges you can use which are great for a canter. This disused railway line ends with a gate and a small hamlet, turn left here and ride down the gravel road, follow the road up past several rows of terrace houses to the main road (A680). Cross straight over this road onto a steep bridleway which takes you to a lane that runs parallel. Turn right and follow the lane past several stables and farms and even more great views of Lancashire. Keep following the road, past the pie factory on your right until it drops down by Eureka Animal Feeds. At the main road again, turn right then immediately left and follow this road all the way to the end. At the end, turn left, ride over the dual carriageway bridge and then shortly after the houses start, turn right following more blue circular signs. This will take you to a new cycle trail that runs parallel to the dual carriageway. The surface is bouncy! Ride to the end and then follow the road that then crosses back over the dual carriageway by another bridge into an industrial estate. This is closed at the weekend and is really quiet outside of business hours. There’s lots of verges and space if you ride midweek though. Ride through the industrial estate to the Grane Road. Cross straight over the road into what looks like the entrance to another works however just before the big metal gates, veer right to pick up another blue circle cycle path. Follow this past houses and into a pretty park. Ride across the bridge or drop down to the ford to give your horses a drink. Ride up the other side and continue along the trail, following the blue signs through rows of houses and eventually arriving at a road. Turn right at the T junction and ride up through the centre of Helmshore.
5. Ride straight across at the crossroads and onto the bridleway to Peel Tower. For a more detailed description of this section, visit the Peel Tower page. After descending the Peel Tower path, turn right and follow the bridleway west as it skirts round the bottom of Holcombe Moor into MoD land. The MoD use this area for training and post the training times on their website. Check them before you ride. They usually only do this midweek though but will put out red flags if they are shooting – when the flags are up, you can’t use this bridleway. This section through MoD is challenging but exciting. The bridleway rides through three waterfalls and the trail is narrow and very rocky. You need a footsure and confident horse but its fantastic training for the Cairngorm 100 or other technical endurance rides. The section after the last waterfall is a grassy uphill canter all the way to the farm at the top and the wind turbine. Follow the now gravel track all the way into Crowthorn village.
6. Turn left at the road and then as the road bends left by a farm, take the right hand stoney track. Follow this track down to Edgworth village. At the road, turn right and follow this road back to your parking in Hoddlesden.
Parking
There is free parking for a couple of trailers just off Blacksnape Road in Hoddlesden, at the start of the bridleway. For the 11km loop around Green Howarth, you can also park at Adventure Neighground and make use of the amazing facilities too (phone ahead to check first – subject to a small donation).
Moorview Equestrian Centre may also offer a park and ride facility – TBC
Address: Blacksnape Road, Hoddlesden
Cost: Free
