Beyond Preston the river changes dramatically yet again, now running straight to the Irish Sea through an almost featureless plain that was once regularly inundated by the tide. Dykes and drainage ditches have turned what was once a virtually dead-flat waste into productive arable fields, although further to the west a vast expanse of the salt marsh still remains, attracting huge populations of birds, particularly in winter, which find a rich and plentiful source of food in the shallows and mud.
THE RIBBLE WAY
The idea for a long-distance footpath along the course of the River Ribble originated in the 1960s with the members of the Preston and Fylde group of the Ramblers’ Association. The original survey suggested a mainly riverbank route from the mouth of the Ribble, where it flows into the Irish Sea, to its source far above Gearstones, a former drovers’ inn beside the moorland between Ribblehead and Widdale. This plan immediately ran into difficulty, however, as more than half the proposed way relied on the use of private fishermen’s paths. Further progress was thwarted by a storm of local objection, and it was not until the 1980s that an alternative route adopting existing rights of way attracted official support. The first leg of the path, covering just over 40 miles (almost 65km) between Longton and Gisburn Bridge, was opened by Mike Harding, president of the Ramblers’ Association, and Derek Barber, chairman of the Countryside Commission, on 1 June 1985.
Because the Ribble Way follows the south bank of the river, a coastal start to the walk was, and still is, frustrated by the lack of a convenient crossing over the River Douglas, which joins the Ribble on the same bank around 3 miles (4.8km) from the sea. The lowest bridging point across the Douglas is that spanned by the A59 some 5 miles (8km) above the confluence of the Douglas and the Ribble, so if the walk started from the coast, this would involve a good 10 mile (16km) detour up to the bridge and back to the confluence again.
But as soon as the Ribble Way opened, it was extended in the other direction, beyond Gisburn Bridge, right to the source of the river. (The route was devised by the late Gladys Sellers, author of the first Cicerone guide to the Ribble Way.) Since then there have been several marked improvements to the way, including, for example, a new section of path at Hurst Green which skirts the woods above the river and avoids the need to climb onto a road. More recently a path opened through Gisburne Park, which in bypassing Gisburn eliminates a long and disagreeable walk along the busy A682. On the downside, however, one of the most picturesque sections of the route was lost to the public in 1999 when a landowner successfully contested the legitimacy of the riverside right of way between Sawley and Gisburn.
The 70½ mile (113km) route that has evolved does not always run right beside the river, as was first envisaged. Nevertheless, it remains within the broad confines of the valley, and proponents of the original scheme might concede that an advantage of this occasionally elevated course is the expansive views it offers over the surrounding countryside.
The Ribble Way moves from one side of the valley to the other, generally making use of road bridges to cross the river. However, at Hacking Hall, where the River Calder joins the Ribble, there used to be a ferry; but with the death of the ferryman in 1954, it ceased to operate. Although it would seem there had always been an intention to replace the ferry with a footbridge, by the time the path was opened the bridge was no nearer to reality, though many hoped that the establishment of the Ribble Way and the resulting increase in use of the riverside footpaths would help to revitalise the scheme. However, conflicting opinions as to whether the Ribble Way should be routed over the Ribble, the Calder, or the Hodder further upstream, not to mention a lack of financial resources, left the project on hold. The new century brought a ray of hope when an innovative design was unveiled for a bridge linking the separate paths at the confluence of the Calder and Ribble. Had the plan come to fruition, the need to detour via Lower Hodder Bridge would have been removed, and many new possibilities for local walks would have been created. Unfortunately, the economic climate changed and the plan was abandoned, but who knows? Perhaps one day…
There is still hope, too, that the landowners at Sawley may have a change of heart and once more admit walkers to a splendid section of the river. No doubt other changes will occur over the course of time, for like the river itself, nothing is constant.
LANDSCAPE
Despite the river’s relatively short length (75 miles/171km), it travels through a great diversity of landscape. The bleakness of the slate, grit and limestone hills that surround its source at Ribblehead is in sharp contrast to the richly green alluvial plains that fringe the watercourse amid the rounded slopes of central Lancashire, and the vast reclaimed marsh through which the river escapes to the sea gives no hint of the lush, wooded banks to be found further upstream. Although for much of its way the river squirms vigorously within the confines of a broad valley, its general course is relatively uncomplicated. After initially aligning almost with the meridian to break from the hills at Settle, later it is gently turned onto a westerly trend, in search of the open sea, by the outliers of the Pennine Moors. But today’s river is a mere shadow of the mighty torrent of meltwater that originally gouged out the valley. This meltwater was released as vast ice sheets began to retreat in the face of a warming climate, barely 12,000 years ago.
INDUSTRY
In contrast to many of the fastflowing rivers that originate in the Lancashire and Yorkshire Pennines, the Ribble is hardly touched by the industry and conurbation of recent times. The only towns of any size on its banks, Clitheroe and Settle, appear to turn their backs on the river, and even the flourishing city of Preston largely ignores its presence. Things could have been very different, though, for in earlier times the Ribble was both a source of power and a means of transport.
The great abbeys of Fountains and Furness held extensive tracts of land in upper Ribblesdale, and throughout the medieval period wool production, as well as some mining in the surrounding hills, were important industries. Downstream the land came within the influence of the abbeys at Cockersands, Whalley and Hornby, and while sheep again prevailed on the higher ground, cattle, oats and hemp were farmed within the valley. By the 16th century an