Stealthily, without much media hype, Lancashire has become one of the UK’s greatest regions for food. The Ribble Valley is the main entryway to the rural area where a lot of the meat, dairy and veg is sourced, but a tour should start and end just outside it.
The White Swan at Fence, on the south-east side of Pendle Hill, has a Michelin star and Timothy Taylor ales. Parkers Arms, just inside the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, has scooped a national top gastro-pub slot and is famed for its pies. In the valley proper, the Freemasons At Wiswell, Northcote and the Black Bull Inn are all superb, and Waddington’s pubs are great for a post-hike lunch.
Conclude at Aughton, home to three Michelin-starred restaurants, including Moor Hall, where Mark Birchall’s “Provenance” tasting menu journeys from black pudding and eel to Saint-Sever guinea hen to strawberries from Banks near Southport and Ormskirk gingerbread – for £285 per person.
How to do it
The 280 and 66-67 buses link up the Ribble Valley venues. Town Green station (15-minute walk) is on the railway line between Liverpool and Ormskirk. See our guide to Lancashire’s best hotels.
