The Forest of Bowland is upland country forming part of the Pennines, sharing many of the characteristics of other upland areas like the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales National Park but its essential landscape character is one of grandeur and isolation. The area is dominated by a central upland core of deeply incised gritstone fells with summits above 450m and vast tracts of heather-covered peat moorland.The fells’ fringe of foothills is dissected by steep-sided valleys which open out into the rich green lowlands of the Ribble, Hodder, Wyre and Lune Valleys. Well-wooded and dotted with picturesque stone farms and villages, these lower slopes, criss-crossed by drystone walls, contrast with and complement the dramatic open sweep of the gritstone heights. On its south-eastern edge, famous Pendle Hill forms the outlier of the Forest of Bowland AONB. Places to vist
The 51 mile Witches Walk passes through the Forest of Bowland on its way to Lancaster, marking the route taken in 1612 by the Lancashire Witches to their trail and subsequent hanging.