Discover Bolton by Bowland

Bolton by Bowland brings together historic sites, connections to the countryside and a designated walking stage. This gives you several different ways to plan your stay: you can explore architectural history, take in historic traces on the village greens, or make a longer walk the focus of your trip. If you’re looking for a hotel in Bolton by Bowland, this distinction can help you shape your trip around your interests from the outset.

Church, chapel and historic traces

The Church of St Peter and St Paul dates from the mid-15th century. The church includes the Pudsay Chapel, which dates from the early 16th century. The two dates mark distinct, successive points in time within the church complex. If you’re interested in historic buildings, you can consider the church and the later-dated chapel as two chapters in the history of the site.

The village greens also add to the picture of the area’s history. Bolton by Bowland has two; the smaller one contains the remains of a 13th-century stone cross and old stocks. These traces are part of a village green, making them different from historic features found inside a building. The Old Court House was built in 1859 and incorporates much older remains. Here, the known construction date of the house sits alongside traces from a much earlier period—a different relationship between building and history than that of the church and chapel.

Countryside and walking routes

Kirk Beck is an important part of Bolton by Bowland’s distinctive local identity. The stream is one of the landscape features that help shape the character of the place. Another named landscape feature is Rainsber Scar: it overlooks the River Ribble and is also locally known as Pudsay's Leap. Both names refer to the same place. So if you come across the name Pudsay's Leap, you can identify it as Rainsber Scar rather than planning it as an additional, separate landscape feature.

If you’d like to combine your stay with a walk, Stage 2 of the Ribble Valley Jubilee Trail offers a clearly defined route. It runs from Downham to Bolton by Bowland, is 9.4 miles long and is rated moderate. The endpoints, distance and rating all help with your planning: you can see where the stage goes, how long it is and what level of difficulty it is assigned. If a walk is to be the focus of your trip, you can make this stage part of your plans and distinguish it from a visit focused on the village’s historic sites.

Open Gardens and visitor information

The parish’s Open Gardens weekend is considered a summer highlight and attracts visitors from the surrounding area. If you’d like to include the event in your travel plans, check the dates in advance to make sure your visit coincides with the actual event dates.

Bolton by Bowland’s information room is next to the public car park and public toilets. This location provides a specific point of reference as you prepare for your visit.

Discover more destinations: Appley Bridge, Up Holland, Rishton, St Michael's On Wyre, Hoghton, Ormskirk, Burnley, Lytham Saint Annes

For the broader travel overview: Lancashire.