Hutton: Walking Trails and Local History

When choosing Hutton as a destination, you can treat walks along the River Ribble and local history as two distinct focuses for your plans. Walking options include riverside routes and a heritage trail that introduces local landmarks and their history. When looking for a hotel in Hutton, it helps to decide in advance whether walking or historical topics will shape your stay more.

Walking between the village and the River Ribble

The Hutton & Longton Coastal Walk starts at the Hutton Village Hall car park and reaches the River Ribble. One section of the route is marked as the Ribble Way. The Howick & Hutton Heritage Trail is three miles long and is a guided walking route that conveys the history and significance of long-standing local landmarks. The Coastal Walk can be understood in terms of its starting point and riverside setting, while the Heritage Trail focuses on conveying local history.

On the Hutton Ribble Way Circular route, a section of about four kilometres runs parallel to the River Ribble and along the Ribble Way. Some sections may be affected by wet ground; check trail conditions before setting out. The two descriptions refer to different routes: for the Coastal Walk, the start at the Village Hall and the River Ribble are key reference points, while for the Circular route, it is the course of the approximately four-kilometre section.

Landscape and nature

Hutton Marsh lies northwest of the village and offers scenic, perceptual and recreational value. The first monitoring report of the Hutton Marsh project recorded successful breeding by avocets, redshanks, oystercatchers and little ringed plovers in summer 2023. This observation adds a clearly time-specific aspect of birdlife to the walking and local history themes.

Local history across several eras

Hutton’s history encompasses education, transport and working life. According to the village history of Hutton Parish Council, Hutton Grammar School moved from Longton to its present site in Hutton in 1746. In 1774, the first regular direct stagecoach service between Preston and Liverpool began, passing through Hutton. A ford over the River Ribble near Dungeon Farm on Skip Lane connected Hutton with Lea and the Fylde coast from the 16th to the 19th century. Later, the station on Chapel Lane in New Longton was called Hutton and Howick Station from 1897 to 1934; it is no longer in operation. Hutton Parish Council’s village history describes fishing on the River Ribble as a small but thriving industry in the past.

Architecture and local tradition

At 150 Ratten Lane, the interior retains an open hearth with a smoke hood and an exposed historic roof structure with purlins and rafters. Purlins run lengthwise in the roof structure and support the rafters, the sloping roof beams. The interior of No. 140 Ratten Lane retains original timber-frame elements with curved posts and purlins, as well as a complete timber-frame truss. Different architectural details are therefore identified at Ratten Lane: the hearth and roof structure at 150 Ratten Lane, and timber-frame features inside No. 140.

Rawstorne House adds an aspect of social history to these architectural themes. An inscription plaque mentions a workhouse built in 1827 at the expense of the ratepayers of the township of Hutton. The same plaque also mentions the endowment of Law Rawstorne Esq.

Discover more destinations: Carnforth, Claughton-on-Brock, Foulridge, Salterforth, Calder Vale, Barrowford, Appley Bridge, Kelbrook

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