Clitheroe

Worth seeing in and around Clitheroe

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Clitheroe Castle

   Clitheroe Castle is a ruined early medieval castle in Clitheroe in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It was the caput of the Honour of Clitheroe, a vast estate stretching along the western side of the Pennines.

   100 m · castle in Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Sawley Abbey

   Sawley Abbey was an abbey of Cistercian monks in the village of Sawley, Lancashire, in England. Created as a daughter-house of Newminster Abbey, it existed from 1149 until its dissolution in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII. The abbey is a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.

   5.8 km · Cistercian monastery in Sawley, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Whalley Abbey

   Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site.

   5.8 km · abbey · Wikipedia
4. 04
   St Leonard's Church, Downham

   St Leonard's Church is in the village of Downham, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Blackburn.

   4.8 km · Grade II* listed church in Downham, Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia
5. 05
   St Ambrose's Church, Grindleton

   St Ambrose's Church is in the village of Grindleton, which is situated about 3 miles northeast of Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Whalley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the Diocese of Blackburn.

   4.3 km · grade II listed church in Grindleton, Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Waddow Hall

   Waddow Hall is a 17th-century Grade II listed building within a 178-acre estate near Clitheroe, Lancashire, England which, between 1927 and 2023, served as a conference and activity centre for Girlguiding UK. Since April 2025 it has been owned by GT Foundation.

   1.3 km · country house in Waddington, Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Church of St Mary and All Saints, Whalley

   The Church of St Mary and All Saints is an Anglican church in the village of Whalley, Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn.

   5.6 km · Grade I listed church in Whalley, Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Christ Church, Chatburn

   Christ Church is in the village of Chatburn, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Whalley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn and the diocese of Blackburn.

   3.7 km · grade II listed church in Chatburn, Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia
9. 09
   St Helen's Church, Waddington

   St Helen's Church is in the village of Waddington, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Whalley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the Diocese of Blackburn.

   2.6 km · church in Waddington, Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia
10. 10
    Downham Hall

    Downham Hall is an English country house in Downham, Lancashire, England.

    4.7 km · Grade II* listed country house in Downham, Lancashire, England, UK · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

1. 01
   Clitheroe Castle

   Mar: daily noon-4PM; Apr-Oct: daily 11AM-11AM-6PM; Nov-Feb: Fri-Tue noon-4PM.

2. 02
   St Mary Magdalene

   Anglican (Church of England) parish church: the tower and east window are 15th-century, the rest is 19th.

3. 03
   Browsholme Hall

   Ancestral home of the Parker Family, who have lived here since it was built in 1507.

4. 04
   Sawley Abbey

   Sawley BB7 4NH (off A59 four miles NE of Clitheroe).

5. 05
   Whalley Abbey

   A 14th-century Cistercian Abbey on the banks of the Calder; it was ruined at the Dissolution and the abbot hanged for his part in the "Pilgrimage of Grace" uprising.

From Wikivoyage: Clitheroe, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

What's on? Clitheroe Advertiser & Times is published on Thursday. It's part of the Burnley Express. Cinema: Everyman is within Holmes Mill. Ribble Valley Sculpture Trail extends along the riverbank between Brungerley Park on Waddington Rd (a mile north of town) upstream to West Bradford Rd. There are some 20 sculptures plus interpretation boards about the area and its wildlife.

From Wikivoyage: Clitheroe, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Clitheroe

Airports

Leeds Bradford (LBA), 48 km · Manchester (MAN), 58 km · Liverpool John Lennon (LPL), 67 km

Stations

Clitheroe railway station, 400 m · Whalley railway station, 5.4 km · Clitheroe Interchange, 300 m

• Leeds, West Yorkshire → Clitheroe

  56 km · quickest by road, 1h 54m · £9–12
  GuideToday
• Manchester, Greater Manchester → Clitheroe

  44 km · quickest by road, 1h 12m · £4.5–6
  GuideToday
• Liverpool → Clitheroe

  63 km · quickest by road, 1h 42m · £7–10
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
  Plan a trip

Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Clitheroe

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Clitheroe. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Clitheroe – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.