There’s a new route through The Shire

It circles 65-miles through Lancashire’s Ribble Valley and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, summiting Pendle Hill and passing Stonyhurst College, which JRR Tolkien visited often as he wrote The Lord of the Rings. The Ribble Valley Jubilee Trail was created by Mayor Stuart Hirst, and designed in seven stages from Whalley (home to the brilliant Whalley Warm & Dry gear shop, who sponsor the trail) and to launch the route in early September, the mayor walked it all in a week, raising money for the MS Society, the Pink Ribbon Foundation and Project Linus. Find out more at ribblevalley.gov.uk