Celebrating the Pennine Way at 60 – and Whalley man Tom Stephenson who created it

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the opening of Britain’s first and best known long-distance footpath - the 268-mile trail along the ‘spine of England’ from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish borders.

The Pennine Way was the idea of Tom Stephenson, who grew up in Whalley. The young Tom was inspired by the vistas from the summit of Pendle Hill. He first mentioned a ‘Pennine Way’ in a newspaper article in 1935 and then campaigned for 30 years to make it a reality.

His persistence eventually paid off, and the Pennine Way was opened at Malham on April 24th 1965.

To mark the occasion, volunteers from Pendle Radicals and the Friends of Clarion House at Roughlee walked from Stephenson’s home in Whalley to join the Pennine Way at Earby and continue north to Malham, arriving in the Yorkshire Dales village on the day of the anniversary.

Their 40 mile route crossed Pendle Hill and visited the Clarion House at Roughlee before continuing to Barrowford and Colne. This 25 mile link route to the Pennine Way has been devised by the Pendle Radicals team as the Two Toms Trail, to honour the legacy of two hugely important, interlinked campaigners for the great outdoors.

The Two Toms links Stephenson, ‘godfather’ of the Ramblers Association, and the Rev Thomas Arthur Leonard, who pioneered outdoor adventure holidays for mill workers when he worked as a Congregationalist minister in Colne in the 1890s.

Leonard helped form the Pennine Way Association in 1938 and established two holiday enterprises.

The walkers from Whalley were expected to arrive at Malham today where they will host an event to celebrate in the grounds of the National Park Visitor Centre.

On Sunday a ‘Pennine Way at 60’ event will also be taking place at the Clarion House at Roughlee to highlight the new Two Toms Trail and Pendle Hill’s significance as the source of inspiration for Tom Stephenson. The Clarion House event starts at 11-30am and includes a

short walk, plus a Pennine Way display, readings and a short film.

Pendle Radicals volunteers will continue to mark the anniversary, with a new memorial panel for Stephenson in Whalley.