A riverside wander along the Lune from Caton to Aughton, before climbing to admire the stunning views across the valley and returning across verdant pastureland.

Dog-friendly? Keep dogs under close control and ideally on a lead.
Toilets: At Start point
Refreshments: Caton Village

1. START

Leave the car park on the footpath to the right of the toilets and descend sharply right down steps and through the kissing gate to join the riverside path heading northeast. Follow the river upstream for half a mile to the kissing gate beside the weir. Continue through the gate into the woods.

2. 1.0km

The next section of the path is quite uneven and eroded in places. Stick to the riverside and take care. Emerge through the kissing gate into meadows and continue half left, crossing a footbridge and rejoining the river after 300m.

3. 1.4km

Continue upstream past the pipeline bridge and over another footbridge into Aughton Woods – one of the finest examples of ancient oak woodland in the county. Again, this section through the woods can be slippery and uneven, especially after heavy rain. Take care on the wooden walkways.

4. 2.5km

At the edge of the woods where the river meanders sharply round to the right in a tight hairpin, follow the riverbank through the fields as it doubles back over the footbridge then continue through the riverside meadows for just over a mile to the barn.

5. 4.5km

From here, follow the path over the stile beside the gate and onto the grassy path heading half right across the meadows towards a ladder stile beside a low hut, then follow the riverbank back towards the woods.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTE

While there is no established right of way here, it is possible to continue straight across this meander to cut the walk distance by 1.5 miles. Simply continue straight ahead, skirting the edge of the woods, then follow the hedge line to rejoin the riverside path after around half a mile.

6. 5.2km

Continue upstream for a quarter of a mile to join the footpath beside the track to Aughton Barns. Continue on the track past the barns to the farmhouse and, ignoring the footpath off to the right, continue half left on the track between the house and barn to join the country lane.

7. 6.2km

Climb steeply for 400m, continuing straight over the crossroads and past the houses to take the footpath over the metal stile on the left. Cross two stiles and head half right over the field to the stile in the top corner of the field above the woods.

8. 7.1km

Cross the stile and head half right towards the farm buildings, crossing two stiles and continuing diagonally past the transmitter to the corner of the paddock and following the hedgeline along the right-hand side of the field and over another stile, continuing along the hedgeline towards the next farmhouse.

9. 8.1km

In the corner of the field, cross the stile and head past the sheds and through the metal gate onto the track between barns. Head left then right over the squeeze stile and over cobbles into the lane.

10. 8.2km

Turn left then right over the stile and follow the wall along the right-hand edge of the field and through the gate, continuing along the right boundary of the wall. Views open out to the south across the valley to the Bowland fells and west to Lancaster and the sea beyond.

11. 8.6km

Cross the ladder stile at the next field boundary and quickly through a gate and across the corner of the field to follow the hedgeline to another large farm. Skirt the boundary of the farm then turn right through the gate and down the track through the yard and half left through two metal gates back into the fields.

12. 9.0km

Follow the rough track through another gate and continue to the kissing gate on the edge of the woods. Continue through the kissing gate, staying above the line of trees to follow the hedgeline then, above the hamlet of Halton Park, go through the squeeze stile and continue along the other side of the hedgeline. Follow the marker posts around the edge of the farm then through the gate beside the garage and right onto the track.

13. 9.7km

Continue past the houses and through the wood to the lane. Turn left and follow the lane over the cattle grid and into parkland for half a mile. Just before the next cattle grid, turn left onto the bridleway beside the road and follow this back to the car park.