Celebrating the Pennine Way at 60 – and the Lancashire lad who created it

Celebrating the Pennine Way at 60 – and the Lancashire lad who created it The world-famous Pennine Way will be 60 next week, and Lancashire walkers will be honouring the Whalley lad whose idea it was, and who campaigned for 30 years to make it happen.

Thursday 24 April 2025 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 the Ribble Valley village of 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 24th April 1965, with Tom, by then in his 70s, in attendance.

To mark the occasion, volunteers from Pendle Radicals and the Friends of Clarion House at Roughlee will be walking 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.


Setting off on Easter Monday, their trek will take 3.5 days, covering over 40 miles. Their route crosses Pendle Hill and visits 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. His Holiday Fellowship continues to thrive to this day.


The walkers from Whalley will arrive at Malham at 10.30 am on Thursday 24th April where they will host an event to celebrate 60 years of the Pennine Way and its Lancashire links in the grounds of the National Park Visitor Centre. They will set off walking to Malham from Airton village at 09.15, following the Pennine Way into Malham.

On Sunday 27th April 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 11.30 am and includes a short walk, plus a Pennine Way display, readings and a short film.



​Pendle Radicals volunteers will continue to mark the anniversary through 2025, with a new memorial panel for Stephenson in Whalley, and waymarking along the length of the Two Toms Trail. To find out more or join any sections of the walk, contact Nick Burton on 07864 627134.


Planned Itinerary: Monday April 21st: Whalley to Barrowford Walk (12 miles)
Tuesday April 22nd: Barrowford to Earby Walk (14 miles)
Wednesday April 23rd: Earby to Airton Walk (12 miles)
Thursday April 24th: Airton to Malham Walk (3 miles)
Thursday April 24th - the walk leaves Airton village green at 09.15 to arrive at Malham National Park Visitor Centre at 10:30 Sunday
​April 27th - Pennine Way at 60 - Two Toms Celebration At the Clarion House, Roughlee 11:30 - 15.00