Bickerstaffe: Cycling Tours and Historical Discoveries

Bickerstaffe offers a range of travel ideas within a compact area, without restricting the village to just one theme. The Bickerstaffe Colliery Cycle Trails cater to both experienced cyclists and people who are new to mountain biking, with varying levels of difficulty. There are also historic buildings, a listed site and commemorative markers that make the area interesting for active travellers and those interested in culture. When looking for an apartment or holiday cottage, you can therefore first consider whether cycling, architectural history or a combination of both should be the focus of your stay.

Cycling tours for different abilities

The Bickerstaffe Colliery Cycle Trails are a specific starting point for anyone who wants to explore Bickerstaffe by bicycle. The routes offer varying levels of difficulty. This is particularly helpful when not everyone in a travelling group has the same level of mountain-biking experience: experienced cyclists can find a suitable option, as can people trying this type of cycling for the first time.

One specifically named route within the trails is the 780-metre XC Red Trail. The distance gives you a clear point of reference for your own planning, without automatically implying a particular riding time or level of difficulty. Anyone choosing accommodation for an active stay can consider this route and the different trail options as a thematic focus of the trip.

Holy Trinity: Architectural history and crafted details

Holy Trinity offers a different perspective on Bickerstaffe. The building was constructed by Sydney Smirke in 1843 and extended in 1860. Built from sandstone blocks with slate roofs, it comprises a west tower with a spire, a nave, a lower chancel, a north aisle and a north vestry. Visitors interested in architecture can observe different forms and proportions in these elements, rather than limiting their visit to a single date.

A particularly specific detail can be found in the apse windows. They contain late-19th-century glass depicting scenes from the life of Christ. Holy Trinity therefore combines architectural history with artistic design. Visits can be arranged in advance by making contact beforehand. If this building is part of your travel plans, you should therefore plan to make contact before your visit.

Bickerstaffe Hall and traces of the past

Bickerstaffe Hall is a Grade II listed building. Set into the building is a reinstalled plaque bearing the Stanley family coat of arms and the inscription “1667 ES”. Details such as these preserved features give the local history a tangible character and suit travellers who prefer discovering historical clues at a specific building rather than in a general overview.

Bickerstaffe Hall is also next to a moated site that is considered a protected archaeological monument. It includes a slightly raised, trapezoid-shaped grass island with a maximum extent of approximately 68 m × 68 m. Within Little Wood there is a substantial western arm of the moat, which is partly water-filled. The exact shape of the site, the moat and its setting within Little Wood make this place a distinct historic landscape feature.

You will find another memorial at the Stock Stones at Stanley Gate. The commemorative plaque there was completed in 2014 and honours Mrs Jean Winstanley, who was the landlady of The Stanley Gate pub from 1956 to 1987. For your travel planning, this place therefore offers not only older architectural and archaeological history but also a later personal connection to the history of the local area.

The right accommodation for your travel plans

When looking for holiday accommodation in Bickerstaffe, it is worth deciding in advance what daily rhythm you want. If you mainly want to cycle, the different levels of difficulty on the Bickerstaffe Colliery Cycle Trails can provide the starting point for your planning. If historical discoveries are more important, Holy Trinity, Bickerstaffe Hall and the site at Little Wood represent different forms of local history. You can then choose an apartment or holiday cottage to suit your personal itinerary and the activities you actually want to include.

For your further search, you can also visit the destination pages for Bolton by Bowland, Rufford, Barton, Whittingham, Heysham, Carnforth, Haslingden and Colne.

For the higher-level travel overview: Lancashire.