The River Ribble from Halton West to Nappa Hippings

Halton West is a handful of houses on a shelf above the Ribble, and the river below it carries the Ribble Way. Drop south out of the hamlet on the field path to the bank, then follow the river downstream past the wooded bends to Nappa Hippings, the old stepping-stone crossing under Nappa. It is flat, sheltered and green, the best low-level walking for miles in a corner of Craven that is otherwise all lanes and hedges. It is also unfenced pasture from end to end, with cattle out through the summer and sheep the rest of the year, so this is a lead walk rather than a run-about, and the bank is undercut in places where the Ribble has cut in. The hippings are the turning point and not a crossing: the river rises fast here after rain and the stones go under.