Bowland is essentially upland country forming part of the Pennines, its essential landscape character is one of grandeur and isolation. The area is dominated by gritstone fells with summits above 450m and vast tracts of heather-covered peat moorland.
The fells’ fringe of foothills is dissected by steep-sided valleys which open out into the rich green lowlands of the Ribble, Hodder, Wyre and Lune Valleys. Well-wooded and dotted with picturesque stone farms and villages, these lower slopes, criss-crossed by drystone walls, contrast with and complement the dramatic open sweep of the gritstone heights. On its south-eastern edge, famous Pendle Hill forms the outlier of the Forest of Bowland AONB.