PW day 04: Thu 25 Feb 2016; Hebden Bridge to Ponden

Walk descriptor	Pennine Way			Day	04
Date	Thu 25 Feb 2016			Start to end time	07h 07m
Start point	Hebden Bridge			End point	Ponden
Miles today	12.60			Cu miles	65.48
Ft today	2,777			Cu ft	11,697
Route miles left	217.11			Route ft left	32,086
Today’s weather	Mostly sunny in the morning, though more cloudy in the afternoon.   Dry all day.   Very light north westerly breeze.   About 2C
Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)			GPX based track of today’s walk (click button to download file) GPX

Commentary

Well, my charmed existence continues

Yes, I enjoyed my fourth consecutive sunny, rain-free day today, which is probably a record for the Pennine Way.   I daren’t even look at the weather forecast.   Sometimes it’s just better not to know.

So it was some difficulty that I forced myself to stay in bed for an extra hour this morning, in anticipation of a short – 13 mile – walk over the hill to Ponden.   I lay in bed looking out of the window at the brilliant sun, clear sky and sparking frost and to my amazement I actually found I wanted to get up early and get going.   This is the first time this has ever happened to me.

But I didn’t want to get away too soon, as I was reluctant to arrive at my next night’s B&B before they would be ready for me.   Also, on a more practical note, an old (only in the sense of a long friendship, not age, of course) school-friend, Sarah, was joining me for the day’s walk, so I needed to await the arrival of her early train from Leeds.

Once I’d had breakfast (a salmon bagel which was much more in the Hebden vein than – and a welcome change from – bacon and eggs), and the travelling party assembled, we set off up the steep hillside towards Ponden.   It was great to have company and there was lots of news to be caught up on, and medical ailments to be compared (not really, but I think that is the sort of thing you are supposed to talk about when you are “retired”).

So the miles passed easily, and once again, the views were spectacular.   Although we lost the sun around lunchtime, it remained clear and dry all day, affording 360 degree panoramas which are supposed stretch as far as York, at least 60 miles away.   And closer at hand, there was plenty of interest as well.

The climb out of the Calder Valley was steep, but the tantalising prospect of the sunlit uplands on the slope above beckoned us out of the shady and cold valley and we quickly made our way up the network of paths to the top.   Looking back the views, once again, were stunning, with Stoodley Pike and melancholy Mankinholes clearly standing out on the other side of the valley.

Towards the end of the day, we came to Top Withens farm – now a ruin but inhabited until the 1920s.   It’s a desolate spot, supposedly the inspiration for “Wuthering Heights” in the Bronte novel of the same name.   It’s a bit of a pilgrimage destination for many visitors to the area – many of whom are apparently Japanese. In fact, we did spot some of the familiar “Pennine Way” signs which were actually written in Japanese script.   Quite bizarre in this remote spot.

Sarah left that point and headed to Haworth to catch a bus home, and I hiked on to complete the last couple of miles of the day’s walk

Tonight I’m staying in a B&B at Ponden Hall, which is both interesting and steeped in Bronte history.   I feel a bit of a Heathcliffe here as I write this blog, gazing out of the window at the brilliant clear– and bitter cold – night outside.   “Out on the wiley, windy moors” as Kate Bush would have said. I can almost hear Cathy banging at the window.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Towpath in Hebden Bridge partly washed away by the winter floods.   I boldly strode across it and managed not to fall and cause an HSE crisis	Icy start to the morning
Fortunately the Pennine Way passes to the left hand side…	In the woods heading up the steep northern side of the Calder Valley to Pry Hill
Top Withens, aka Wuthering Heights	Bronte-esque hounds patrolling from the heights.   Actually they were a couple of poodles but they still looked Baskerville-like (or am I mixing my authors?)
Huge panoramas into infinity (well York) from Wadsworth moor

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PW day 03: Wed 24 Feb 2016; Diggle to Hebden Bridge

Walk descriptor	Pennine Way			Day	03
Date	Wed 24 Feb 2016			Start to end time	08h 43m
Start point	Diggle			End point	Hebden Bridge
Miles today	20.23			Cu miles	52.88
Ft today	2,802			Cu ft	8,920
Route miles left	229.70			Route ft left	34,650
Today’s weather	Occasional cloud but long sunny intervals. Heavy snow fall and fog briefly at lunchtime. Very little wind. Temp appx minus 1
Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)			GPX based track of today’s walk (click button to download file)GPX

Commentary

Today’s walk had a reflective feel to it.

The path from Diggle to Hebden Bridge took me high over Calderdale, looking down on the towns of Littleborough, Walsden and Todmorden.   The reason for my nostalgia WAs that all my family come from Todmorden – both my parents were born there, as were their parents and grandparents.   In fact, as far as I know, I was the first member of our family to be born outside Todmorden for at least 200 years.   So there’s a lot of Dawson history down there.

It was also a longer walk than the first two days and in fact it actually came in at just over 20 miles.   So I resolved to start a bit earlier, and not to dawdle around as much as I had yesterday.

I had an early breakfast and was away by 8:15 am.   It was cold and fresh as I set out – the hills and fields were frozen white, with ice sparking from the leaves and branches of the trees as I walked.   I was soon warm from the steep climb out of Diggle and back up to Standedge.   The Pennine Way, particularly this morning, was a joy to walk.   Those bits of the moor which hadn’t been flagged had frozen solid, so I could laugh in the face of the mud, and enjoy the satisfying crunch of frost under my feet, rather than the soul destroying squelch of boots sinking ankle deep into quagmire.

About halfway through the walk, after a passing snowstorm briefly clouded what was otherwise another absolutely brilliant day, I came to the White House, near Blackstone Edge reservoir.   My grandad and I used to take the bus up here, and walk back to his house in Walsden along the tracks built when the reservoirs were being constructed.   Looking at my map, I reckon that it must have been at least 5 miles, so as this was the 1960s and I was probably only 8 or 9 at the time, this probably qualified as my first ever long distance path.   So really a trip down memory lane!

Soon, the sky-piercing stiletto of Stoodley Pike came into view, and I reached it by about 2 o’clock.   The Pike is 121ft tall and was built in 1856 to celebrate the end of the Crimean War (our relationships with Europe were strained, even then).   It’s always a sombre monument, but affords great views of Calderdale from the parapet halfway up (if you’re bold enough to climb the pitch black spiral staircase to get there).

Stoodley Pike looks down on the village of Mankinholes and I deviated from the Pennine Way route to pay a visit.   There is an old churchyard there, which used to belong to a chapel, now demolished, where my parents were married in 1956.   The churchyard is the final resting point of many of my antecedents, including my maternal grandparents, my aunt and several great uncles, and also, sadly, of my parents.   I located the graves, and removed the ivy which was vigorously encroaching on my grandparent’s headstone.   Then I had a late lunch with mum and dad, in mind if not in body, and with a bit of a lump in my throat, I left them to their repose and hiked back to the Pennine Way.

The rest of the journey was straightforward, made more spectacular by brilliant low angle sun, picking out the fields and trees of Callis Wood to perfection.   The heavy rain over this winter had caused a landslip which obliterated part of the path on the way down, and the canal towpath to my B&B this evening had been badly damaged in the storms.   But obstacles were successfully negotiated, and the B&B was reached by 5pm.   Now I’m looking forward to a change from the normal diet of lard pie and sugar and am swapping the pub dinner for a Turkish meal in the northern bohemia that is Hebden Bridge.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

A cold and frosty morning!	The Highways Agency seem to have some odd ideas about what constitutes the average Pennine Way walker..
Elegant bridge over the not so elegant M62.   With me on it (the bridge that is, not the motorway)	Stoodley Pike, unmistakable pinpoint high above the Calder Valley
Looking briefly like Scott of the Antarctic, on Blackstone Edge this lunchtime	Yes its still a long way to go but I’m enjoying it!
On the bleak moorland by Warland Reservoir

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PW day 02: Tue 23 Feb 2016; Crowden to Diggle

Walk descriptor	Pennine Way			Day	02
Date	Tue 23 Feb 2016			Start to end time	07h 35m
Start point	Crowden			End point	Diggle
Miles today	15.20			Cu miles	32.65
Ft today	3,021			Cu ft	6,118
Route miles left	247.09			Route ft left	36,716
Today’s weather	Clear blue sky with little cloud.   No rain, light northerly wind, about 2C
Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)			GPX based track of today’s walk (click button to download file) GPX

Commentary

At “just” 14 miles, today’s walk was a good three miles shorter than yesterday’s so I allowed myself a bit of lie-in this morning and didn’t leave the B&B until 9:30.   There was frost on the moorland as I set off, though I remained warm, fired up by the obligatory full English breakfast I’d enjoyed earlier.

I took the walk at a fairly leisurely pace today, barely averaging 2 mph.   But I wasn’t in a hurry – I knew the walk would only take 7 or 8 hours at most, and I didn’t particularly want to finish before 5pm.   But why rush through one of those one-in-a-million days to savour?   An opportunity to fill the memory with images of crystal clear distant hills and valleys, sparkling sunshine and electric blue skies.   Images to be recalled next time I’m slogging up a mountain in driving sleet and fog, and wondering why on earth I do this.   Today was why.

Just like yesterday, the parts of the walk which had proved boggiest and most unpleasant in 1977 had been paved and it was possible to over the ground at a pace which would have been inconceivable 38 years ago.   The summit of Black Hill (which is, by the way, the highest peak in Cheshire) was a joy to visit – fabulous views all around from the summit at the trig point, and dry feet too.   What a contrast today with Wainwright’s description of this place: “no other shows such a desolate and hopeless quagmire to the sky, this is peat naked and unashamed”.

Possibly the best part of today’s walk was the elevated path running high above Crowden Great Brook.   From this lofty viewpoint there were tremendous vistas back down to Torside reservoirs, and the inviting prospect of a riverside walk beyond, up into the higher parts of the desolate moor.

The day finished in the same spectacular fashion as the rest.   The path reached the main A62 transpennine artery at Standedge, right on top of the rail and canal tunnels, some 636 ft below my feet.   The ventilation shafts of the tunnels (which rail and canal share) were clearly visible in both directions but to the south west, the moorland dropped away to reveal the lowland plains and the massive conurbation of Manchester.   The green and brown slopes were bathed in golden evening sunlight and it felt like a scene straight from “the last of the summer wine”.

So, mind filled with images of Nora Batty, I made my way to the B&B in Diggle, and now to the pub for a beer and more lard pie, or similar.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Looking back over the curiously horseshoe shaped overflow at Torside reservoir, just outside Crowden	Happy to enjoy the unexpected sunshine near the top of Black Hill
As one of my friends observed, I used an exceptionally long selfie-stick to take this.   Near Laddow rocks	Weird metal picture frame stuck in the middle of nowhere near Wessenden Head.   This must be the millionth photo, at least, taken from this spot
Easy paved path over the endless bog of Black Moss	Delightful Diggle this evening. Compo, Clegg and Foggy should be waiting round the corner
On the edge above Crowden Great Brook.   A fabulous, lofty exhilarating walk

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PW day 01: Mon 22 Feb 2016; Edale to Crowden

Walk descriptor	Pennine Way			Day	01
Date	Mon 22 Feb 2016			Start to end time	08h 17m
Start point	Edale			End point	Crowden
Miles today	17.45			Cu miles	17.45
Ft today	3097			Cu ft	3097
Route miles left	261.06			Route ft left	39,354
Today’s weather	Plenty of sun with rapidly passing cloud.   Mostly dry but hailstorm at Snake Pass, strong north westerly wind, near gale force on the tops.   Appx 5C
Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)			GPX based track of today’s walk (click button to download file) GPX

Commentary

Well they say that life is full of surprises and today certainly had plenty.

The first was the weather. After last night’s soaking on the way from the station, I was fully expecting to be drenched within minutes of setting out today, and then having a thoroughly horrible transit over Kinder Scout.   But in fact, although it was a bit windy, for the most part the weather today was good.   Clear, cold and mostly dry, and a real contrast with the mist and driving rain I’d had in 1977.

The second surprise was the unexpected sensation of freedom that I experienced as I passed the pub at the start of the Pennine Way at Grindsbrook.   Freedom because for the first time in 32 years I realised that at the end of doing something enjoyable like a long distance walk, I wouldn’t have to go back to the soul-sapping grey of work in the office.

My third surprise was with the path itself. Again, I cast my mind back to 1977 and recalled the pathless tracts of peat hags over Kinder, Black Hill and Featherbed Moss which constituted the Pennine Way in those days.   It made for a truly grim hiking experience, and set the tone for pretty much the whole of the rest of the walk.   This time, though, it was quite different.   In an effort to reduce erosion, much of the path has been paved with sandstone flags, which mean the hiking is mostly dead easy and it’s impossible to get lost.   I didn’t mourn the passing of the purist peat hag experience for one second.

And there were more surprises! I’ve heard it said that half of the UK population lives within 1 hour’s drive of the Peak District.   Well today, approximately 30 million people must had something else to do because I probably saw fewer than six hikers, on this, the most well known long distance path in Britain.   In fact the contrast between the desolation of the path with the endless traffic jam I could see on the A628 on the far side of the valley near Crowden (the M62 was closed today, I think) couldn’t have been more striking.

But the biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed the walk.   OK I had pretty low expectations, based on 1977, which were vastly exceeded, and the weather was kind.   But it was more than that.   For the first time since I finished the “LEJOG” hike in 2014, I felt I was walking with a spring in my step, rather than feeling I was wading through glue.   I think LEJOG must have taken more out of me than I realised, and I’m only just getting over it.   Long may the recovery last.

Anyway I’m in the pub now, enjoying a beer and a funny minced beef pie thing which seems to be made mostly of lard.   The combination of alcohol and fat will probably ensure that any recovery is short lived, but nevertheless I’m still hoping that tomorrow won’t be too glue-like!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

The Old Nag’s Head in Edale.   The pub that is, not me.   The official start of the Pennine Way (and shown in panoramic form in the banner photo at the top of this blog)	OK so this is the official start of the Pennine Way too
Having a Kubrick-like experience on the summit of Kinder Scout	Kinder downfall.   “Down”fall is a bit of a misnomer as the waterfall was actually flowing uphill today
With my sister and her family on Bleaklow Head – they met me on the top of Snake Pass and offered shelter in the car while a squally hailstorm passed.   It was great to have some company!	Much of the PW across Kinder Scout is paved – easy peasy compared to the endless struggle though peat hags which I endured in 1977
Looking down the Hope valley from the top of Jacob’s Ladder.   Bleak!

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PW day 00: Sun 21 Feb 2016; Home to Edale

Walk descriptor	Pennine Way			Day	00
Date	Sun 21 Feb 2016			Start to end time	n/a
Start point	Home			End point	Edale
Miles today	n/a			Cu miles	n/a
Ft today	n/a			Cu ft	n/a
Route miles left	277.79			Route ft left	42,187
Today’s weather	Thick cloud, driving rain, gale force Westerly wind, about 8C
Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)			GPX based track of today’s walk (click button to download file) GPX

Commentary

Today marked the start of the Pennine Way adventure and it really was a day of contrasts.   I set off from London (St Pancras) where the weather was benign – mild, at about 14C, and dry.   Getting off the train at Edale was like stepping into a different world.  The temperature had dropped to about 7C, night had fallen, and the rain was lashing down.  I barely made it from the train to the platform shelter before I was soaked.   Cagoule, overtrousers and full goretex kit was essential for the 2 mile walk to the youth hostel.

I reached the hostel, hidden away up a side valley, after about 30 mins and it was a fantastic port in a storm.   Thank goodness for drying rooms!   Soaked clothing and rucksack are now gently saunaing in the drying room as I write this (on probably the slowest internet connection in the world – honestly, morse code would be quicker).

I’m hoping that tomorrow is going to be a bit less hostile as I set off for the walk “proper”.   Up Jacob’s Ladder, over Kinder Scout, Black Hill and Bleaklow to Crowden – names to conjure with but places better not visited on a day like today.   So here’s hoping for sun and calm – a vain expectation perhaps, but looking out of the window it does at least appear to have stopped raining for the moment.

I am very glad not to be camping tonight!   Next installment tomorrow!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

St Pancras – one of my favourite buildings	Looking remarkably clean and dry (it won’t last) about to board the train to Edale (via Sheffield)
Compare and contrast with St Pancras – I was soaked before I even crossed the platform to the shelter	Good news for door enthusiasts everywhere
Rather blurry shot of the moon scudding behind clouds as the rain lashed down on the 2 mile hike to the Youth Hostel	Sanctuary from the elements in the Youth Hostel at Edale
St Pancras again.  Well, I like it.

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