Ponden Circular

Well originally I had been going to go over to Colne and do a walk there but I was late setting out and I’d been full of cold all week so I decided to stay closer to home.

Parked up at Ponden Reservoir banking and walked up past Ponden Hall and took the same pathway I’d taken a few weeks ago with the family.  It was pretty breezy up on the tops, this would certainly clear the bugs and blow the cobwebs away.  When I got up to the kirk top the wind was pretty chilly too.  There were lots of Grouse flying up out of the heather and lapwing flying around. 

  However on this walk instead of going across past the Kirk stones and then taking the steps back down to the water board track I carried along the top of the hill following the narrow track, eventually Buckley Green came into view.  Here instead of going through the stile, I headed right back up onto the moor eventually joining up with the broad Pennine Way track I followed this straight up to Top Withins. 

  As I neared the top I could see lots of walkers heading my way from the direction of Heptonstall/Warley.  As I went round the back of the Top Withins ruins there were two marshals.  A long distance walk of 20 miles apparently and this was their last check point.

Anyway I headed back down the hill and then took fork off to the right and followed the clear pathway which eventually brought me to the hill at the top of Bronte bridge and waterfalls.  I decided not to walk down to the bridge but cut back across a field which brought me back on the Pennine Way track and across to Buckley Green.  Following the track past the houses until I turned down a narrow path which looked like an old cart track – bringing me back to the Reservoir banking and my car.

A good 6 mile tramp across the moors, that should hopefully killed a lot of my cough/cold bugs.  Just wish it had been a little warmer, it was too cold to linger today.