Withins Clough

This is a new walk and starts out from Cragg Vale.  It wasn’t too bad a day although the sky kept threatening rain.  Finally found somewhere to park and walked down to where the walk proper started.  Down a small side road off the main road at a lovely pub.  From here I walked along Clough Road and turned on a stile down to a small wood.  I followed this all the way along to eventually come to a clapper bridge. 

Here instead of crossing the bridge my path was to go through a gate in the wall to my right to climb the steep hill out onto the tops. 

Just as I got to the top I felt a speck or two of rain and while I was busy getting my rain jacket out of my back pack a huge hail storm erupted.  By the time I’d got my jacket out and on my back as was absolutely soaked through.  So I crouched down at a wall-side until the worst of it had passed over before setting off again.  The path took me onto Higher House Moor alongside a ditch – the path was covered at each side in bracken as tall as myself and it was now wet through from the storm. 

This part of the walk was a lot longer than I thought – it took a good half hour walking to arrive at Withins Clough reservoir below me.  Eventually the path dropped down to the embankment – the book said for a short cut cross this otherwise follow the path along the shore to go around the reservoir. 

In view of the day and being wet I decided to save the circular walk for another day and crossed down the steep surfaced road back to the start of the walk.  Even though I’d missed out the reservoir circuit the walk had been a good 5 miles.  

The book was a bit out on its distances.  Enjoyed this walk and would like to do it again on a better day and include the extra walk around the reservoir.

Barns, Walls & Bridges Around Hawes YDNP

This was a 4 mile (6.4km) walk in Herriot country enjoying panoramic views over Upper Wensleydale.  Barns, walls and bridges are important features of Wensleydale and played a crucial part in the development of local industry and agriculture. The walk included the woodland and waterfalls of Shaw Gill. The walk started in Hawes

 and worked its way around to High Abbotside, Sedbusk,

 Simonstone,  High Shaw

 – by Hardraw Force and back to Hawes. 

 A beautiful walk and I drove back down home via Ribblehead Viaduct and Ingleborough.  Stunning  day

Wadsworth, Widdop and Walshaw Dean Reservoirs

So this wasn’t a walk from a book it’s just a walk I chose to do having been on a walk around here before and spotted some really good footpaths I thought it would be interesting to follow.  It was about 2-o-clock when I parked up at Clough Foot.  The same place I park to walk around the Gorple Moor.  Instead of turning through the gate across the road I took the path up behind the lay-by.  This ran alongside a plantation and across the moor this is part of the Calder Aire Link. The path led me to Walshaw Dean Lower Reservoir.  The path continued to run alongside the reservoir,  it was very low because of the lovely dry summer we have had so far.  At the end of the reservoir the path turned up hill to reach the banking of Walshaw Dean Middle Reservoir – across the other side of the embankment was a beautiful lodge house. 

 This part of the walk has now joined the Pennine Way footpath.  Again it took me alongside the reservoir banking to the final dam/banking of Upper Walshaw Dean Reservoir.  Here there was a Gazebo set up for a charity walk – The Denholme Doddle. The checkpoint volunteers were waiting for just one more person come through then they could pack up.  Apparently everyone had gone through the checkpoint on the A6033 Oxenhope to Hebden Bridge Road so one of them was setting off with a map to see where the straggler was.  Here I crossed over the banking to walk up the other side of the reservoir. 

 At the end if I wanted I could continue on to Top Withins (save it for another day maybe).  I took the path which led me back around the opposite side of the reservoir to the Gazebo spot.  They must have found the lone walker as they were gone when I got back.  From here I continued back down the tracks I’d taken to get back to the car. 

I thought this was a nice easy walk and felt pleased I’d followed a map to create my own circular walk. A pleasant 5 miles.

Thornton-in-Craven

I’ve wanted to do this walk for ages and was really looking forward to it.  I’d been over to see Melanie and family this morning and decided this was a nice short walk for the afternoon.  Found my way to the Greenberfield Locks car park.  Parked up and set off. 

Apparently the locks are a set of 3 and are the highest point of the Leeds-Liverpool canal.  From the towpath I turned left on the main road passed the Rolls Royce factory crossing the road to on a path past Gill Hall to eventually come to St Mary-le-Gill churchyard and church (with a 500 year old roof). 

From here I walked down a path to come out onto Ghyll golf course, walking across to a gate to take me out onto a large field.  Eventually I dropped down to a stile in a hedge to the main road.  I followed the road into the village centre with stocks on the green.  

The route then took me left on an access road on between fields to eventually take a gate on the left into a field – over footbridge and up to the top of Castleber Hill 

and down the other side and onto the canal towpath for a pleasant walk back to the Greenberfield Locks. 

A short and pleasant walk although the tea  kiosk was closed by the time I got back to the car.

Brontes In Pendle

I printed this walk off the Visit Lancashire website as its fairly close to home and looked interesting.  The walk was supposed to start in Trawden go to Wycoller and back, but when I got to Trawden there was nowhere to park, there was a Scarecrow festival and fete on and with it being a really hot day it was packed. So I went over to Wycoller and parked there to do the walk from half way round and go to Trawden and back.  

The hardest part of any walk is setting off in the right direction – I walked down to Wycoller Hall and found the path to take me up into Trawden Forest, steep steps up onto the tops- 

from here it was a fairly straight-forward walk over various stiles and through fields to eventually walk alongside Trawden brook into Trawden. 

As I seemed to have got to Trawden pretty easily and quickly I stopped for an ice- cream before setting off again up some old tram-lines. 

I then took a stile down to the left through a field and back up the opposite hill – back to a farm I’d passed on the way in to Trawden.  Again it was walking through fields and gates and over stiles – at one farm it was straight through the farmyard.  The farmer’s wife shouted go through the gate that’s the path (why don’t they put a sign so you don’t wander about in the wrong place).  The path went down to a stream where I could have gone to a waterfall at Lumb Spout – but it was hot and dry and I thought the waterfall may have even dried out with the hot weather we’ve been having so I turned left to a ladder stile in the field corner.  Eventually coming to a tarmac road to go left around Boulsworth Hill  

this is part of the Pennine Bridleway passing a signpost that said 2 ½ miles to Wycoller – it was really hot up on the hilltop with no shade and no option but to keep going – I was on familiar ground now I have walked this path before on a different walk. 

I eventually dropped down to a bridge and stile to follow a stream on my right back into Wycoller.  

The walk said it was a pleasant 4 ½ mile walk but when I checked my fitbit this was a 7 ½ mile walk no wonder I was tired at the end of it.  It was good and I would do it again but this time I would be more prepared. 

Earby Landscapes

The last time I did this walk the ground was really wet and in some parts it felt as if I was walking along a stream rather than a footpath.

I parked up in the small car park in Earby, at least this time I knew which way to go in the village.  Most of the shops are closed on a Saturday afternoon so nothing to linger for.  I walked up through the village alongside a small stream and turned off by the Youth Hostel. 

A few yards in and I turned down through the woods to cross a small bridge over the stream.  From here it was a long pull up towards a sunken path – here I came across a woman laid on the grass with a hat and dust mask on (first thought was I’d come across a dead person) then she said Hi as if everyone laid in the sun with masks on – I guess it must have been to do with grass pollen.  Up at the top of the path was a stone seat where I stopped had a drink and took in the views.

From here I went through a gate alongside a wall to pop out on an access road – from here I was just going to cross and take the access road down to Oak Slack when a mini pulled up by me and said there was no right of way down there and I should continue up the road to a stile.  I walked up the road – no stile.  I read the directions again. It definitely said take the Oak Slack access road.  Back down the road I went.  When I got to the farm and the small stile to go down the field I knew I was right.  Last time the bulrush part of field was sodden.  Today bone-dry.  At the bottom I turned right through the gate and up the side  of a clough.  From here I came to a beautiful old derelict farmhouse.  

The location reminds me of the old house I stayed in at Northumberland – its very similar isolated and next to a stream. Following the track I came out onto Dodgson Lane – last time I’d gone up and down here a few times trying to find the right gate – this time was no problem – up the hill near the top and through the gate – eventually appearing on heathery ground – passing the ruins of Higher Verjuice Bank.  

From here it was a case of following tracks and sunken ways all the way back down to Earby. A really good walk and back in time to listen to the World Cup on the radio.

Below is an excerpt I found about Higher Verjuice Farm – I think the moorland would make it unstable, last time the ground was so wet and boggy all around it.

The last occupier was a Gwen Garrity (possibly a relative of Freddie Garrity of Freddie and the Dreamers!) and she had, I think two sons. She moved to Lower Verjuice. The reason was that the house had become unstable and also that she had a bad experience with some bikers who came down the lane. I remember my parents chatting to her on the doorstep of the house after a family picnic quite nearby. She left around 1962 and the main part of the house collapsed around 1964 or 1965. The barn remained standing for a long time afterwards. I remember going into the house and it was still fully furnished, with a settee and chairs and a TV set, but the upstairs floor was bouncy and a bit scary, but there was still a made-up bed up there. It must have collapsed shortly after our visit.
Me and my brother and a couple of other kids spent the summer holidays of 1966 in the barn. We were visited by an owl and a rat. I'm not sure when the barn collapsed.

Newchurch

It was a hot hot day and I was looking forward to this walk.  Slightly easier than Pendle Hill (but not much).  The car park at Barley was pretty full but I found a space got my boots on and set off up to Ogden Reservoir.  It was hot work climbing the track up to the reservoir banking. 

When I got there the reservoir were blue reflections the colour of the sky.  It was also very low I could see some the water markers down the embankment. 

I walked across the banking and through the stile into the rough pasture.

  Now I had the long climb up to the brow of Driver Height, here I stopped for a well-earned drink of water, looking across I could see the plumes of smoke from the fire on Saddleworth Moor. 

Felt sorry for the firemen who were there – in this heat without the fire it would be hard work walking across the moorland in their fire-fighting kit. Drivers Height at 1230ft/375mt is not quite so high up as Pendle Hill which is 1893ft/577mt, but still the views were impressive. 

From here I made the steep drop down to Newchurch.  I stopped off at the little church to see the gravestone of Alice Nutter and then moved on through the hamlet to take the turn off alongside some woods.  

Here on the horizon I could just make out the flat top of Ingleborough.  From here it was a slow sloping path through woods and pasture to an enclosed track which dropped back down to Barley.  Here I had an ice-cream before setting off back home. 

The book said this was 4 miles but I think it was nearer 4 ½ and today in the heat it felt like 5.  Good walk with good views.