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.