Adventures in wet boots

Went for a nine mile bog trot this morning, as a step towards walking a summer’s worth of beer off. I was going to climb Weets Hill in West Craven but on the way over pulled in at Penistone Hill car park and thought bollocks, let’s have a local ‘mission’ since it was a nice crisp, bright October day. Perfect weather for the high moors. So I lashed my gaiters on and set off up a farm track to Drop Farm before following the footpath across the south edge of Haworth Moor towards Oxenhope Stoop Hill (445m/1455ft), my first objective. The path was soggy in places which was a taste of things to come, particularly where the path dropped into a broad clough before climbing steeply to the high ground of the watershed. I paused for a breather near the top, enjoying a cracking view over Oxenhope and beyond, the bulky outline of Great Whernside clearly visible on the horizon beyond Rombalds Moor, while Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent could be spotted far to the north west. 

A bit more steady trogging and I was at the top, and after last year’s unplanned dunking I was ready for the bogs up there. I made for the boundary stone, then got the compass out and headed west across the peat and marsh grasses, easily picking out a trampled path of sorts through the bog which I followed over Dick Delf Hill (452m/1480ft), enjoying the fresh air and panoramic views into the Hebden and Worth valleys before picking up the Pennine Way and crossing Withins Height back to the Worth side of the ridge, still with fairly dry feet. I followed the flagstones a way down to Top Withens then clambered up the bank behind the ruin, following a sketchy path round the hilltop to the trig point before continuing through the heather to the Alcomden stones. At this point I still had plenty of energy and time, so I decided to press on across the moor to Crow Hill. This was bloody hard going, ploughing through knee deep heather and tussock grass. After a while the ground dipped between the stones and Crow Hill, skirting Stanbury Bog. This was not fun and half a mile of tussock hopping, squelching and splashing about ensued. I did get a soggy foot at one point when a slither into a particularly deep bog hole squirted water up past the cuff of my gaiter and down the top of my boot. 

Eventually I made it out of the mire and crossed the Wage of Crow Hill (too knackered from my flounderings to bother with the summit) to head down the trod running along the north eastern edge towards Ponden. Suddenly I was no longer alone, as I’d wandered into a noisy line of beaters. They were a friendly enough lot, and since I had to wait at the delph until the shooting had finished they gave me a land rover ride down to the lodge at the edge of Ponden Clough. Which while cheating a bit was better than being mistaken for a grouse and peppered with shot. 

Following the route the shooting estate staff suggested I took the path overlooking the clough round under Ponden Kirk, then up a steep flight of stone ’stairs’ and across the bridge before taking the onward path high above the other side of the clough enjoying some breathtaking views.

At the bottom of the slope I turned sharply back up the side of the fell and over the top, dropping down to Bronte Bridge. After a well earned breather and summat to eat I followed the path back over Haworth Moor to Penistone Hill, rounding off a cracking walk. Just a shame I couldn’t take any pictures. Have a dodgy route map instead (the dotted line was by landrover )

Tags: Hikes