Adventures in wet boots

Out again today for a shortish five mile wander, starting out from the NT car park at Midgehole near Hebden Bridge. I’ve done this walk before so decided to do it in reverse and get the ascent over with first, heading up the forestry road towards Crimsworth Dean. The morning started out foggy but the mist was pretty thin by the time I got to the top of the track. Past the woods the road deteriorated into a sloppy bridleway, plenty of sheep for company though.

After enjoying the views down into Crimsworth Dean and across the valley to High Brown Knoll I turned up the side of the ruined farm building at Nook, heading up a steep former packhorse track between crumbling walls and derelict outbuildings, on to the edge of Wadsworth Moor. The path flattened out as it skirted Shackleton Knoll at around 1200 feet, before crossing through a gate to follow a wall downhill to Walshaw. I remembered this bridleway from my last trip here and its still a horrible mudbath, though at least the path has been reinforced with hardcore at some of the sloppiest bits. Eventually I reached Walshaw and cantered cheerfully down the field to the gate leading into Rowshaw Clough, thinking the hard bit was done. 

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After the night’s heavy rain the becks were roaring, so the descent down Rowshaw Clough was awesome. Unfortunately it was a slippery one, and I ended up sliding down part of the path sprawled full length in the mud, which was too gloopy for the poles to do anything other than slide down the hill with me.  After wiping the worst of the mud off I set off downstream through Hardcastle Crags. If there’s a good time to do a ravine walk its definitely after loads of rain I reckon, provided the water isn’t over the path!   

After passing through the enclosed section between the crag walls along a boardwalk, I followed the rocky path to the mill pond, which was teeming with frogs. The onward path is squeezed between Hebden Water and the pond, before dropping down to a weir then to Gibson Mill, a former cotton mill now an NT visitor centre. More picturesque riverside and woodland clambering followed, before climbing the hill back to the car park and home for a shower. 

Stretched my legs over Haworth Moor this afternoon, I squeezed in about four and a half miles before it was time to collect the muppets. Took a few pictures, finally -

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Tags: Hikes

This morning was mild and sunnyish, so I went for a six mile hike starting from Clough Foot, along the ravine to Blake Dean and into the woods of Hardcastle Crags before climbing steeply alongside Rowshaw Clough and up to Walshaw, over a partially burned Wadsworth Moor via a shooting track to Walshaw Dean reservoirs, returning to the start along the reservoir access road. I’ll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves, but some highlights were encountering a marshy bit full of mating frogs in the woods (they didn’t photograph well sadly); wonderful moorland views from High Rakes, the highest point of the Wadsworth Moor track (420 metres/1380 feet); a bracing Pennine gale (which wouldn’t be a Pennine wind without some spit in it  ) and some enthusiastic sheep having their dinner. Will definitely be planning more yomps in this area. 

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Tags: Hikes