Pennine Way 9 Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale

We started off in fine weather but with a poor forecast threatening to spoil the day. A steep climb up the steps at the left of the cove took us up on to the clints and grykes of the limestone pavement and it took quite some time for us all to make our cautious way across them. Thankfully the clints were dry and we all made it safely across without mishap.

Between Malham Cove and Malham Tarn there is a narrow enclosed dry valley known as Watlowes where the green turf is interspersed with outcrops of limestone, quite different from anything we had seen so far on our journey.

On past the tarn and the field study centre we soon emerged into open countryside again and Stuart announced an early lunch stop in the shelter of a wall as there was a cold wind blowing.

After lunch we made steady progress as the path took us gradually upwards to Fountains Fell . We had a second shorter stop just before we reached our highest point and this was very well timed as the weather turned showery as we left and dark clouds were amassing behind us.

As we descended the other side we got our first view of Pen-y-Ghent in the distance looking very formidable with clouds drifting across the summit now and then. It took us quite a long time to reach the beginning of the steep ascent and by this time the wind was strong and the rain was threatening to become more persistent so only six hardy souls decided to climb up to the summit. The rest of us, me included, were tempted by the thought of mugs of hot tea and toasted teacakes in the Pen-y-Ghent cafe and took the downhill option via Bracken-Bottom! Well we'd been up there many times before hadn't we and didn't feel the need to do it again in the rain.

Thanks to Jean Moxon for the photos of Pen-y-Ghent and the summit group. The rain did set in before they finished and the descent was a bit slippy so they didn't get time for any refreshment before we left. The 'A' party had finished quite early and spent some time in the pub where they picked up some extra passengers to drop off in Skipton, all good for the bank balance!

Pennine Way 8 Thornton in Craven to Malham

I missed this walk as I was enjoying a holiday in Cornwall so many thanks to Colin Gregg for the following narrative and Jean Moxon who supplied the photos.

A short coach journey enabled us to make an early 10.15 start. Thornton in Craven greeted us with an overcast sky and a very cold westerly wind encouraging the group led by Rita to make a swift departure. Heading North out of the village via Cam Lane we soon entered beautiful rolling pasture lands contrasting with the nearby high moorland areas.

After a short time we reached the Leeds & Liverpool canal at East Marton passing under the famous No 161 double arch bridge which carries the A59 (T) over the canal. The nearby canal basin contains a number of interesting vessels.

By now the sun began to make an appearance through breaks in the cloud creating a distinct improvement in the temperature and this proved to be a continuing alternation throughout the day. The group continued to snake its way across more undulating fields and through occasional large clumps of trees while the air was filled with the bleating of very many spring lambs.

After crossing the Skipton/Settle railway line we soon found ourselves in Gargrave for a welcome comfort stop. Departing Gargrave in a northerly direction we encountered more rolling pasture land albeit at a much higher elevation and vast sprawling fields. On Eshton Moor in the vicinity of Haw Crag we halted for lunch giving us panoramic views of the surrounding fells, eastwards Rylstone and Flasby Fells along with Sharp Haw and northerly glimpses of the Craven fault.











Having enjoyed a well earned rest and lunch we gradually descended into the valley to follow the course of the infant River Aire for the few miles stroll to Malham. A light shower dampened our approach to the very early finish, some of the group taking advantage of the extra time to visit Janet's Foss.

Saturday 12 February 2011

I did this walk today on my own without getting lost! John dropped me off in Thornton in Craven at 9.20 a.m. and I got to Malham at 13.40 p.m.

It was similar weather to that experienced by the group, a grey start improving throughout the day with sunny periods and no rain thankfully, but plenty of mud as it had rained hard the previous day. The infant River Aire had plenty of water in it!

Thanks to Peter for lending me his strip map of the Pennine Way with helpful notes on it. There was just one point where I was puzzling which way to proceed across a field when a friendly farmer popped up and set me off in the right direction. Apparently I was heading for a post on the horizon but I'm afraid my eyesight is not that good! Anyway I did find the post and all was straight forward after that.

Thanks to John who provided transport there and back and was willing to find me if I got lost.

Pennine Way 7 Ponden to Thornton-in-Craven

Another dry day but a very cold blustery wind blowing in our faces for most of the day. We set off along the side of Ponden Reservoir but soon started to climb quite steeply.

There were many signs of spring along the way with numerous sitings of primroses and baby animals.

The walk took us up on to Ickornshaw Moor where we stopped for a quick drink before making our way over the stone slabs and then down past several shooting huts.

Another stop for lunch in a sheltered gulley where contibutions were gratefully accepted from Stuart who had left his lunch on the kitchen table! No matter, he was soon well supplied with a sandwich, banana etc to see him through the day.

Another up and down mainly across fields and the village of Lothersdale with its large mill chimney comes into view.

One last climb for the day and we reached the highest point Pinhaw Beacon (1273 ft). By this time the wind was strong and we didn't linger long at the top. Just long enough to admire the splendid views in every direction.

Just enough time left to reach Thornton-in-Craven in time for the coach to pick us up at 5.00 pm. We have now completed approximately 63 miles of the Pennine Way and the best is yet to come!

Pennine Way 6 Hebden Bridge to Ponden

A good turn out today, all meeting at Hebden Bridge, some on the train from Bradford and the rest on the bus from Keighley. The 'A' party set off along the canal to start at the point we finished at last time while the 'B' party opted for a bus up the hill to meet up with the Pennine Way at Colden. As it was a latish start and there would have been 14 miles to do it was felt that this was the best option and most people were in agreement with this. For the purists amongst us there will be an opportunity to do the missing couple of miles in the future. The bus took us up the steep hill to Heptonstall with its narrow cobbled streets and old buildings. We did have to wait a few minutes behind a parked ambulance until the paramedics had finished inside one of the cottages. The bus was very full and it was standing room only as it chugged up the hill. Thanks to Sheila for the photo. We missed out the steepest bit of the climb that day and were ahead of the 'A' party all the way into Haworth. The weather was fine again, a bit of a chilly wind later on but considering this has been the worst winter for a decade we have been extremely lucky on these walks so far.

4th April 2011 I met Jean Moxon at Hebden Bridge and we did the missing couple of miles in the rain! Thanks Jean for the next 3 photos.

As we set off on the the first steep climb looking back we could see Stoodley Pike standing proud on the other side of the valley

It was a day of moors and reservoirs but we managed to find a nice lunch spot at Graining Water and my Pennine Way book states that 'generations of Pennine Way walkers have eaten their lunch here'. A gentle climb up after lunch lead to the Walshaw Dean reservoirs and then on over the moors to Top Withens, said to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. Here a few of the group took the path leading more directly to Haworth while the rest of us followed the Pennine Way to Ponden Reservoir and then made our way to Haworth for the bus home.

Amazingly many of the 'A' and 'B' walkers caught the same bus out of Haworth to Keighley and ended a good days walk together. Next time we are back on our Sunday coach and maybe some of us will appreciate it more having had the inconvenience of using public transport on a Sunday to deal with!

Pennine Way 5 White House to Hebden Bridge

Well here we are again on another fine day. A little bit cold but some sunshine and no rain to speak of. It was a bit of an effort for me to get to the beginning of the walk from where I live but 3 buses and 2 trains later here we all are.

It was a very easy walk today, the bus took us up the hill and all we had to do was walk on the flat to Stoodley Pike and then downhill all the way to Hebden Bridge. We could see the monument in the distance from a long way off. It is roughly 40 miles from the beginning of the Pennine Way at Edale.

If you follow the link you can read a little more about the monument and the inscription above the entrance that has almost worn away now.

We didn't linger long at Stoodley Pike as there was a cold wind blowing and we were all eager to gain lower ground where it was considerably warmer.

The final part of the walk took us down hill into the valley bottom. We stopped briefly in the sun for a drink and could see Heptonstall Church on the opposite hillside in the sunshine.

Once we reached the valley bottom we had a flat walk along the canal bank into Hebden Bridge. It was quite interesting to see all the canal boats moored and the gardens that had been made out of recycled items. Here we all dispersed for refreshments or the train station and a nice early finish.

Pennine Way 4 Standedge to Blackstone Edge

A welcome break from work slotted in between the Christmas and New Year celebrations. The weather was fine but very cold with a hazy mist so we didn't get the good views unfortunately.

First of all thanks to Ray for getting off his sick bed to lead the walk. I'm sure he will have felt better for it! The bus journey to the start of the walk was not without incident, leaving 7 minutes earlier than expected, but we're all well trained and no-one missed the bus so all was well.

The start of the walk looked quite different in daylight from the gloom we ended in last time and we set off along a good fairly level track. The walking was easy all day as it was fairly level and the ground was frozen so crossing the boggy bits was a joy. It was very cold and I think my camera was suffering from hyperthermia so only two pictures today I'm afraid. The first one shows us climbing a stile on our way up to Millstone Edge where we would have had good views if it hadn't been so hazy. Still we mustn't complain it was dry and conditions were ideal for walking.

It was quite a short walk today on the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire and it wasn't long after lunch that we crossed over the M62 on the spectacular foot bridge that I remember being built and always thought that I'd like to walk on! Well here I was and my camera refused to take more than one picture so I just might have to do it again some time. We soon reached the trig point on Blackstone Edge but didn't linger as the wind was cold. A left turn at the Aiggin Stone and a short section of Roman pavement folowed by a right turn to follow a drainage ditch and before we knew it the walk was over and we had reached our destination 'The White House' pub where we had time for refreshment before catching the bus to Halifax and then on to Bradford via a spectacular route through Queensbury.

A short but enjoyable walk and plenty of chance to chat along the way.

Pennine Way 3 Crowden to Standedge

The weather forecast for today was for wet and windy weather but we set off in bright conditions with a following wind as we climbed steadily up to Laddow Rocks, The view looking back was magnificent in the splendour of the autumn colours.

We stopped for lunch part 1 as it was still dry and we were informed by Ray that we could have lunch part 2 on the coach in a couple of hours time as he was anticipating rain! After a quick snack we were soon on our way following the stream and eventually the stone slabs to the summit of Black Hill. One or two people lost their footing crossing the stream and ended up with soggy sleeves and pockets full of water but nothing much dampens the spirits of this group. At this point we left Derbyshire behind and crossed the border into Yorkshire. By now the weather was closing in and we had several heavy showers and blustery conditions as we climbed higher. The moor top was very wet and boggy and would have been very unpleasant without the slabs.

Soon after leaving the summit we could see the coach in the distance and made our way to lunch part 2. Of course the 'A' party and the 'B' party were doing the same walk but not together and it did get a bit confusing at times as some of the B's passed the A's and arrived at the coach first. After another quick snack the advance A's and B's decided that it would be prudent to set off on the final stage without delay as the weather was deteriorating and we didn't want to end up in the dark. It was still only showery with dry spells and it was very pleasant walking along above the reservoirs and then climbing steeply up to Wessenden Head where we paused briefly to have a quick drink.

From this point on the weather took a turn for the worse and the walk turned into a hard slog as the wind blew in our faces and the rain came down. There were white horses on the reservoir the wind was so strong. The light began to fade and it was with much relief that we saw the lights of the pub shining out across the moor. Nearly there, thank goodness ....... only to find that the path turned to the left away from the pub and it was another 15 minutes before we saw it again! Just time for a quick drink or chance to dry off before we left for home.

Unfortunately we hadn't realised that another group had set off after us and were going to find it rather difficult finishing in the dark. A timely reminder that you should always carry a torch with you especially when walking in the winter months. They were wet and cold and rather late but everyone arrived back safely to the coach.

My book says 'this section is a modest 11 miles, one of the shortest days on the trail, and fairly undemanding....'! Well I think the writer must have done it on a nice summer day. At least we experienced it in wind and rain and maybe that made it a more memorable experience. We certainly won't forget that one in a hurry!