Left The Walker in the pouring rain and thought I had the best of the deal today – that was until I spent 2 ¼ hours driving to the next stopping place. I had decided to go on main roads rather than take the van on the more direct route down skinny roads through Holmfirth. However, every few miles there were road works, diversions and there also seemed to be a complete lack of signs to say which road I was on! Eventually, unable to figure out where I was exactly, I gave in, stopped and consulted the sat nav, which came with the van, but I had as not yet used.
Disappointing to find the Standedge Visitors Centre was closed on Mondays, as we had been looking forward to going there.
From Bernie:
Today’s walk 11.0 miles : Cumulative 583.8 miles
A quick 11 miles: knock those out by lunchtime & spend the afternoon with a bit more industrial heritage at the Standedge Centre – at least that was the idea at the planning stage!
Looking back towards Crowden
Turned out to be quite a tough 11 miles, especially as most of it was across moorland into the teeth of a strong breeze. Spent most of the morning looking at the inside of a cloud as I climbed steadily to the summit of Black Hill; dropping from the plateau the views across the moors to Manchester, with the sun highlighting patches of farmland & high-rise blocks, were superb.
It might seem like cheating, building a trig pillar on a pedestal like this, but it’ll give them a week or two before it sinks into the bog!
I must have been crazy yesterday afternoon when I’d thought I might pop out & just add the few miles to Wassenden Head to my tally. In yesterday’s conditions this walk would have been horrendous – today it was just tough &, actually, great fun!
Wessendon Reservoir – rhododendrons around the reservoir & along the streams were brilliant!
After the heavy rain there were streams where none appear on the map & a couple were quite tricky to cross (no bridges!) yet the reservoirs, & I passed several today, remain alarmingly low – the only full lakes were the small canal top-up reservoirs. For the sake of my walk I don’t want it to happen but this part of the country desperately needs a lot of rain.
Highlight of the Day: Standedge Tunnel is the longest, highest & deepest in Britain, carrying the Huddersfield Canal beneath the moors of West Yorkshire. I was hugely disappointed to discover that the Visitors’ Centre is closed on Monday but that disappointment evaporated the moment that I heard a narrow-boat was about to emerge from the tunnel. 2 today, no more until Wednesday & a passage has to be booked at least 3 days in advance.... & we saw one arrive after 5 minutes at Tunnel Head! You can keep your Visitors’ Centres!
Standedge Tunnel, Tunnel End
Beer of the Day: Marston’s is a well-known brewery but I’d never come across their ‘Father Time’ – pale, smooth &, at 5%, quite strong, this is a good beer. If I’d stayed for another I’d have missed the narrow-boat coming out of the tunnel!
More than made up for the Visitors’ Centre being closed!
Crossed the border into my native county – expecting great things from the weather despite the forecast - & celebrated with a meal at ‘The Carriage House’, also our campsite for the night!
Julia: just as vital as a periscope! The stake is marked on OS maps as indicating Bleaklow Head &, whereas yesterday it was all quite obvious, if I’d been walking there today I’d have been glad of the confirmation & consolation..... unless, of course, I was armed with GPS! It has a glove on the top; I think somebody may have put it there to keep it warm in inclement weather!
Stuart: great to hear from you! Sorry I’m walking too fast! Came across a group of lads working on one of the canal drainage outlets in Bollington & thought about telling them about your exploits but realised they’d think I was just some doddering old fool so I went off to look for a pub instead!
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