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| Monumentally Historic Walking |
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Date : 02nd May 2009
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Leader : Phil Bedson |
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Report by : Phil Bedson |
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Photos © : Phil Bedson |
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| CLICK HERE FOR ROUTE DETAILS |
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| Stoodley Pike Monument! | |
Eight members of the Hyndburn Group met up at Accrington Train Station in order to catch the 9.17 train to Hebden Bridge. The train was thankfully bang on time and within 30 minutes the group were at their destination and, after a quick route description, were on their way.
Hebden Bridge nestles in a long valley so, after taking an underpass to get to the other side of the tracks, our way to start with was decidedly uphill. An angled path up through a wooded area meant height was gained pretty quickly and the rooftops of Hebden were soon stretching out below us. We turned away from the town up along an enclosed pathway and emerged from under the trees further on to find the sun was breaking through the clouds and the views opening out.
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left:
Enclosed woodland path |
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right: Looking Back over Hebden Bridge |
Continuing on along track ways the ground levelled off and we maintained a steady pace through the high level farms as we closed in on the monument before us, Stoodley Pike, which sits high above the valley on the edge of a windswept moorland plateau. The current structure was erected in 1856 when peace was proclaimed after the Crimean War although it replaced an earlier monument which collapsed two years previous that was built in 1815 to mark peace after the battle of Waterloo. We arrived at Stoodley and climbed it’s 39 steps up to the balcony where views all around were beautiful in the sunshine. The field patterns of the high level farms were clearly visible too.
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left:
Towards Stoodley Pike |
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right: The field patterns |
After a break we continued on our way by dropping off the front edge of the moor to quite rapidly descend down to a small, nameless (at least on the map!) hamlet near Higher Stoodley Farm. We continued on along the track, past Middle Stoodley House and down to cross a small stream. From here we followed yet another woodland path around the edge of Height Wood to join a green lane which took us downhill to where we would join the Rochdale Canal. We followed the canal for a little over a mile encountering a wide variety of people - other walkers, cyclists, joggers and bargemen - before arriving at a canalside public house where a lunch stop was declared.
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left:
A Green Lane |
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right: Along the Rochdale Canal |
After eating and quaffing a pint of the local brew we resumed on our way by almost immediately leaving the canal path and making our way through some old cottages. A footpath next to a stream took us up to the A646 and whilst waiting to cross it was pointed out that the high ground which loomed before us was next to be climbed. The path takes you behind some houses and almost immediately a fork doubles back to follow the curve of the hill upwards. This path soon joins another which you follow to the left quickly rising above the tree line and offering up a vista directly back up the valley with Stoodley Pike visible in the distance atop it’s vantage point. As the ground levelled out we arrived at the outskirts of the hilltop village of Heptonstall.
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left:
Uphill to Heptonstall |
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right: Looking Back to Stoodley Pike |
Heptonstall has a long and varied history from it’s old church foundation in the late 11th Century. It was the scene of a Civil War battle in the 17th C and John Wesley first preached here in the 18th C. The group entered the churchyard and passed the new church to then explore the ruins of the old church. In the churchyard they found the grave of David Hartley, the leader of the infamous Cragg Vale Coiners, although Sylvia Plath’s, who was the wife of local Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, was not located. Leaving the churchyard behind us we passed the small museum and crossed the main street, passing the location of John Wesley’s first preach, and entered the grounds of Heptonstall’s Methodist Chapel. It’s unusual octagonal shape coupled with it being the oldest continually used Methodist Chapel in the country makes it another reason to visit Heptonstall.
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left:
Heptonstall's Old Church |
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right: The Octagonal Methodist Chapel |
Yet another enclosed path took us downhill from the village and after crossing a small lane we entered another woodland. The path wound its way through the trees, past some small dwellings within, and along yet more enclosed footpaths, (probably used for centuries - you could almost hear the clogs), before we crossed a small bridge back into Hebden Bridge. We took side streets of terraces back towards the town centre. Some members of the group indicated they would like to stay and explore the town and so it was agreed that the walk would end there. It wasn’t far back to the train station anyway.
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| Returning into Hebden Bridge | |
| OS LEISURE 21 |
SOUTH PENNINES |
START POINT |
SD 995 268 |
| WALK LENGTH |
8.35 mls / 13.5 km |
TIME |
3 hrs 15 mins |
| MAX HEIGHT |
398.44 mtrs |
MIN HEIGHT |
98.17 mtrs |
| HEIGHT ASCENDED |
590.98 mtrs |
HEIGHT DESCENDED |
590.98 mtrs |
This map is for reference only and MUST NOT be used to do the walk.
Please use the correct OS map for all these walks.
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