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| Rain! |
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Date : 20th March 2010
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Leader : Trevor Whittaker |
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Report by : Phil Bedson |
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Photos © : Phil Bedson |
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| The path towards Luddenden | |
The first Saturday walk of the year attracted just four members of Hyndburn Ramblers but this was probably due to the horrendous weather forecast which had predicted rain for the entire day. Indeed, rain was falling steadily as the small party set off from the little car park at Luddenden to begin the steady climb up to Midgley. Before that however there was the small matter of removing a frog from potential harm as it was sat at the edge of the pavement pondering the complexities of crossing the road. Having done this task our way forward was uphill via fieldpaths and tracks and it wasn’t long before a track past the football field took us to the outskirts of Midgely where, just after the Old Post Office, we took a track off to our right. The enclosed track up was obviously borne from times past as the little steps and cobbled snickets leading off it testified and the Group mused about what things were like. We soon reached the edge of the moor and followed the clear path around to the two reservoirs at High House Pasture and shortly thereafter a wall gave us some respite from the rain to enable us to have a break.
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left:
The Frog |
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right: Riverside paths?? |
Walking in the rain can sometimes be one of the most miserable things but everyone was in good spirits as we set off over the heather moorland in search of Miller’s Grave. Some of the paths were veritable streams (we were still going uphill) and at one stile in particular the ‘streams’ seemed to converge thus forming a lake all around the stile. The way forward was first to Crow Hill Nook where a path then veered off in a roughly northerly direction towards the standing stone known as Miller’s Grave. As the rain got heavier so did the mist and spotting the stone was getting a little tricky but eventually it was spotted and a beeline was made through the heather– or then again. Upon arrival it wasn’t the stone we wanted!! Peering around us another standing stone was spotted but with our leader insisting that it was too big but we headed that way anyhow and upon arrival found it was just what we had been looking for. After a brief pause for a photo and to wonder why Mr Miller had ever wanted to be buried up here we headed back through the heather to rejoin the path. The rain seemed even heavier by the point where we headed downhill (for a change) via some steps to emerge at the gatehouse for the old Luddenden Estate. It wasn’t long after this that we sought some shelter beneath a holly tree in order to have lunch.
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left:
Rain shrouded landscape |
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right: Still raining |
With the rain continuing to fall straight down our next target was the Cat I’ Th’ Well public house whose name derives no doubt from the area being known as Caty Well. First though more uphill walking took us to a ruin and then onto a lane across from Heys Clough. We followed the lane for a short while, passing some joggers (jogging in that weather!!), to arrive at Upper Saltonstall where a small gate into a field led us over towards Wainstalls. As we crossed various bridges over various streams the amount of water contained therein was quite something with one looking quite spectacular. The huge mill at Wainstalls has been converted into flats spread over the six levels and a quite wonderful job has been made. Leaving this behind us we took an enclosed lane downhill to emerge at Caty Well Bridge where we sought shelter within the Cat I’ Th’ Well. As it was our leaders 65th birthday a couple of days later we had a small toast to wish him Happy Birthday.
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left:
At the Miller's Grave |
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right: The welcome sight of Cat I' Th' Well |
Reluctantly leaving the real fire and the real beer we once again set forth into the rain – by now it was incessant – but at least it was the last leg. A small path between some cottages took us into a field and the clear path across the grass led us into a wood. The path down through the trees showed just how late Spring was in arriving but was nonetheless pleasant and the two courting herons on the small pond along with the goosanders showed it wasn’t far off. A slight uphill to the crest of the road which then took us down through to Luddenden Dean where once again times past came to the fore. The route back was along a narrow lane of old which ran alongside the stream all the way back to Luddenden passing the remains of a couple of mills and one could almost hear the clogs. The lane tracked all the way to the church of St. Marys which stands in immaculate surroundings and a couple of the Group even had a quick look inside too. A small path led us through to an housing estate from where the view of the car through the falling rain meant the walk was all but over.
We were more than wet but it had still been an excellent days walking and no sooner had we taken off the waterproofs and set off back would you believe it – the rain stopped.
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| St.Mary's Church, Luddenden | |
| OS OL 21 |
SOUTH PENNINES |
START POINT |
SE 041 257 |
| WALK LENGTH |
8.2 mls / 13.2 km |
TIME |
4 hrs |
| MAX HEIGHT |
405.41 mtrs |
MIN HEIGHT |
105.6 mtrs |
| HEIGHT ASCENDED |
533.4 mtrs |
HEIGHT DESCENDED |
533.4 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.
Click on an image to enlarge, click again to reduce
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