Does walking the Pennine Way look hard to you? Well why not sponsor me here.

When we attempted the walk 10 years ago this journey was effectively the end of our contiguous endeavour. We must have gone wrong somewhere but starting off from this direction the path seems to be such a very well made track that is hard to conceive how we can have gone so wrong!

I certainly have no recollection of seeing this stone. Though I am rather confused by its contents. Advising, as it does, that we are about 120 yards from the M11. The GPS advised our course very well and we made a great deal of progress and I was optimistic that we might even make it to Torside while they were serving tea. Sadly it soon became obvious that it was not likely.

One of the harder choices was whether to follow the Pennine Way down this ravine to make it to this delightful looking path on the other side or to continue along the current contour to join the way at the end of the first reservoir. A conversation at breakfast suggest that perhaps this later choice may be an earlier version of the Pennine Way and I wonder if it is possible that this could be where we went wrong all those years ago as once on the well made up path it continues on beautifully to the top of the hill where my father is sure that we stopped for a bacon roll at a burger van a little before noon all that time ago.

Sadly this time we clearly arrived just too late for the burger van (if the burger van still visits the lay-by) but it was around noon and so a good time for lunch. We stooped just over a wall and oddly a group of youths drove up this lay-by and asked my father to take a picture of them (clearly we had stopped to close to the road) which they then followed with some public urination and wild gesticulation and shouting at any that should come past.

The view from the top of this hill was really quite something and the pictures don’t do it justice. What looks like a much larger conurbation than I recall Holmfirth being was to be seen in the far distance dominated by a large tower which is barely visible in this picture. At the trig point was a good point to stop for second lunch and we met a couple who were walking the way together. The husband had done it before about 25 years ago for a meagre £25 and was bringing his wife along with him this time. I’m not sure if they will make it the whole way but they are camping and so able to stop at fairly regular intervals which may mean it takes them some time. I don’t really remember much of what it was like 10 years ago but my father reminisced with them about when the hill had really deserved its name of black moss and how well it had taken to grassing over the years since.

When we first got over the final hill of the day it seemed that we would soon be at Crowden. However, a quick perusal of the map soon put an end to any such hopes since even from Crowden it was another mile and a half to Torside. (Though this means we are left with a much tolerable 15.97 miles tomorrow). Today has generally been beautifully flagged though alas this last section seemed to have lots of difficult terrain between the sections of flags.

The Old House is a beautiful place to stay and they have transformed what used to be the guest lounge into a tea room with a large outdoor seating area. I think we technically arrived during the time when they are supposed to be open but with the end of the season approaching there was no-body else in. I later learned that they have a silent alarm on their gate so they are able to be more prepared if a paying guest arrived! They made us a delightful cup of tea (which felt well earned) and were good enough to sell me a slice of what was possibly the best rocky road I have ever tasted!

We also learned that the sneaky sock theives from Sheffield University are just generally careless having taken a jumper from their drying room. Though as it had been left behind by someone else I suppose it was technically abandoned and so isn’t really theft? The host was good enough to drive us down to a local pub where we good enjoy a tasty supper before having an early night a head of a long day tomorrow. Fortunately an American couple were staying for the ‘two day package’ and so we had the option to have breakfast at 0730.

Does walking the Pennine Way look hard to you? Well why not sponsor me here.