Sheep Trods: Oldham Way

Distance: 26.5 miles total
Ascent: 1450m
Weather: started dry but muggy, drizzle in afternoon turning heavy rain with very strong winds
Bunnies: 5
Hares: 3
Jumping cows: 1
Germs: lots
Ankle injuries sustained: 1
Detours: 1 rather long one, but it did result in a pub lunch so not all bad.

It was dry (although damp) in the morning when we set off after breakfast. The hotel breakfast was good, a help yourself buffet. I hadn't slept particularly well, despite the room and bed being comfortable and being completely shattered. I was woken up at 1am by wedding revelers on their way to bed and then had a really sore throat for the rest of the night. I put this down to not drinking enough during a long day yesterday and made sure to keep taking drinks of water, which obviously is no bad thing. But as I type this today, a few days later, with a box of tissues handy and a Lemsip on the go, no, it probably wasn't just dehydration.

We miscalculated on the lunch provisions for today, and set off with only emergency chocolate and water to keep us going, a bit concerned that there didn't seem to be anywhere obvious to get food from on the route.

Through Park Bridge the Way heads up into the trees on the hillside, which is quite a steep and remote-feeling path for somewhere that is essentially a park in the middle of a city. From Park Bridge we went though Bog Field (very boggy) and then Horse Field 2 (without horses today) and then along the road to turn off up the path towards Hartshead Pike. The path was clearer than last time we were here years ago, when it was overgrown with nettles and brambles, and we were soon out into a wet Duck Field and then onto muddy Cow Path.

A brief stop to admire the views and look at the toposcope (mostly pointing towards clouds) and we were off towards Saddleworth. Between Quick and Grasscroft we realised that the route we usually take, and headed off down without really noticing, isn't the Oldham Way but the Tameside Trail. It was decided that we were going to do this properly, and so retraced our steps up the field and took a left at the bottom of Strawberry Lane rather than right, soon to meet up with Oldham Way markers. Going this way took us closer to Greenfield on the Huddersfield Canal so we decided that we'd make a detour to the village and have lunch there. The Kingfisher pub does a very nice Sunday Roast and puddings to take away - so the rest of the day we carried two enormous wodges of carrot cake with us.

When we left the pub, about an hour later, it was really raining so we stopped under a bridge and put on our waterproofs (under the watchful gaze of a canada goose) and prepared to get wet.

We walked around Dove Stone Reservoir (to give it its proper name at least once) and up to the war memorial on Pots and Pans. Long Lane was incredibly muddy - and kind of set the tone for the rest of the day. Mud, puddles, rain, gales and paths chewed up by off road motor vehicles.

Crossing Standedge, where the Oldham Way joins the Pennine Way for a while, was incredibly hard going. The winds blowing so hard I could barely walk and the rain pelting down, it wasn't much fun. But then the ways part and the Oldham Way turns more grassy and peat groughy. This was very wet and muddy indeed, but soft under the feet and easy to walk.

Getting to New Years Bridge Reservoir involved some wandering around but checking out the post in the middle of the bog got us on the right track and we were crossing the reservoir not long after and through the gate where we'd started yesterday morning.

That just left a short walk back home - we got in at 9:20pm thoroughly knackered, but pleased with our efforts.