Easter Weekend Ramblings Day Three

Distance: 19.5 miles
Ascent: 1050m
Weather: overcast but dry, quite windy


Well fed, we left the pub and walked down the road into Todmorden. There was a little wiggly path which seemed to run alongside the road, but we spurned this in favour of speed and getting some distance in early, given how long the first part of yesterday's walk had taken. From town, we turned up a side street signed the Calderdale Way and, staying on the lanes, we walked to Lumbutts and then turned up a stone flagged path up on to the moors.

We crossed the Pennine Way at Withins Gate (Rob was careful to step over it, I don't know because I didn't look at it) and we followed the Calderdale Way (signed by a C and a curly W in the shape of a tree) down to Withins Clough Reservoir, at the end of which was a large, odd building the purpose of which wasn't really clear.

I don't really remember the route down into Ripponden. Rob tells me that we walked along a track with barbed wire down the side and there were some trees. Had a wee on Water Stalls Road. I sat on a stile and faffed with my shoe. There was a short path with more dog poo than you could shake a stick at. And then we walked down into Ripponden. We crossed the main road and found the path onto a disused railway. This was quite an odd place, it was dank and a little bit eerie, with old bridges and ironwork around but mostly fallen trees and an ugly little stream. It was quite nice to get up the steps onto an old green lane where it was brighter and the air was fresher, although there was no where to sit for quite a long time and we eventually stopped on the verge for a sit down and a late lunch.

I might have moaned about my toe hurting a bit.

The M62 was now visible in the distance and we headed towards it, taking one of the tunnels under the motorway and up on to Cow Gate Hill above Scammonden Reservoir. This area is being used for MotoX and we got quite a good view of it all.

We crossed Deanhead Reservoir and headed  up the hillside passed the scruffy farm and passed the little pond where, surprisingly, there were no dog walkers today. We had planned to stop and have some tea at the seat on the moor path here, but just as we approached someone (after a period of seeming indecision) decided to sit on it. Bitch. We walked on - over Reaps Hill along the Colne Valley Circular Walk to Blake Clough and then down some green lanes and the very deep cut path of Deep Gate to Bank Nook, under the railway line and onto the canal for a short distance before turning off to the Olive Branch Inn.