Saddleworth Round

Distance: 12 miles
Ascent: 500m
Weather: cold and sunny
Grey wagtail, mallards, detectorist in a field, squirrel

We got well wrapped up and headed out into the winter sunshine. Down the Medlock Valley Way to Lees and along the old railway and canal to Greenfield. We had lunch at the Kingfisher, burgers but no calzone pudding today. Bundled up again, we walked along the canal and Donkey track to Delph, then over Bishop Park to home.

Castleshaw Round

Distance: 7 miles
Ascent: 300m
Weather: cloudy
Buzzard, mallards, honky geese, possibly twites, possibly pippets

We set of from the Marsden Moor carpark on Buckstones Road and followed the Pennine Way south. It was claggy and quite windy on Standedge, but we managed to find a sheltered spot behind one of the big rocks for lunch near to the trig point (and away from the horde).

It was much warmer out of the wind down on the Pennine Bridleway, which we followed down to Castleshaw Reservoir where we left the road and walked through a very muddy sheep field a day around the reservoir.

We rejoined the bridleway track and headed up the hill before following the Oldham Way back across the moors to rejoin the path back to the car.