The Great Pennine Way Adventure – Day 4 – Wednesday 5 August 2009 – Colden to Cowling – 15 miles

Bogs fallen into: 0 (although a ramblers group were quite insistent I avoid the puddles on Ickornshaw Moor as they were very deep and dangerous. A couple of them even showed me the depth, using their walking poles as dipsticks!)
Car disasters: 0 (because I didn’t get in my car all day)

This morning I had a bit of a lay in because I didn’t have to drive anywhere and I started walking at 7.20 am. It wasn’t long before I was lost – hey ho! – the Pennine Way isn’t always signposted as such – it’s sometimes just a “public footpath” sign and, because these signs proliferate everywhere, I didn’t want to take the wrong one. So, with that in mind, I found on the map a point where I couldn’t fail to pick up the path and walked a few miles along lanes to get to that point.

I picked up the way just past the Pack Horse pub towards Walshaw Dean reservoir – the path was flat but the hill views around were lovely – it was so peaceful. It wasn’t long before the path started to climb and I was soon heading towards Top Withins, the ruined farmhouse immortalised as Wuthering Heights. It would have been really atmospheric and reminiscent of the book if the weather had been stormy and the skies dark and brooding. However, it was hard to feel anything with the sun beating down and only the gentlest of breezes.

The path down from the ruins meandered through a heather covered moor and the views down to Haworth almost made me want to go and investigate, although I didn’t really have time. Another time maybe …..

The downhill slog to Ponden reservoir was followed by the corresponding climb over Oakworth Moor and then Ickornshaw Moor. There are lots of huts on the moor and I met the owners of one such hut – they look after the grouse so they’d put their tea into the hut, before going for a walk to check on the birds. I stood and chatted to them for ages – they were a very wiry, weathered old couple and I imagine they spend their days constantly walking the moors. They confirmed to me that the hill I’d been monitoring for ages was in fact Penyghent. Woohoo! Nearly there!

My initial plan for today was to walk to Lothersdale and I’d had a taxi quote for £30 – eek – as there is no public transport that serves the village. So Tourist Info back in Norwich had devised a plan whereby I needed to stop sooner. Good choice actually as tomorrow’s stretch to Malham from Lothersdale is supposed to be relatively easy, so a few extra miles won’t hurt.

So I stopped at the A6068 at what should have been the Black Bull public house but which is now a very nice furniture workshop. I dashed in before getting the bus and told the nice man that my cunning plan all along was to have a drink in the pub while chatting up the landlord so that I could park in the pub car park tomorrow. He immediately said that of course I could park there and that he was “only sorry I can’t offer you a gin and tonic as you look like you need it!” Maybe it was because I was very pink and flushed on my dash down the hill to the bus stop.

So I had a lovely tour of Lancashire and West Yorkshire – on three buses – the first to Burnley, the second to Hebden Bridge and the final one back to the pub and the campsite. Another excellent day and the mileage covered is very satisfying.