David and Jacinta's Walks- 2025

Around the Hills of Hayfield We were aiming for a slightly longer walk on Wednesday and chose a trip around the hills of Hayfield as it seemed to offer a mix of old and new landscapes. Parking in the familiar setting of Bowden Bridge, the route then took us up to the moorland by a different way, to a col on the flanks of Mount Famine. Trackside monolith, South Head and Mount Famine The views were wonderful and the morning mist had cleared from the hill tops. We worked our way down to Peep-O-Day farm and then up to Higher Hills Cottage, admiring the smart new hen house on display at the front of the house. Neither of us had noticed the mouse carved into the gatepost of the cottage before. Higher Hills Cottage gatekeeper We were then taken down to the main road at Birch Vale which provided an excellent chance to nip into one of our favourite haunts, the Sett Valley café. Duly refreshed, we began again, this time to walk up to the route to Lantern Pike. We met one of the local residents w...

Hebden Bridge to Stoodley Pike On Day 2 of our South Pennines trip we decided to do a longer walk which took in Stoodley Pike as it is such a prominent  feature of the landscape. After a coffee at a lovely little cafe in Mytholmroyd, we parked up at Hebden Bridge station and began. We joined the Rochdale Canal towpath at Black Pit Lock which had its own idiosyncratic bench. Black Pit Lock bench A little further on, there was a blue plaque for Ian Curtis' birthplace on a canalside cottage. Commemorating Ian Curtis' birthplace After another short distance we crossed the A646 to go up a steep wooded slope. The path led to the picturesque village of Heptonstall and its remarkable church and earlier church ruins, all dedicated to Thomas a Beckett and, it appears, a very rare  sight in English ecclesiastical architecture. Jacinta also visited the grave of Sylvia Plath. The next section of the walk took us up to woodland but unusually, we were directed to take a footpath along the to...

 Hayfield and Lantern Pike Yet another gorgeous day. A medium walk was in order today and the lure of the Sett Valley Café was impossible to resist. After a coffee break there, it was off to Lantern Pike and points onward. At the foot of the pike, we had a sit down and a snack, and caught up with our socials. Shedding the light at the foot of Lantern Pike On reaching Blackshaw Farm, the party split, with Jacinta returning to Hayfield. David continued  north along the Pennine Bridleway and, rather than turning east at Matleymoor Farm, continued up to the north end of Matley Moor and turned east past Knarrs Farm. The Matleymoor sheep were feeling the heat and taking shelter under a tree. Matleymoor Farm Sheep avoiding the sun Joining Monk's Road at Near Plainsteads, a couple of black lambs were taking advantage of their poor mother. Shady behaviour I crossed the road at the crown of the road above the old Grouse Inn (which now has a mobile snack bar in its former car park) ...