Walking 1000 miles from Lands end to John O'Groats in aid of The Air Ambulance (starts april 7th 2024)

Wednesday 12 May 2010

white house Inn to Ponden

After a breezey night next to the Inn we walked in a northerly direction past three reservoir presumably for the Rotherham area which had been casting a sodium glare over the tent all night, why do we need so many lights at three in the morning? Grr!.
The path curved eastwards passed the stoodley pike monument to head downhill into the verticle town of Hebden Bridge built on the nearly sheer sides of the Calder valley, I wasn't aware as I descended that this place is the Glastonbury of the north! Tho with a far more sensible and less trashy northern approach (Nora Batty may have approved!).
the path north out of town led through a place called Midgehole which happily didn't live up too its name, along the crimson dean valley we met Dan who had started his own lejog almost 24 years earlier than our start and was still easily keeping pace with us! , we parted company near Drop farm and within half a mile our path disapeared and we were officially lost, our path turned up about a quarter mile east of where we wanted it ! But at least the upside of getting lost was we turned up at the Silent Inn just as they started to serve an early bird menu, very much recommend this place all oak beams and dog friendly to boot!.
This is being typed in the pub so our next stop at ponden house campsite is still ahead......hope its not closed down!

Crowden to The White House Inn 11,5th

An eventful day kicked off at 8.45 with the pretty walk up hill under laddaw rocks to the path up to the top of Black hill. at the top the view was the best I've had from this point on any of my earlier walks a good ten miles and perhaps as far as Newcastle, the descent was painful for darrell as he seems to have jarred his knees badly obviously slowed by this when we descended into Marsden he made the brave decision to catch a train home rather than push on and slow our progress, don't know if I could have made such s tough decision , cheers mate!.
Now on our own Alfie and I headed uphill to Denshaw moor and rejoined the pennine way to pass over the M62 JP to the top of blackstone edge, passed the Aiggin stone ( a medieval sign post! ) and down to the White house Inn sadly another dog unfriendly pub so we set up camp nearby and supplied our own dinner pilau rice and ham ......yummy......