Day 4 on the Pennine Way, Hebden Bridge to Stanbury, near Ponden Mill.

Day 4 of the Pennine way - Hebden Bridge to Stanbury (near Ponden Mill.)

Once again, practical details intervene. For those who might be worried, I can delightedly report that my morning success of the day before was gloriously repeated in the bathroom. 

Today's walk was shorter than the first three days, being just 12 and 1/2 miles and I also needed to buy some things from the hebden Bridge shops. I bought a knee support for my left knee from boots, some Dialoryte to help me rehydrate  (I don't think I've been drinking enough) and a walking pole. I managed to get all three items but it meant that I didn't set off until well passed. 10:00 a.m.

When I finally did get going, the beginning is as gentle as you could ever possibly imagine, a lovely stroll along the canal. But then I got lost and ended up on a bridal way heading for todmorden- which I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Using my paper map and awesome map reading skills I navigated my way back to the Pennine way, but I had come down a long way losing some of the height I had already gained and then had to go all the way back up again. It did mean, though, that I got to see Jack Bridge which I wouldn't have seen otherwise. 

I got back on track and had no more navigation problems. There was a lot of climbing but it wasn't scrabbling up. Boulder strewn ravines it was much more gradual but fairly endless climbing. I think I went up hill for most of the first 3 hours walking. There was one big downhill, but that was just when I had got to the top of the peak and had to descend to a river and then all the way back up to the same height on the other side which isn't fun. 

However, it meant I could stop for a while at the river which was lovely and stock up on filtered water. Make sure I was properly hydrated and watch the tadpoles for a while. So there's something.. of course then the path climbs steeply and on through colden, across some roads and then out on to some fantastic walking terrain. Lovely spongy peat paths neither uphill nor downhill, just lovely walking with amazing open moorland scenery around me.

There were curlews hovering and calling around me. I hadn't realised they were a moorland bird. They were clearly nesting on the moors. A real delight- I stopped to watch them for a while. 

Eventually the path curls down towards some reservoirs. I had checked the route the night before and remembered going across a reservoir path and I assumed that this was that reservoir. Fortunately, before I romped off to the reservoir I double-checked and it wasn't. My path went down another Kelly and up the other side and around the back of the reservoir. 

I stopped and sat on a style to eat my lunch- egg & cress sandwiches, digestive biscuits, a lump of mature cheddar cheese and filtered stream water. The weather forecast had strongly predicted rain all day, but it never really materialised. It often looked as if it would rain and then the sun would come out and I spent quite a bit of time putting raincoat on and off, putting the rucksack cover on and off and putting my big camera in and out of the rucksack. Because my big camera was often in the rucksack. I took a lot more pictures on my phone today, so today's Facebook post may have a lot more pictures! 

The path did then curl down to the reservoirs that I had remembered and they were nothing like the reservoirs of day three which had long hard stone paths that were wearing on the feet. These had much easier paths and were very picturesque. I saw loads of wildlife that I never expected to see up on the moorland. In addition to curlews, I saw redshank, oyster catchers, grey lag geese, Canada geese, a hare, loads of bunnies, loads of lapwings, loads of skylarks, field fares and other assorted LBJs, as well as grouse with chicks, pheasants and red-legged partridges.

After the reservoirs the next thing to head for is Top Withens the place where Kate Bush wanted heathcliffe to let her in at the window cos she was cold, or summat.  I carved stone on the ruin debunks the whole Brontë thing and says it was placed there because of too many enquiries!

Then it was downhill to the old silent pub where I am staying for the night and where I had a table booked for a proper tea and where I again met Brian and Inge. We ate and drank together sharing Pennine way war wounds from the last two days since we had last seen each other. This was the first day that I didn't meet anyone going the same way whilst walking, neither did Brian and inge.

My new walking pole and my knee support seem to have totally done the trick and I was pretty much free of knee pain for the whole 12 and 1/2 Iles :-)

That now follows a dump of pictures, some of which are referred to in the text above, others are just nice views and interesting things that I saw on the way today. (That's if there is enough WiFi power to upload them!)