Ponden Kirk is thought to have been the inspiration for Penistone Crag and the Fairy Cave in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights |
Distance: 7.5 miles
Ascent: 1400 ft
Ascent: 1400 ft
Walking: Andrew
Weather: Sunny then clouded over later. Cool.
OS Map: OL21 - South Pennines
Starting point: Main Street, Stanbury
Photography: Andrew using Nikon D750 / Nikon 24-70 mm f2.8
Another amazingly varied walk from Stanbury. Being a sunny day at the weekend, I decided to avoid Top Withens and concentrate on the Worth Valley.
After climbing up Back Lane past Bully Trees Farm, I found myself surprisingly breathless so it was a good excuse to look back down the hill towards Stanbury and Lower Laithe Reservoir |
Lost gloves are a common sight when walking round here but they don't often come in pairs |
The route I was following would take me across Oakworth Moor, behind the white house in the distance |
Lower Height Farm |
Having turned off the main Top Withens path and over a couple of stiles, I approached Upper Heights Farm |
Ponden Reservoir from just above Far Slack |
Approaching Master Stones |
Ponden Reservoir from just below Master Stones |
Master Stones |
Looking across Ponden Slack and Oakworth Moor from close to Birch Brink |
Oldfield and Oakworth in the distance from Birch Brink |
Ponden Reservoir again |
Looking ahead to Ponden Kirk, the rocky outcrop near the horizon, from Birch Brink |
Looking across Ponden Clough, deep ravine in the distance is Dean Clough, with Oakworth Moor beyond. |
A zoomed-in view of Dean Clough with Crag Bottom just to the left of it. I will pass these later on this walk |
The path ahead across Birch Brink then down Ponden Clough and below Ponden Kirk is clearly visible. Having taken the top path over Ponden Kirk a few weeks ago, I decided to take the lower one today. |
Looking back down Ponden Clough to Ponden Reservoir, Oldfield and Oakworth |
Ponden Kirk from Birch Brink |
Halfway down a set of very uneven steps with a none-too-helpful handrail, the view really opens up. |
Ponden Kirk from the lower path |
Presumably, this mini-dam was built at the same time as the reservoir to control the flow of water coming off the moor |
Ponden Kirk from below |
On top of the dam. That bridge has seen better days. |
If you look carefully, you can see the tricky steps down the clough on the left |
Ponden Slack |
Ladder stile above Whitestone. Dean Clough is getting closer |
New Laithe Road with the farmhouse at Old Snap in the foreground and Scar Top in the distance |
Dropping down to Whitestone |
A lovely old stone gatepost with slots for cross-rails, rather than a gate |
The robin on top of this stile at Whitestone was singing its heart out so I stopped and watched it for a while. |
Far Dean Fields Farm, seen from Whitestone. This short section is part of The Bronte Way. |
Looking back to Whitestone Farm |
Over the stile and left onto The Pennine Way |
Heading down The Pennine Way to the North Western end of Ponden Reservoir |
Silver birch trees on the edge of the reservoir |
This grey heron didn't seem at all bothered by me and I got quite close to it. |
The River Worth |
Ponden Reservoir |
Far Dean Fields Farm |
I was fascinated by this ruined barn at Far Dean Fields Farm. There are loads of these around here. |
The view over Throstles Nest up The Worth Valley |
Looking back over the reservoir to Ponden Hall with Lower and Upper Heights Farms on the horizon |
Dean Clough |
Dean Clough - note the discarded car seat |
Crag Bottom |
Daffodils at Crag Bottom |
The view across to the reservoir from Crag Bottom |
An old quarry access road up to Crag Top |
A long-abandoned stone quarry at Crag Top |
Seems I'd climbed quite a way. Still a fair bit to go, though. |
I wonder how long that's been there - and how it got there |
The Pennine Way continues - uphill... |
The vast expanse of Oakworth Moor |
Turning off The Pennine Way, can you spot the path? No, neither could I. |
I know what you're thinking but this is another one |
A reminder, if it were needed, that life up here can be harsh |
The path follows this wall right into the distance |
Quite a long section here was extremely boggy. At this point, there was no way round it so I had to just plough on, sinking beyond the top of my walking boots and soaking my feet and legs. |
Back the way I'd just come towards Burnt Hill |
Across the Moor to Daisy Mount (the white house) |
Another very boggy bit at Highfield Farm |
Looking back from Highfield Farm |
Looking back over the reservoir, Ponden Hall and, in the distance, Ponden Kirk can be seen. |
Oldfield House Farm with Stanbury and Penistone Hill beyond. |
Primroses at Oldfield House Farm |
Manor Farm, Oldfield |
Manor Farm, heading down to the river |
Make-do and mend gates |
Stanbury and Penistone Hill |
The rickety old wooden clapper bridge over The River Worth |
I'm told the bridge was originally painted white. It's very bouncy to cross and the main beam is rotting quite badly |
The support strut on this side doesn't reach the ground any more and the left hand one is also broken |
Looking up the valley, the chimney of the ruined Griff Mill is just visible in the trees. |
Welcome to Stanbury |
Looking back across the valley to Oldfield |
Welcome to Stanbury |
The church of St Gabriel, Stanbury |
No comments:
Post a Comment