Trailblazer Guide Books

Trailblazer Guides are produced by people who know exactly what information is needed - not just to get from A to B but to be entertaining as well as informative.
 - The Great Outdoors

 

CALDER VALLEY TO ICKORNSHAW     MAPS 22-31

Route overview
Though it starts with a hefty climb out of the Calder Valley, this 17-mile (25km,
51⁄2-71⁄2hrs plus time for walking to and from Haworth) section offers an array
of landscapes from shady dells, dry-stone-walled pastures, the ever-present
reservoirs and of course, heather-clad moorland. Route-finding has its moments,
but others have managed; so can you!

 Set off by zig-zagging up through Mytholm, an as-yet ungentrified outlier
of Hebden Bridge. Behind you Stoodley Pike follows your every move, and
soon you’re clear of the valleyside and return among the pastures where
the incongruous council terraces of Colden (Map 23) rise into view, grittily
embedded below Heptonstall Moor. Once traversed, the peaty wastes drop
down past a reservoir to the sheltered confluence of babbling brooks at Graining
Water (Map 25), overlooked from one side by crags and from the other by the
Pack Horse Inn (see p112).

An amble above this stream and a quiet road section leads to the Walshaw Dean series of reservoirs, forsaken before they get too tedious as you again climb the tawny moors to Withins Height (Map 27). Once crested you get a view of the dramatically situated ruin said to be the inspiration for the house in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (see box p118).

 

Hereabouts paths leave the Way to Haworth (31⁄2 miles, 6km, 11⁄2hrs) and the
full ‘Brontë Experience’ (see maps 27 and 28). Otherwise, all that remains is to
drop down to Ponden Reservoir and decide whether to stay here or plod on to
the mildly greater opportunities to be found around Ickornshaw and Cowling.

To get there the route climbs round the spur of the reservoir and up out of the Worth Valley onto Ickornshaw Moor (Map 30). As you come down the north side of the moor you’ll spot several shooting huts; nearby Cowling has ancient shooting rights for the moorlands surrounding you.

Correctly negotiating the stiles and gates of pastures below brings you to the waterfall at Lumb Head Beck (Map 31) and a walled track that leads eventually to the A6068 on which lie Ickornshaw and Cowling.

Route-finding trouble spots
Clear weather poses no problems but drifting aimlessly with the mist across
Heptonstall Moor might be something you come to regret. However, once past
the turn off to Clough Hole Bridge you should make it to the far side.

Withins Height Moor has a clear slabbed path, though you want to be sure
you stick to the Pennine Way and not veer off into Haworth unnecessarily. And
with your wits about you Ickornshaw Moor should pose no problems either;
just remember to keep track after the shooters’ huts while field-hopping your
way to the waterfall from where you’re nearly home and, who knows, maybe
even dry.

BLACKSHAW HEAD   [Map 22, p104]
Where the trail crosses Badger Lane there is Badger Fields Farm (tel 01422-845161,
www.badgerfields.com; 2T/1D shared facilities, bath available; Apr-Oct) where
Mrs Whitaker offers B&B for £64 for two sharing (£40 single occupancy), with
drying facilities, evening meals for £14 and a packed lunch for £5.50. Camping is
£4; use of a shower is £1.50 if have own towel and breakfast (£4-7) is available for
campers if booked by the night before. 

Blackshaw Head has no services but a
bus (First’s E) runs frequently to Hebden
Bridge (see public transport map and table,
pp45-50) and it’s only a mile to the New
Delight pub (see below) in Colden.

COLDEN  [Map 23]

Within a mile of leaving the valley, we come upon signs pointing the way to Aladdin’s
Cave, promising untold excesses such as sweets, cakes, groceries and drinks. This
is Highgate Farm (tel 01422-842897) run by the redoubtable May Stocks who has a
natural instinct for what wayfarers want and has provided for them accordingly. Besides
the shop (daily 7am-9pm), May allows basic camping for free; there are toilet
facilities and a cold water tap. 

The New Delight (tel 01422-846178; pub Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm & 5pm-midnight; Sat
& Sun noon-midnight; food served Mon-Fri noon-2pm & 5-8pm, Sat & Sun noon-5pm),
at Jack Bridge, provides a haven for thirsty or just plain miserable Pennine Way walkers
with ales including Mansfield Cask and the locally brewed Moorhouses.
 Next door Hebden Bridge Camping (tel 01422-844334 or tel 01422-844417,
www.hebdenbridgecamping.co.uk; open all year) charges £5 per tent and walker plus
£2 per additional walker. Shower facilities are free; towels can be hired. Well-behaved
dogs are welcome. A shop selling basic food supplies and camping gas is open during the
summer season.

Further north, just over a mile off the Way, there’s camping for £5pp at Pennine
Camp and Caravan Site (off Map 24; tel 01422-842287; approx Apr-Oct), High
Greenwood House. There’s a shower (50p) and toilet facilities. To get there take the
path down to Clough Hole Bridge (see Map 24) and turn left up the road for 3⁄4 mile to
the campsite.

SWIDDOP  [Map 25, p111]

The next pub north from Colden is the Packhorse Inn (Map 25; tel 01422-842803;
2D/1T, en suite, bath available; food served summer Tue-Sun noon-2pm & 7-9.30pm,
Oct to Easter weekends only same hours), a few hundred metres off route. If you
spent the night in Hebden, lunchtime could be about now but note that they’re closed
Mondays year-round and they also close in the afternoon; in the winter months they
only open in the evening during the week.B&B costs from £48 per room (£43 single
occupancy). They also have a self-cateringapartment suitable for families or groups;
contact them for details.