As Summer officially ends, we get the first day of Autumn promising us a day of unbroken sunshine and temperatures over 20C, which is a fine direction to send us out in search of an open moor walk and a hidden summit before we run out of viable days for doing such a thing, and so it's a bit of a surprise to set out on the train and find that beyond the Batley end of Morley tunnel, the Calder and Colne valleys are shrouded in cloud as an inversion has settled in before the warmth of the day has had a chance to dissipate it. Thankfully, it looks like the fog is already breaking up as we roll into Huddersfield at 8.50am, getting an early start thanks to wonky services on the TPEs, a time gain that isn't well used as we set off from St George's square and up the Gothic-y Railway Street, and onto the deeply nondescript Market Street because we have to nip into Sainsbury's to buy extra drink as I've managed to travel light, a store which stands on the site of the circular Cloth Hall of 1766, which has been lost from the landscape since 1929 (though the gatehouse and clock endure in Ravenknowle Park, as seen back in March). Beyond the High Street junction, we're soon out of the under populated town centre and into the municipal district, passing along the walkway between various offices of Kirklees Council and the Magistrates courts before we cross the Castlegate inner ring road, spotting that Castle Hill is still hidden in the mist before we make our way down Outcote Bank to meet Manchester Road by the Chapel Hill student flats blocks, perched just above the Narrow Canal and opposite the Bankfield terraces, and just downstream from St Thomas's church. We head west from here, past the motorcycle dealership and the local branch of Wickes, already low down in the valley of the Colne as we come around past the Bridge Inn and spot my regular train on the Penistone line travelling over Longroyd viaduct as it passes high overhead on its mix of stone arches and steel spans, and we are soon over both river and canal via the Longroyd bridges and following the A62 uphill among the runs of terraces and industrial units to pass under the railway at the south end of its elevated passage. Split off Manchester Road and continue our long rise out of the Colne valley as we follow Blackmoorfoot Road on its long ascent, keeping to a consistent pitch uphill as we have long run of terraces to the south of us, and a varying landscape to the north, passing the enduring site of Crosland Moor mills and the completely built over grounds of Crosland Lodge, a landscape that denies us contextual views in any direction, even at road junctions along the way, though the fog seems to be still in the air if we do look back to the path just travelled.
Terraces fill the roadside on both side beyond Park Road West, and the mind can wander through their obvious variety of vintages as the constant climbing starts to make it feel like time and space are bending and the map need to be checked to observe our progress, passing the site of the Crosland Moor workhouse before we meet the edge of the Edwardian town and meet newer 20th century suburbs as we make a transition of sorts into Crosland Hill, with semis taking over the roadside past the 2 miles to Huddersfield milestone. We also get some industry making an appearance by the road, as well as sound from, but not sight of, the Crosland Moor airfield before we pass out of the town by the aggregate works and the motor-home factory, after the hour of walking that seems to be the limit of large towns, getting trees and shade at the roadside as we enter the countryside by the Sands House Inn, before we come upon Shaw Green farm and the Hill Tree caravan park at the absolute limit of greater Huddersfield. We are now on the perimeter of Crosland Heath golf course, with the lane finally emerging into the open and sitting on the ridge between the Colne and Holme valleys, the latter of which is still bathed in the mist of the early morning inversion, with Castle Hill barely visible above it, so attention turns forwards, spying the astronomical observatory at the western end of the course and finally getting direct sight of the Meltham Moor uplands that will be the target for the day, as the road finally reaches its crest after what feels like around 200m of ascent from the valley floor. There's still a lot of haze in the air as we get views opening out to the north and south, though the Colne valley's features from Golcar, Scapegoat Hill and Slaithwaite are much more visible than anything below the enduring whiteout over the Holme, and as we start to decline with the lane we spot Blackmoorfoot reservoir contained behind in it embankment, with the saddle of West Nab and Deer Hill directly behind it, the largest of the reservoirs that water Huddersfield, in use since 1876 and fed by catchwater drains to it west. For something so large it hides well, soon disappearing from view as the lane leads down to Blackmoorfoot village, a pretty tiny settlement that sits above the Colne valley, with several lanes reaching up towards it but none of them quite bringing the suburban spread of Linthwaite up to meet it, with the Bulls Head inn at it heart, in the shadow of the dam, and with most of the back gardens having a grand ol' vista to the north, and the hope that everyone who dwells there has adequate house insurance.
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| Suburban Huddersfield arrives on Blackmoorfoot Road. |
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| The Sands House Inn, Crosland Hill. |
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| The Observatory on Crosland Heath golf course. |
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| The view towards Blackmoorfoot reservoir, and Meltham Moor. |
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| The Bulls Head, Blackmoorfoot. |
Follow the lane to the western perimeter of the reservoir as the lane rises, taking the corner by the Lake House and down from Little London farm, but despite being only metres away from the waters edge, we get no sight of the surface at all and attention focuses on the hill of Meltham Cop, the sort of flat topped promontory that must surely have had an ancient fort at its top, as failure to use it as such back in the Iron Age seems like a mistake, and only when the lane shifts onto a rise towards Cottage Home farm can we look back to see the reservoir settled in the ridge between its dam. Focus forwards now, moving into the flat fields of Laund, a rural district without an identity as such, meeting the last outpost of conventional civilisation for a while as we pass the Wills O' Nats inn and head onto the bridleway that leads over to Copley Farm on the Slaithwaite Road, taking looks down to Meltham village as it still sits below a blanket of mist, and look to Meltham Moor as it rises ahead, inviting us on as we join Deer Hill Lane and pass Meltham Grange farm by the Blackmoorfoot Conduit. It seems that there will be more than just me out among these marginal and reclaimed fields on the edge of the moorland as we head on towards the Deer Hill massif ahead, as other walkers join the track coming up from Meltham, and various cycling groups seem to be out on the track to the reservoir above, a path we follow as we come around past the former shooting lodge at the moorland and hillside edge, where a path up above the cliffs to Shooter's Nab could be tempting, but venturing up there above the rifle range to the north of here could feel foolhardy. That doesn't stop one group from off-roading, but I'll stay with the dog walkers and cyclists on the track around the cistern of Deer Hill reservoir, which sits behind embankments that offer views over the lower Holme and upper Colne valleys as we pass around its path, with the heavily quarried and rugged cliffs providing a backdrop to a water's surface that is bluer than the sky, with the runoff churning noisily down into Bradley Brook, and the conduit quietly feeding it at the western edge. We'll break here for early lunch, behind a windbreak that keeps off the wind that's chilling down this bright day markedly, before we press on with the Deer Hill Conduit path, which takes us past the rifle range, which isn't in business today, despite me having heard gunshots in the air earlier, and thus we press on above the expanse of Holme Moor, above Marsden, which can be picked out among the increasingly autumnal colours of the moors around and above, as we trace the moorland drain around and count the access bridges as we come around to the point that we'll head onto the open moors.
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| Meltham Cop. |
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| Crossing Launde toward Meltham Moor. |
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| Approaching Deer Hill. |
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| Shooter's Nab and Deer Hill reservoir. |
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| The Deer Hill rifle range house, and the conduit. |
It would actually be quite easy to miss the turn with the path that leads up to the West End quarries, securely beyond the edge of the Danger Area, which rises over the long grass and occasionally damp going for about 75m of ascent to a small but sharply chamber, where the official right of way ends, but a clearly cut path rises around its edge to elevate us to the edge of Deer Hill, above 430m up with us having barely noticed the height gained until we left the conduit path, which has given us a workout, and we'll not head to the actual summit of this north end of the moors, as there's a lot of open ground to cover today, and I'm sure a track over Shooter's Nab can wait for another day. From this end, the mile or so over the West Nab looks clear enough, rising to its 500+m summit to the south, and we'll get going in that direction once we've found a spot to get over the wire fence that separates the National Trust's Marsden Moor estate from the common land beyond, picking out a route across the heather and long grass by going from boulder to boulder until a trod of sorts can be picked out across the saddle of the moor, setting off knowing that we have a wall to aim for at the southern extremity of Deer Hill Moss. Heading south means that the sun shows up the trodden path better when the sun reflects it, but that doesn't mean that the going is easy as the route settle to the west of the saddle of the moor, meaning that we are above the Wessenden valley side of the moor, which means the western horizon is of moors that aren't too distinctive and the declining route means we are passing over the headwaters of the becks that drain that way, meaning that there's various streamlets to get the boots wet and one hidden ditch to literally fall into as we go. So sodden socks will have to be walked on as we press south, meeting some easier going across the moorland that has had the peat surface stripped from it, leaving bleached rocks exposed against the dark soil, giving you the feeling that you might be on another planet's surface, at least until the moorland wall's top end is met, where we switch over to Horseley Head Moss and get close enough to the crest of the moorland saddle to be able to get a brief look at the eastern horizon, which the Emley Moor mast pierces. Having bottomed out on the moorland walk, the long 80m of drag up to West Nab thous starts, with my belief in my ability to spot the trod starting to wane as I start to feel like I'm clutching at paths that are only extant in my mind, finding the plough through the tussocks of long grass to be exceptionally challenging, proof if you needed it that open moor walking was never conceived by someone with short limbs like mine, and also tests my resolve to do day trips over larger moors, where the destination isn't a distinct hilltop like today.
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| The Deer Hill conduit, Holme Moor. |
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| West Nab from Deer Hill. |
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| Tracing a trod over Deer Hill Moss. |
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| Exposed Rock and the Moorland Wall. |
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| Looking back to Deer Hill from Horseley Head Moss. |
My climb has us aiming at the strings of rocks that some down the southern rib of the moor coming down from West Nab, which feel like secure footing amongst the sea of grass and heather, with each one being an island from which to pick a path uphill, each time aiming for the next large interesting rock pile as we go, still distinctly on the Wessenden valley side of the moor, with the Black Hill massif to its south end and Pule Hill to the north, with the bulk of untrammelled moors between still indistinct, as is our route to the hilltop from here. As long as we keep heading uphill, we shouldn't get lost, and we ought to be well beyond the moorland Danger Area that we've been tracing a path along by now, though if any stray bullets were to be getting this far away from the range and over the cliffs at Shooter's Nab, those responsible for them really ought not be in charge of firearms under any circumstance, and we rise on in total security among more erratic boulders, including one that looks like an Egyptian sarcophagus and some which resemble a collapsed Dolmen. We ought to be among the Raven Rocks by now, but their location is not well expressed on the map, but as we level out and cross another moorland fence, a clear pair of outcrops rise ahead of the run up to the summit, aiming for the first of these and soon finding the clear path that has risen up from the valley to the west, the path we would have been on if the rifle range had been in use, giving us a walkable path to trace as clear views to Black Hill and Wessenden Head reservoir emerge. So on to the top, for the fastest stretch of the day, among the weathered outcrops and loose rocks that ought to tempt anyone with an interest in bouldering, passing one couple and their crash-mat before we get up to the 500m summit of West Nab to finally get the panoramic view across West Yorkshire (and the Greater Manchester - Lancashire fringe), probably the last grand view for this year, and well illuminated by the first of the Autumn sunshine, though a thick layer of photo-chemical smog restricts the sightlines to no further than the edge of the county. It's place to break and shelter from the westerly breeze for quite a while, looking across the vast bowl of Meltham Moor and all around before we set off on the descent to Wessenden Head road, easily the best path of the day, that picks a way down at quite a pace on the southern face of the hill, down below the many rocks on the Millstone Hill side, losing 70m of height in to time at all on what's probably the only popular path on this moorland, coming down to the roadside and doing a time check that reveals that we were on the moor for two hours, while probably covering less than two miles on the ground, meaning that this trip is unlikely to be done in the time window that we rather hopefully allocated to it.
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| Rocks above the Wessenden Valley. |
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| 'The Sarcophagus' and 'The Collapsed Dolmen'. |
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| Raven Rocks and the way to West Nab. |
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| The 500m trig pillar, West Nab. |
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| The Descent to Wessenden Head Road. |
So it's going to be a rather casual walk back to the finish line from our moorland apex, down the rather heroically bleak Wessenden Head road, which seems to be a prime bikers road judging by the traffic on it, and even though great care needs to be taken as we head downhill against the motorists ascending, making this one of the roads that it's probably more fun to go down on than to go up, passing below the brow of West Nab, and passing over the moorland cattle grid that probably marks our closest approach to the amphitheatre of Meltham Moor as it opens up to the north of us. Return among cultivated fields after some more descent, landing in the shadow of the hillside and losing the persistent breeze that has kept the day feeling much cooler that its 20+C now reveal in force as we come down to Wentworth Farm, our first such building seen in hours, and pass over the southernmost reach of the Catchwater Drain and also pass a Peak District boundary stone, to remind you that this National Park reaches far to the north of where you expect it to end, and that it really is your local one and not the Yorkshire Dales. Meltham village lies not much further along from here, beyond the scattered farmsteads to its west, and the signage that is kept out year round for when the moorland road needs to be closed in icy conditions, meeting the suburban edge on possibly the shortest axis of the settlement, drawing us into the shade on the southern side of the lane as we pass among the semis and terraces down to the Market Place crossroads by St Bart's church, in brighter conditions than last time, though the streets barely show any signs of life even in the afternoon's sunshine. Keep on the eastwards track by joining Town Gate as it leads to Huddersfield Road, passing the oldest shop fronts in the town and passing the Town Hall and the Carlile Institute, two establishments of the late 19th century, as we keep to the increasingly suburban late that would draw us back to the day's start line if we allowed it, but as it rolls into the greenery ahead of Meltham Mills, which conceals St James's church, we shift onto its eponymous road by the Mormon temple to head elsewhere. The mills and factories of Meltham Mills boomed the town, and most are still in use, stretched down the valley along Thick Hollins Dike as far as the Bent Ley mill, and we'll walk up this parade of light industrial and commercial establishments, many of which display their history and heritage, with the former David Brown tractor factory at its heart and the cotton mills at its southernmost end, the part of the village to took that many years to be formally incorporated with the rest of the township, where the old Co-op with the curved frontage sits.
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| West Nab and Millstone Hill from Wessenden Head Road. |
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| Meltham Moor in full effect. |
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| Landing in Suburban Meltham. |
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| Meltham Town Gate. |
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| Meltham Mills in all the vintages. |
Join Knowle Lane for the final leg of the day's trip, a very steep uphill push, the likes of which can be found all over the lower Holme Valley where deep wooded clefts dig into the flat and level stretches of fields, passing the outermost mills and last terrace in the town before we penetrate the upper reaches of Windy Bank wood and rise with a diminishing footway into the high fields beyond, around about Knowl Top farm and with Wilshaw and South Crosland churches visible from the north and south, a climb that convinces me that there really isn't a straightforward road into Meltham. The way to Honley is going to be all easy going from here though, despite the lane passing around a few kinks and wooded blind corners among the farmsteads and well-secreted archery club, as we are onto the long descent down back to the River Holme across that large slab of fields that rises away from it, with Castle Hill now clear on the horizon and the long edge of Honley Old Wood across the fields to the north, it's a nicely scenic road walk, where time can be taken for a late watering while horse riders do their best to slow the traffic in the vicinity of Seventy Acres farm. The village lies beyond, its suburban edge sitting beyond a caravan park, across from the playing field where local men loudly live out their sporting fantasies, whom we pass to penetrate the apron of Semis on the way down to the older village of revived mills, terraces and rural cottages, among which Taylor's Food Store advertises its independent vintage and Morris Minor van, just up from the Forester's Arms and Trinity church, and the merge into the village heart above the Lane End junction. The commercial centre along West Gate is relatively full of activity compared to its neighbour to the west, all colours with glowing stone in the sunshine, a fine complement to the path that we last made though this quarter which we cross to head down East Gate, among the piled up cottages and the old cinema as the lane twists its way down to Honley Bridge, where we make a shaded passage over the Rive Holme at Honley Bridge and cross both the A6024 and A616 among the terraces of Honley Newtown. The last leg is uphill, naturally, as Station Road presses the ascent on the eastern side of the Holme valley, between the suburbs that have spread here and the extensive grounds of Honley High school, beyond which we rise to the station that we've not seen since the early days of 2014, where this long hairpin of a walk concludes, slowly rising to the platforms as the local information notices are really worth reading, concluding the day at 4.20pm, feeling intensely satisfied at the quality of the day the End of Summer sent our way for the last summit attempt of the year.
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| Ascending through Windy Bank wood to Knowl Top. |
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| The Seventy Acre farm, Castle Hill and the descent to the Holme. |
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| Landing in Suburban Honley. |
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| West Gate, Honley. |
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| Honley Station. |
5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 4183.8 miles
2019 Total: 533.4 miles
Up Country Total: 3720.8 miles
Solo Total: 3869.6 miles
Miles in My 40s: 2777.6 miles
Next Up: A Long Weekend Off Work and Trying to Walk as much as the Weather will Allow...
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