Cartworth Bank, Well House, Hill House, Whitegate Edge, Dobb, Holmbridge,
Digley Reservoir, Green Gate, Thong Moor, Wolfstones Height, Swinny Knoll,
Upper Oldfield, Deanhouse, Netherthong, Thongsbridge, Mytholm Bridge, Bank Road,
Thurstonland, and Whitestones.
With my Jollies now retreating into the past already, I think we can now declare that The End of Summer is now upon us, with the sunshine yellowing and the days starting to feel noticeably shorter, and as we've still got plenty of paths on the slate we need to get a move on before we start to run out of days, not that there'll be any more excursions out on the 7.29am train out of Morley as we need to at least have the suggestion of warmth in the air once we are on the trail again, and as we all know frigid mornings are no fun at all. So back to the Holme Valley we return whilst it's still short sleeves weather, with a circuit path in mind as it's not really a large enough space for traversals, despite the quantity of landscape contained within, alighting the train at Stocksmoor station at a whisker before 9.30am, actually to the east of the lands that we intend to explore, but full of the intent to link this corner to the many paths that we've burned to the west of the valley of Shepley Dike (et al), rising to Station Road by the old railway house and setting a course on through this strange suburb of a village on the elevated fields of Stocks Moor, which feels like it barely had any mass or history before the 20th century. Fulstone Lane leads us away from the bungalows and closes and into the fields that ought to be elevating us over the crest into the Holme Valley, but soon takes us downhill, into the wooded cleft formed by the upper reaches of Stone Wood Dike, before we start the ascent towards Fulstone village, with the turbined top of Haw Cliff rising ahead prominently, with the valley behind us giving sight towards Shelley and the Emley Moor masts. The rise of the lane thus takes us on to Fulstone hamlet, an unfathomably tiny settlement to be at the heart of its parish and still small on its steep hillside, which we pass below by taking Fulstone Hall Lane westwards, passing inside the Holme Valley Circular path and on among the fields below the wrinkled edges at the boundary of the Holme valley, with Horn Hill masking us from the passage of the A635 as the lane's eponymous farmstaed and the elevated hamlet-let of Bellgreave farm are also passed, with the edge of New Mill on our horizon. Meeting the suburban edge, and arriving from on high, relatively, it's striking how well Christ Church hides from view, it's pinnacled tower only briefly revealing itself and it's bulk being hidden by a bank of trees once we get up close, and as we descend among the old terraces on Sude Hill it's prominent location seems to have been chosen for maximum visibility from below, as well as finding that New Mill looks that bit more ancient, stone-y and desirable in the late Summer sunshine as we come down on the Penistone and Huddersfield Roads.
It feels like this cross roads by the White Hart feels like one of the focal point of this year's wanderings, and we cross to admire the mill redevelopment that's been done in the most Kirklees styled way possible, and pass over New Mills Dike to join the next climb of the day, steeply up among the terraces of Greenhill Bank Road and then onto a more even ascent with the lane up the bank itself, where suburban outliers on the village have been located to enjoy the best view over the settlement with Christ Church prominent among the wooded banks to the east. It feels like it's going to be a day of many ups and downs as we pull uphill to the southwest, pulling us above this side valley of the Holme, with the Nab hills rising above it as we swing around to the hamlet of Totties, the intense rural charm of which has not been diminished by the ribbon of semis leading up to it or the cluster of bungalows beyond, as it's heart is as lovely as you could want, which makes the appeal of remote Holme valley living feel that bit more obvious, and the Brooklands Nurseries and Scenic Wildlife Cafe, located nearby, is surely not your average garden centre judging by its description. Taking a southerly tack, we've got some old smart houses to pass in the very short green space that sits above the village of Scholes, which we meet with the intent of getting a proper feel for this time around, and it's history as a rural community and a centre of domestic weaving is much more obvious among the closes of cottages at the side of St George's Road above the post office and the Boot & Shoe inn, and in the long terraces of Paris, found further along as we resume the push westwards. Of course, there's been a lot of suburban infilling around the village too, stretching on to the fields of Scholes Moor as we follow its road to the south west, passing over Sandy Gate and meeting the remotest feeling council estates and plots of new builds as we move on to join Cross Lane and crest this high bank to see the local Ribble valley beyond and it's a steep decent to come, down Cross Gate bank, which might be the least difficult road in this corner as the #314 bus comes up and down it. We get some fine views west as we thus drop down to the hamlet-let of Cross (or Longley) on the Dunford Road, and then join Choppards Bank Road beyond, to continue the descent into the Ribble valley, settling in nicely down the steep path of Rich Gate and dodging the tractors on this far too narrow lane as we rapidly head down to the the woods at the bottom, where the Green Lane Mills are secluded and primed for a contemporary redevelopment of sorts.
The major development at the valley floor is to be found at Washpit Mills, just up the lane, where most of the complex shown on the OS map has been demolished, creating a brownfield site that will be urban residential in a year or two, with only the oldest portion of the mill to the south, and the wing that's still in use as a classic car garage still enduring, though it's relative remoteness is going to count against it as the roads on the valley side are super steep, feeling even more sharp as we pull up Green Lane to land between the Glenthorpe and Marble Hall farmsteads. It's another push uphill with Lamma Wells Road to meet the level track of Cartworth Bank, but it's worth pausing at the top to look and down the valley, to spot our relative proximity of Holmfirth below and upstream to the mass of Hades Plantation at the valley's limit, a fine view to take in as the Last of the Summer Wine bus tour rolls past, and there's an association that I haven't made much of during my travels in the locality this year, largely as the views have been so much grander, which are enhanced further as we press along the high valley side along the hairpin of the bank road. There's soon another top to cross over, a Wold if we were in limestone or chalk country, rather that the gritstones of the Pennine periphery, pushing away from the Ribble valley to meet the farm hamlet of Well Houses, which is large enough to have its own chapel among the terraces and farmsteads at the hill top, beyond which we meet one of the highest cricket fields in the county, that of Cartworth Moor cricket club, beyond which Gill Lane and Stony Gate lead us over to the descent into the main body of the Holme Valley, with Digley reservoir dead ahead among the lower reaches of Holme Moss - Black Hill. We also get our proximity to Upperthong, Hinchcliff Mill and Holmbridge revealed as we descend into the farmstead cluster of Hill House, and then follow the high bank of White Gate Road westerly among the quarries that scar this hillside, enjoying the evolving view around before we start our long descent to this valley floor, slipping down the rough track to Woodhouse Lane below, a rare bit of off-roading for today's trip. It's a long slope downhill, angling back and forth a couple of times, first to land us above the Lower Woodhouse farmstead, and it's neighbour, the Sheveling Wine Estate, operators of surely the most northerly vineyard in the country, which is dressing itself for a wedding reception as we go by, heading down past the vines to sharply turn again as we come down below the lower wooded reaches of Dobb Dike clough, passing the vineyard's holiday cottages, semi-circular shaped and secreted away in an old quarry.
Passing Hollins Brigg farm at the bottom of the clough, we arrive in the hamlet of Dobb, slightly up the valley side from the villages at the floor, but gradually gaining their suburban spread, and also being the long term home to their Junior & Infant school, which we pass before twisting with another descent with Dobb Top Lane to pass over another stream passage, the number of which I've made on the day already past the point where you stop counting, rolling on with the lane below the suburban edge of Holmebridge and above the enduring Clarence Mills site. Smithy Lane drops us then down to the bottom of the Holme valley, where we pass over both of the branches of the upper river Holme as we land on the A6033 between St David's church and the cricket field, where the sportsmen are gathering for their afternoon's entertainment, and our track bring us around to the Pickled Pheasant, where we pick up another switchback to join Field End Lane, where we ascend again, past the ends of the ranked streets of council houses and the old church school, and giving us a fine view back across the valley before we push beyond the village. It feels like Digley Reservoir should be closer than it is, a way up the rising lane beyond the Molly Wells cottages and the Bank Top farmstead, with the Meal Hill fields rising above the dam as we land ourselves on the far side of the Holme Valley Circular path again, coming up to the end of the embankment by the runoff syphon, and slipping off Digley Royd Lane to follow the reservoir's perimeter path up to the picnic area in the former Bingley Quarries, where a lunch break is taken among the regular day-trippers on the local paths. Post-feed, we've got probably the hardest push of the day, rejoining the road to gain 100m of height, and to dodge the traffic on the sharply descending and blind cornered lane, trying to not take too much interest in the evolving views as attention needs to be kept on what's happening within the dry stone walls as we head up towards Green Gate farm, above moorland altitude and gaining grand views over the Upper Holme that are worth the journey despite being only marginally different from those that came before. There's a wildly rural feel up here, with only sheep and the passing motorists for company as the day crests over 340m up, giving us our first good look back to the eastern edge of the valley as our trail reaches its apex, before wandering downhill slightly to meet the passage over the marshy top of Hart Holes clough, beyond which the Ford Inn sits by the side of the A635, the last hostelry on this side of the Pennines before the turnpike takes the long and lonely trip over the moors to Greenfield, which despite being in Greater Manchester nowadays, used to be a West Riding town until 1974.
Join Thick Hollins Lane beyond, which could easily be our red route towards Meltham from here, rising slightly to get a better view of the hills in the middle of the Holme valley, where our trip should be headed if my navigation is working properly, and getting as close as we'll bet to a 360 degree panoramas as we'll get on this journey as we get a reveal towards Meltham Moor and the Colne Valley as we arrive at the top of Bradshaw Road, while we can still look back to the highlands to the southeast and southwest. The lower Holme valley, to the north of us as we pace along the high rib to the northeast, needs some further exploration before we run out of decent days to do it in, as we look at a horizon that reaches all the way over to Huddersfield, while keeping Meltham as secluded from view as ever, noting the barn getting a residential makeover and the puzzlingly named Australia farm before we come upon the Wolfstones Road corner and the woodland plantations that thickly coat the hillside of Wolfstones Height. We join the lane as it shifts around the south side of this upland, returning the views over the main body of the Holme Valley as we skirt below the conifers and above Intake farm with the apparent go-kart track in its fields, and getting another view to the Nabs and company as the lane rises above Carr farm, around the moorland end of the hillside and past Wolfstones farm, which is in the grip of a makeover session, giving us a direct view to our future passage over Thurstonland bank before we return to the landscape of the lower Holme valley. It's a wander downhill from here, aiming us towards the rise of Swinny Knoll and among the farmsteads of what the old OS map calls Thong Moor, the extent of which is certainly vague, as we come down to cross the B6107 Wilshaw Road, by the field where the Highland cattle still graze and then aim ourselves past Knoll Bridge farm and up the dead straight ascend over the hillside shoulder with Knoll Lane, the umpteenth uphill pull of the day, up which the #308 bus also operates, to keep the public transport rides of Kirklees interesting. Crest again, and look directly forwards towards Honley, and to the many woodlands that surround greater Huddersfield, almost to the point of concealing it, and an aim towards Castle Hill seems to be the destiny of this trip, but we've got a circular trip to complete and so we switch to the southeast with Oldfield Lane, ensuring we get every perspective possible over the upper Holme as we approach the farm hamlet of Upper Oldfield, at that point among the high fields where the desire to expand suburbia beyond the footprints of the old settlement has not yet arrived, meaning its rural flavour is still strong.
Take Miry Lane as it twists its way through the hamlet, as we turn our back to the lower Holme as we set course for the finish line from this late high point in the west, soon hitting a steep and narrow decline that looks like it doesn't get mush road traffic judging by the quality of the tarmac, bringing us down through the fields to meet the expanding suburban end of Deanhouse, the upper part of Netherthong that seems to be a desirable corner for more development despite the challenging roads going off in all directions. Passing under the trees around Dean Beck on the road up to the main village, you could briefly forget that you are at the edge of greater Holmfirth, an illusion which is dispelled once the rise up through Netherthong starts, taking us inside the Holme Valley Circular path once more as we rise up past the former Methodist chapel and Co-op, with Giles Lane leading us to School Street, past the Clothiers Arms and the still enduring village school, which probably has a considerable catchment area, before leaving the heart of this weaver's settlement behind as the suburban ribbon peters out on the declining lane. Now aimed towards Thurstonland Bank once more, the decline down towards the River Holme is a challenging one, as Thong Lane narrows and drops between retaining walls that offer no refuge from the traffic on probably the main route to the village above, which keeps the run down to Thongsbridge interesting, at least until we're past the former Crodingley farm and the road widens as it leads us down to Woodhead Road, where we cross the A6024. We drop down to the passage over the Holme past the Thongs Bridge Mill site and the local sports club on the flattest available field in the vicinity, and then rise sharply up the far side, passing Albion Mill, St Andrew's church and my first ever passage to Holmfirth that barely goes recognised as we pass among the suburban growth that clings to the valley side, development so densely packed that the houses at the bottom end of Longlands Bank almost conceal the blocked up bridge that once carried Heys Road over the western throat of ThongsBridge station on the much lamented L&YR branch. No sight of the former station can be gotten from Miry Lane, aside from the bridge on Springwood Road, also infilled, and the passage beyond is lost, along with the viaduct, as we join Luke Lane to skirt the local council estate and enjoy some urban quite while the road is up, coming down to Upper Mytholm Bridge mill, and the Devour at The Dyehouse restaurant, arriving back on the side of the Holme as we pass the Mytholm Bridge house parklands and rise with the lane to meet the A616 New Mill Road.
We've been at this three way junction before, both this year and in the days of my first walking odyssey, with the long rise out of the Holme Valley ahead of us, and thus we steel ourselves for the assault of Thurstonland Bank, following the road as it rises over the old railway bridge, marking our last contact with the Holmfirth branch before the harsh pull starts, where we can ascend about as quickly as the combine harvester heading uphill with the wedding car stuck behind it. It's a rough drag for this time in the day, but the view back to the Wolfstones Heights and Swinny Knoll hills gives them their most sharply defined profile as they sit among the higher rises of the Holme valley, at least until the vista over the upper Holme disappears past Bank End Plantation and the ascent eases, with the high brow of the valley side revealed ahead and the lower Holme and Colne valley horizon replaces it to the north west, with the Top o' the Hill hamlet, situated just off the road, being well located for an all round excellent vista. We push on, to land below Thurstonland village, delighted to have kept a footway all the way up the 120m of the ascent of the bank road, landing by the Hollow Gate terrace and the Methodist chapel, and pressing up and over the passage of the Holme Valley Circular path for the last time, passing the Rose & Crown inn and the farmsteads and terraces at the heart of the village, before the Town Moor Lane passes us through the suburban ribbon that has grown on the level ground to the east, ending by the village cricket field in the shadow of the spoil heap that still remains after the construction of Thurstonland tunnel. It's a hurry up though the countryside to the finish line from here, declining with the lane below Top o' the Butts farm to the Moor Bottom, corner and then rising slightly to join the Stocks Moor road by Top of the Lane house, aiming us directly towards the Emley Moor masts and observing that odd and inexplicable folly tower on the hillside to the north before we run in past the Whitestones farm hamlet, just the west of Stocksmoor village, where Cross Lane is joined and an old terrace sits opposite the suburban development that still swells this odd little village. Return to Station Lane, and feel good that my pace has kept up despite the mix of heat and surprisingly chilly breezes, to land at Stocksmoor station at 3.15pm, completing the circuit within my 6 hour target, only to find myself that Northern Fail have cancelled all trains on the Penistone Line, and I'm going to have to grasp at the lifeline of the bi-hourly #341 village minibus instead, which is only 50 minutes distant, and adds an extra 15 minutes to the day's trip as we circuit our way back to the Cross Lane bus stand via the run of houses on Stocks Moor Road (incidentally illustrating well why a car-less man like myself will ultimately never understand the appeal of suburban living in the countryside).
5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 4168.6 miles
2019 Total: 518.2 miles
Up Country Total: 3705.6 miles
Solo Total: 3854.4 miles
Miles in My 40s: 2762.4 miles
Next Up: Aiming at the trackless High Moors and a 500m summit as 2019's Summer ends.
With my Jollies now retreating into the past already, I think we can now declare that The End of Summer is now upon us, with the sunshine yellowing and the days starting to feel noticeably shorter, and as we've still got plenty of paths on the slate we need to get a move on before we start to run out of days, not that there'll be any more excursions out on the 7.29am train out of Morley as we need to at least have the suggestion of warmth in the air once we are on the trail again, and as we all know frigid mornings are no fun at all. So back to the Holme Valley we return whilst it's still short sleeves weather, with a circuit path in mind as it's not really a large enough space for traversals, despite the quantity of landscape contained within, alighting the train at Stocksmoor station at a whisker before 9.30am, actually to the east of the lands that we intend to explore, but full of the intent to link this corner to the many paths that we've burned to the west of the valley of Shepley Dike (et al), rising to Station Road by the old railway house and setting a course on through this strange suburb of a village on the elevated fields of Stocks Moor, which feels like it barely had any mass or history before the 20th century. Fulstone Lane leads us away from the bungalows and closes and into the fields that ought to be elevating us over the crest into the Holme Valley, but soon takes us downhill, into the wooded cleft formed by the upper reaches of Stone Wood Dike, before we start the ascent towards Fulstone village, with the turbined top of Haw Cliff rising ahead prominently, with the valley behind us giving sight towards Shelley and the Emley Moor masts. The rise of the lane thus takes us on to Fulstone hamlet, an unfathomably tiny settlement to be at the heart of its parish and still small on its steep hillside, which we pass below by taking Fulstone Hall Lane westwards, passing inside the Holme Valley Circular path and on among the fields below the wrinkled edges at the boundary of the Holme valley, with Horn Hill masking us from the passage of the A635 as the lane's eponymous farmstaed and the elevated hamlet-let of Bellgreave farm are also passed, with the edge of New Mill on our horizon. Meeting the suburban edge, and arriving from on high, relatively, it's striking how well Christ Church hides from view, it's pinnacled tower only briefly revealing itself and it's bulk being hidden by a bank of trees once we get up close, and as we descend among the old terraces on Sude Hill it's prominent location seems to have been chosen for maximum visibility from below, as well as finding that New Mill looks that bit more ancient, stone-y and desirable in the late Summer sunshine as we come down on the Penistone and Huddersfield Roads.
 |
| Station Road, Stocksmoor. |
 |
| Stocks Wood. |
 |
| Croft Bottom, Fulstone. |
 |
| Entering New Mill, by Christ Church. |
It feels like this cross roads by the White Hart feels like one of the focal point of this year's wanderings, and we cross to admire the mill redevelopment that's been done in the most Kirklees styled way possible, and pass over New Mills Dike to join the next climb of the day, steeply up among the terraces of Greenhill Bank Road and then onto a more even ascent with the lane up the bank itself, where suburban outliers on the village have been located to enjoy the best view over the settlement with Christ Church prominent among the wooded banks to the east. It feels like it's going to be a day of many ups and downs as we pull uphill to the southwest, pulling us above this side valley of the Holme, with the Nab hills rising above it as we swing around to the hamlet of Totties, the intense rural charm of which has not been diminished by the ribbon of semis leading up to it or the cluster of bungalows beyond, as it's heart is as lovely as you could want, which makes the appeal of remote Holme valley living feel that bit more obvious, and the Brooklands Nurseries and Scenic Wildlife Cafe, located nearby, is surely not your average garden centre judging by its description. Taking a southerly tack, we've got some old smart houses to pass in the very short green space that sits above the village of Scholes, which we meet with the intent of getting a proper feel for this time around, and it's history as a rural community and a centre of domestic weaving is much more obvious among the closes of cottages at the side of St George's Road above the post office and the Boot & Shoe inn, and in the long terraces of Paris, found further along as we resume the push westwards. Of course, there's been a lot of suburban infilling around the village too, stretching on to the fields of Scholes Moor as we follow its road to the south west, passing over Sandy Gate and meeting the remotest feeling council estates and plots of new builds as we move on to join Cross Lane and crest this high bank to see the local Ribble valley beyond and it's a steep decent to come, down Cross Gate bank, which might be the least difficult road in this corner as the #314 bus comes up and down it. We get some fine views west as we thus drop down to the hamlet-let of Cross (or Longley) on the Dunford Road, and then join Choppards Bank Road beyond, to continue the descent into the Ribble valley, settling in nicely down the steep path of Rich Gate and dodging the tractors on this far too narrow lane as we rapidly head down to the the woods at the bottom, where the Green Lane Mills are secluded and primed for a contemporary redevelopment of sorts.
 |
| New Mill from Greenhill Bank Road. |
 |
| Totties. |
 |
| The Paris terraces, Scholes. |
 |
| The new face of Scholes, Cross lane |
 |
| The Ribble valley, from Rich Gate. |
The major development at the valley floor is to be found at Washpit Mills, just up the lane, where most of the complex shown on the OS map has been demolished, creating a brownfield site that will be urban residential in a year or two, with only the oldest portion of the mill to the south, and the wing that's still in use as a classic car garage still enduring, though it's relative remoteness is going to count against it as the roads on the valley side are super steep, feeling even more sharp as we pull up Green Lane to land between the Glenthorpe and Marble Hall farmsteads. It's another push uphill with Lamma Wells Road to meet the level track of Cartworth Bank, but it's worth pausing at the top to look and down the valley, to spot our relative proximity of Holmfirth below and upstream to the mass of Hades Plantation at the valley's limit, a fine view to take in as the Last of the Summer Wine bus tour rolls past, and there's an association that I haven't made much of during my travels in the locality this year, largely as the views have been so much grander, which are enhanced further as we press along the high valley side along the hairpin of the bank road. There's soon another top to cross over, a Wold if we were in limestone or chalk country, rather that the gritstones of the Pennine periphery, pushing away from the Ribble valley to meet the farm hamlet of Well Houses, which is large enough to have its own chapel among the terraces and farmsteads at the hill top, beyond which we meet one of the highest cricket fields in the county, that of Cartworth Moor cricket club, beyond which Gill Lane and Stony Gate lead us over to the descent into the main body of the Holme Valley, with Digley reservoir dead ahead among the lower reaches of Holme Moss - Black Hill. We also get our proximity to Upperthong, Hinchcliff Mill and Holmbridge revealed as we descend into the farmstead cluster of Hill House, and then follow the high bank of White Gate Road westerly among the quarries that scar this hillside, enjoying the evolving view around before we start our long descent to this valley floor, slipping down the rough track to Woodhouse Lane below, a rare bit of off-roading for today's trip. It's a long slope downhill, angling back and forth a couple of times, first to land us above the Lower Woodhouse farmstead, and it's neighbour, the Sheveling Wine Estate, operators of surely the most northerly vineyard in the country, which is dressing itself for a wedding reception as we go by, heading down past the vines to sharply turn again as we come down below the lower wooded reaches of Dobb Dike clough, passing the vineyard's holiday cottages, semi-circular shaped and secreted away in an old quarry.
 |
| Washpit Mills. |
 |
| The Ribble valley from Cartworth Bank. |
 |
| Well Houses hamlet. |
 |
| Holmbridge and Hinchcliffe Mill in the upper Holme valley. |
 |
| The Sheveling Vineyard and Winery. |
Passing Hollins Brigg farm at the bottom of the clough, we arrive in the hamlet of Dobb, slightly up the valley side from the villages at the floor, but gradually gaining their suburban spread, and also being the long term home to their Junior & Infant school, which we pass before twisting with another descent with Dobb Top Lane to pass over another stream passage, the number of which I've made on the day already past the point where you stop counting, rolling on with the lane below the suburban edge of Holmebridge and above the enduring Clarence Mills site. Smithy Lane drops us then down to the bottom of the Holme valley, where we pass over both of the branches of the upper river Holme as we land on the A6033 between St David's church and the cricket field, where the sportsmen are gathering for their afternoon's entertainment, and our track bring us around to the Pickled Pheasant, where we pick up another switchback to join Field End Lane, where we ascend again, past the ends of the ranked streets of council houses and the old church school, and giving us a fine view back across the valley before we push beyond the village. It feels like Digley Reservoir should be closer than it is, a way up the rising lane beyond the Molly Wells cottages and the Bank Top farmstead, with the Meal Hill fields rising above the dam as we land ourselves on the far side of the Holme Valley Circular path again, coming up to the end of the embankment by the runoff syphon, and slipping off Digley Royd Lane to follow the reservoir's perimeter path up to the picnic area in the former Bingley Quarries, where a lunch break is taken among the regular day-trippers on the local paths. Post-feed, we've got probably the hardest push of the day, rejoining the road to gain 100m of height, and to dodge the traffic on the sharply descending and blind cornered lane, trying to not take too much interest in the evolving views as attention needs to be kept on what's happening within the dry stone walls as we head up towards Green Gate farm, above moorland altitude and gaining grand views over the Upper Holme that are worth the journey despite being only marginally different from those that came before. There's a wildly rural feel up here, with only sheep and the passing motorists for company as the day crests over 340m up, giving us our first good look back to the eastern edge of the valley as our trail reaches its apex, before wandering downhill slightly to meet the passage over the marshy top of Hart Holes clough, beyond which the Ford Inn sits by the side of the A635, the last hostelry on this side of the Pennines before the turnpike takes the long and lonely trip over the moors to Greenfield, which despite being in Greater Manchester nowadays, used to be a West Riding town until 1974.
 |
| Dobb, and the upper Holme Valley school. |
 |
| Holmebridge from Field End Lane. |
 |
| Digley reservoir. |
 |
| Ascending the lane to the Green Gate farms |
 |
| The Ford Inn on the Holmfirth - Greenfield road. |
Join Thick Hollins Lane beyond, which could easily be our red route towards Meltham from here, rising slightly to get a better view of the hills in the middle of the Holme valley, where our trip should be headed if my navigation is working properly, and getting as close as we'll bet to a 360 degree panoramas as we'll get on this journey as we get a reveal towards Meltham Moor and the Colne Valley as we arrive at the top of Bradshaw Road, while we can still look back to the highlands to the southeast and southwest. The lower Holme valley, to the north of us as we pace along the high rib to the northeast, needs some further exploration before we run out of decent days to do it in, as we look at a horizon that reaches all the way over to Huddersfield, while keeping Meltham as secluded from view as ever, noting the barn getting a residential makeover and the puzzlingly named Australia farm before we come upon the Wolfstones Road corner and the woodland plantations that thickly coat the hillside of Wolfstones Height. We join the lane as it shifts around the south side of this upland, returning the views over the main body of the Holme Valley as we skirt below the conifers and above Intake farm with the apparent go-kart track in its fields, and getting another view to the Nabs and company as the lane rises above Carr farm, around the moorland end of the hillside and past Wolfstones farm, which is in the grip of a makeover session, giving us a direct view to our future passage over Thurstonland bank before we return to the landscape of the lower Holme valley. It's a wander downhill from here, aiming us towards the rise of Swinny Knoll and among the farmsteads of what the old OS map calls Thong Moor, the extent of which is certainly vague, as we come down to cross the B6107 Wilshaw Road, by the field where the Highland cattle still graze and then aim ourselves past Knoll Bridge farm and up the dead straight ascend over the hillside shoulder with Knoll Lane, the umpteenth uphill pull of the day, up which the #308 bus also operates, to keep the public transport rides of Kirklees interesting. Crest again, and look directly forwards towards Honley, and to the many woodlands that surround greater Huddersfield, almost to the point of concealing it, and an aim towards Castle Hill seems to be the destiny of this trip, but we've got a circular trip to complete and so we switch to the southeast with Oldfield Lane, ensuring we get every perspective possible over the upper Holme as we approach the farm hamlet of Upper Oldfield, at that point among the high fields where the desire to expand suburbia beyond the footprints of the old settlement has not yet arrived, meaning its rural flavour is still strong.
 |
| Meltham Moor from Thick Hollins Lane. |
 |
| The Wolfstones plantation from Bradshaw Road. |
 |
| Thurstonland Bank and Haw Cliff from Wolfstones. |
 |
| Knoll Lane, on the shoulder of Swinney Knoll. |
 |
| Upper Oldfield. |
Take Miry Lane as it twists its way through the hamlet, as we turn our back to the lower Holme as we set course for the finish line from this late high point in the west, soon hitting a steep and narrow decline that looks like it doesn't get mush road traffic judging by the quality of the tarmac, bringing us down through the fields to meet the expanding suburban end of Deanhouse, the upper part of Netherthong that seems to be a desirable corner for more development despite the challenging roads going off in all directions. Passing under the trees around Dean Beck on the road up to the main village, you could briefly forget that you are at the edge of greater Holmfirth, an illusion which is dispelled once the rise up through Netherthong starts, taking us inside the Holme Valley Circular path once more as we rise up past the former Methodist chapel and Co-op, with Giles Lane leading us to School Street, past the Clothiers Arms and the still enduring village school, which probably has a considerable catchment area, before leaving the heart of this weaver's settlement behind as the suburban ribbon peters out on the declining lane. Now aimed towards Thurstonland Bank once more, the decline down towards the River Holme is a challenging one, as Thong Lane narrows and drops between retaining walls that offer no refuge from the traffic on probably the main route to the village above, which keeps the run down to Thongsbridge interesting, at least until we're past the former Crodingley farm and the road widens as it leads us down to Woodhead Road, where we cross the A6024. We drop down to the passage over the Holme past the Thongs Bridge Mill site and the local sports club on the flattest available field in the vicinity, and then rise sharply up the far side, passing Albion Mill, St Andrew's church and my first ever passage to Holmfirth that barely goes recognised as we pass among the suburban growth that clings to the valley side, development so densely packed that the houses at the bottom end of Longlands Bank almost conceal the blocked up bridge that once carried Heys Road over the western throat of ThongsBridge station on the much lamented L&YR branch. No sight of the former station can be gotten from Miry Lane, aside from the bridge on Springwood Road, also infilled, and the passage beyond is lost, along with the viaduct, as we join Luke Lane to skirt the local council estate and enjoy some urban quite while the road is up, coming down to Upper Mytholm Bridge mill, and the Devour at The Dyehouse restaurant, arriving back on the side of the Holme as we pass the Mytholm Bridge house parklands and rise with the lane to meet the A616 New Mill Road.
 |
| The swelling Suburbia of Deanhouse. |
 |
| The old Co-op, Netherthong. |
 |
| The River Holme at Thongsbridge. |
 |
| The Heys Road bridge, at Thongsbridge station. |
 |
| Upper Mytholm Bridge Mill. |
We've been at this three way junction before, both this year and in the days of my first walking odyssey, with the long rise out of the Holme Valley ahead of us, and thus we steel ourselves for the assault of Thurstonland Bank, following the road as it rises over the old railway bridge, marking our last contact with the Holmfirth branch before the harsh pull starts, where we can ascend about as quickly as the combine harvester heading uphill with the wedding car stuck behind it. It's a rough drag for this time in the day, but the view back to the Wolfstones Heights and Swinny Knoll hills gives them their most sharply defined profile as they sit among the higher rises of the Holme valley, at least until the vista over the upper Holme disappears past Bank End Plantation and the ascent eases, with the high brow of the valley side revealed ahead and the lower Holme and Colne valley horizon replaces it to the north west, with the Top o' the Hill hamlet, situated just off the road, being well located for an all round excellent vista. We push on, to land below Thurstonland village, delighted to have kept a footway all the way up the 120m of the ascent of the bank road, landing by the Hollow Gate terrace and the Methodist chapel, and pressing up and over the passage of the Holme Valley Circular path for the last time, passing the Rose & Crown inn and the farmsteads and terraces at the heart of the village, before the Town Moor Lane passes us through the suburban ribbon that has grown on the level ground to the east, ending by the village cricket field in the shadow of the spoil heap that still remains after the construction of Thurstonland tunnel. It's a hurry up though the countryside to the finish line from here, declining with the lane below Top o' the Butts farm to the Moor Bottom, corner and then rising slightly to join the Stocks Moor road by Top of the Lane house, aiming us directly towards the Emley Moor masts and observing that odd and inexplicable folly tower on the hillside to the north before we run in past the Whitestones farm hamlet, just the west of Stocksmoor village, where Cross Lane is joined and an old terrace sits opposite the suburban development that still swells this odd little village. Return to Station Lane, and feel good that my pace has kept up despite the mix of heat and surprisingly chilly breezes, to land at Stocksmoor station at 3.15pm, completing the circuit within my 6 hour target, only to find myself that Northern Fail have cancelled all trains on the Penistone Line, and I'm going to have to grasp at the lifeline of the bi-hourly #341 village minibus instead, which is only 50 minutes distant, and adds an extra 15 minutes to the day's trip as we circuit our way back to the Cross Lane bus stand via the run of houses on Stocks Moor Road (incidentally illustrating well why a car-less man like myself will ultimately never understand the appeal of suburban living in the countryside).
 |
| Wolfstones Height and Swinney Knoll (et al) from Thurstonland Bank Road. |
 |
| The Lower Holme Valley and Top o' the Hill hamlet. |
 |
| Town Moor lane, Thurstonland. |
 |
| Stocks Moor Road, and the Emley Moor masts. |
 |
| Cross Lane, Stocksmoor. |
5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 4168.6 miles
2019 Total: 518.2 miles
Up Country Total: 3705.6 miles
Solo Total: 3854.4 miles
Miles in My 40s: 2762.4 miles
Next Up: Aiming at the trackless High Moors and a 500m summit as 2019's Summer ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment