Woodlesford to Wakefield 18/10/14

If you cast your minds all the way back to the start of this year's walking season in February, you might recall that my trip from Morley to Wakefield took in a section of the old route of the Leeds Country Way, between West Ardsley and Alverthorpe, and so another section must remain of the 1980s route, unwalked to the east, discarded when the route was sensibly re-directed entirely with Leeds district. Helpfully, this section between Fleet Bridge and Alverthorpe doesn't come into too much contact with tracks already walked in the Leeds - Wakefield hinterland, and I need a reason to stroll in this quarter after spending so many weeks in the grip of Kirklees. Also, if you recall this time last year I was owing Kirklees an apology for having neglected it so badly in 2013, and now I find myself owing an apology to Wakefield for letting it drop from my schedule so comprehensively in 2014, especially as we got out to such a good start before it only made one appearance in the second half of the year, I guess that the Wakefield Way and this land of coal and agriculture will have to wait until 2015, it's good to have something to look forward to, I guess.

Woodlesford to Wakefield, via Bottom Boat & Stanley  10.5 miles

Huddersfield to Halifax 12/10/14

I'm not going to ruminate on running out of steam as my third walking season runs into Autumn, that would involve even more writing when my enthusiasm for this blog is already at an all time low, so let's just admit that once October rolled around, I was desperate for a weekend off to have a couple of long mornings in bed and to look forwards to running down the season with some more modest exploits. That means there will be no attempt on Black Hill this year, and a late season jaunt to Mallerstang shifts to the improbable side of unlikely, and filling in the blanks on the map starts to look like the plan for the remainder of the year, as once the three years of lines have been overlaid on Google Maps, there are still a few distinct holes where my feet have failed to fall. So after the third celebration of a 40th Birthday this year, for my best friend IH whose distaste for birthdays is unmatched among all the people I know, has gone by on the Friday evening (Thai food and Ales in Hebden Bridge, if you are wondering), I've still got most a weekend to use, and going out for a Sunday morning exercise seems to be the best course, and to make a return trip to Calderdale after claiming that I would only make it out there the one time, and the plan for the day is Colne to Hebble, or out through the north of Huddersfield, and into Halifax from the south, both routes which I have not taken on my travels around the county.

Huddersfield to Halifax, via Lindley, West Vale and the Halifax Arm.  10.4 miles

Egerton to Ramsbottom (successful!) 28/09/14

I had imagined that the trip to Pendle Hill would have had a much greater mileage than it did, somewhere in the region of 6 miles, so only putting down 4 miles seems a bit low for the journey to the other side of the Pennines. So, we look to a bonus stroll for Sunday, to get some miles down quickly before I head homewards, and I'm not fancying any hills after yesterday's escapade and the girls would rather play with Lego or take a trip to the park rather than tag along again, and we have to get it in before lunchtime too, which means options are naturally limited. Rivington Park is the obvious port of call but we've done that too many times already, and my idea of walking down the valley into Bolton won't take us anywhere near Moss Bank park, so that doesn't wash either, and the third choice comes together eventually to keep everyone happy, Dr G takes the girls to Nuttall Park, whilst My Sister and I make another attempt to do Egerton to Ramsbottom in under 3 hours.

Egerton to Ramsbottom (successful)  7.3 miles

Pendle Hill 27/09/14

If I hadn't planned to head over into Lancashire for this weekend, I'd almost certainly have spent all of it in bed, as my activities last weekend left me feeling like my battery was almost completely flat after 5 days of work, and mix that in with far too many nights of restless sleep and agonising pains in my neck, and heading to Bolton for a weekend with My Sister's family seems like a very poor idea. However, September is Completion Month, and I had planned for this visit for nearly two months so such considerations need to be cast aside as this is the last opportunity for the weather to still look decent as I make for the hill that has been on my target list for all of the last two seasons, always proving an elusive goal. Younger Niece needs to get up a hill under her own power too, as Elder got out with us last year, and whilst they have both done more physical activity in the intervening time than I managed in my entire childhood, Younger is still to achieve a summit without being carried and she's now at a similar age to when Elder topped the Coniston Old Man. So cast aside the physical problems, gather yourself some fortitude and let's get on the shortest of trails for a Saturday afternoon, not walking a recognised long distance path for the first time since July, and that means the first trip in nine without the reader having to look at my grinning mug as they read of my exploits here.

Pendle Hill, from Barley  4.2 miles

Kirklees Way #6: Hepworth to Marsden 20/09/14

Self at Hepworth

Moving into the third day of a head cold is not the way to be going when you have the last day of a major trail on your schedule, but I'm not feeling too bad all things considered, there's certainly no restriction being felt in my lungs, so I feel that I need to get a move on as this is notionally the last weekend of Summer, and this isn't something I need loitering on my schedule any further into Autumn. Indeed, i am otherwise occupied for two of the coming three weekends, and if this day doesn't get walked soon, it could still be on my un-walked as the third week of October rolls around and who knows how the weather or my physical condition might be holding up by then? Anyway, I'm dubbing September as Completion Month, as I aim to get this trail done and another major walking target off the slate before Autumn brings the short and cold days that do not inspire me to putting down the miles with alacrity. So take an early start and onwards, for the 100 minute ride by rail and road to Hepworth and its distant corner of Kirklees, beneath skies that don't suggest the slightest possibility of sunshine, but also carry a forecast of no rain, still feeling brave enough to don only the gilet and to see if my dodgy respiratory system can handle the moisture laden air that will be hanging heavy today.

Kirklees Way #6: Hepworth to Marsden  12.7 miles

Kirklees Way #5: Clayton West to Hepworth 13/09/14

Self at Clayton West

As a brief post script to me Summer Jollies, I ought to mention that on the evening after my completion of the Hadrian's Wall Path, my Mum suffered a fall at our holiday home, injuring both her feet quite severely, so our last day was spent getting her checked out at Cumberland Royal Infirmary, and my Dad was compelled to do all 270 miles of driving homeward afterwards. I'm happy to report that she is going to be fine, though, having only suffered bruising and the slightest of breaks, with mostly swelling to endure in its wake, indeed she's off on a week of rail touring around Scotland right now, demonstrating that she still a trooper as she heads on into her 70s. Still, it makes me realise that I owe my parents a huge debt of gratitude for how they put themselves out for me so that I can tour remoter parts of the country, and I think I need to emphasise that and thank them here, because the truth is that, ultimately, none of this would have been possible without them. Still as the End of Summer comes on, it's back to West Yorkshire to get the Kirklees Way back on the schedule as the days of summer pass on, loading up to walk against the clock again, as it's going to be last Night of the Proms with my pals in Mytholmroyd in the evening, the clear indicator that the decline of the year has finally arrived. So the backpack is weighed down with a change of togs, the heaviest load I've taken on since striking out on the Dales Way and I've got a 5 and a half hour window to make my way around this distant corner of the county, largely because the shortest possible trip to my start line is on a 90 minute bus ride via Wakefield.

Kirklees Way #5: Clayton West to Hepworth  12.4 miles

Hadrian's Wall Path #6: Eden Bridge to Bowness on Solway 04/09/14

Self at Eden Bridge

As a brief aside from the Wall Path, I feel it my responsibility to report that Scotland is open for business, having last come this close to the Scottish Border back in 2010 and visited Coldstream, a military town that you might expect to have a low hum of activity vibrating around it, only to find it mostly closed with only the pub and the memorial gardens having about half a dozen total people in them. So it's with some joy to report that Gretna positively buzzes with activity, at least the Outlet Village and the tourist trap around the Gretna Green Smithy do, as when you are that close to a venue for reduced cost clothing and entertaining local produce, it demands that you pay a visit, though I'm sure it's only there to tempt English tourists' pounds into the Scottish Economy. It does make you wonder how this sort of thing might work out in the wake of Scottish independence, which side of the border would be good for the cheap goods and which side would be dealing the moneyed tourists? Crossing over also gives you a chance to see how the architecture changes, visualising the differences that make it all feel actually Scottish, demonstrating that a line on the ground can effect building styles just as much as it would accents, but there's surely some cross-pollination to the styles on both side of the Solway Firth, and there are indeed, especially those low square windows closer to the wall angle than the central door, the long, low one-storeyed cottages, and that taste for whitewash with black window frames and details. Anyway, I digress again, the last day on the trail beckons, through a landscape quite dissimilar to that encountered in all my travels, heading for an end that seemed such a long ways away when in Wallsend last May.

Hadrian's Wall Path: Eden Bridge to Bowness on Solway  14.8 miles