Captain's Log

Black Hill

Not surprisingly, I slept well after yesterday’s 23+ mile day. I looked out of the entrance of my tent and  had the welcome sight of a lovely morning. Certainly better than the grey and drizzly  ones I’d had over the last 3 days. On the horizon, I could see the northerner’s friend, Emley Moor mast. It was certainly a great view from the northern side of  Black Hill’s plateau. I brewed a tea and ate my usual muesli. I packed the tent up and was on my way not long after 07:00 am. 

Today’s vague plan was just to go as far south as possible. This was my penultimate day on the Pennine Way, and so the further I walked today, the less I would have to do on the last one. Ideally, I hoped to camp somewhere on the Kinder Scout plateau. If the weather looked a bit dodgy, then I’d probably try to find somewhere sheltered upstream of Kinder Downfall. It was going to be another tough day though. First I’d have to traverse Black Hill, Laddow Rocks and descend into the Woodhead valley. There was then an enormous climb to the summit of Bleaklow. If that didn’t knacker me, then there were five or six miles of moors to cross to get to Kinder Scout. It could be another long day over some tough terrain. 

It was still early morning and I didn’t see anyone as I approached the trig on the summit of Black Hill. When I first walked the Pennine Way back in the late 1970s, I couldn’t reach this trig because of all the treacherous bogs around it. The slabs that traverse the summit along the Pennine Way now  have definitely improved the area over the long term.

Laddow Rocks

I was surprised to see three figures approaching as I descended via the slabs on the south side of Black Hill. They must have set off from Crowden at around 06:00 am to get to this point at this time. Looking at the size of their packs, I deduced they must be NoBos. They marched fast and in unison, their trekking poles in group synchronisation. It reminded me of a steam train chugging towards me. I didn’t want to get run over by it and so I stepped to the side of the slabs to make way. The convoy was made up of two men and a woman. I could see it was pointless trying to chat to them. I gave them a cheery ‘hello’ as they approached and I heard a similar response when they passed me. They were definitely on a mission. 

The slabs ran out and I climbed up to the top of Laddow Rocks. The path actually goes quite close to the edge and so you have to take care that you don’t overbalance in the cliff's direction with a heavy pack. The view southwards was superb. Across the Woodhead valley I could see the dreaded Clough Edge that would be my staircase to the top of Bleaklow later this afternoon.

Towards the end of Laddow Rocks, I sat down for a break. As I was eating some flapjack, a man in his 60s approached. He was Peter from Luxembourg, a NoBo and we had a long chat. He was doing the Pennine Way using camping, B&Bs and luggage transfers. He’d completed lots of trails in the UK including the coastal path in Northern Ireland. The first day on the Pennine Way from Edale to Crowden usually spooks NoBos due to its length and difficulty. Peter seemed to find it okay. He camped at the Crowden  campsite last night. I told him about the three NoBo steam train that had chugged past me this morning heading up towards Black Hill. Peter said he spoke to the group last night and their plan was to reach Hebden Bridge today. That explained their rush; that was quite a long day. He said that he was 68 and had retired a couple of years ago. He wanted to do more trails in the UK in the future. He was heading to the White Inn today and then taking a taxi to a B&B. I wished him a great trek as he set off northwards. 

It was a steep descent from the top of the edge, but I was soon down in the bottom of the valley. I passed a young lad who was sitting on a rock glaring at his large rucksack. He was about a mile from the Crowden campsite. I’d put my money on it that the poor chap would be giving up his Pennine Way dream today. 

Torside

I reached a country lane and followed it westwards. It brought me to the busy A628 Woodhead road. I safely crossed it and joined a woodland trail to the dam of the Torside Reservoir. As I crossed the dam, I got a good view of Clough Edge leading up to Bleaklow. I wasn’t looking forward to the upward slog with my heavy pack. Apart from the short, steep climb up to Kinder Scout later on today, the ascent up to Bleaklow Head was the last major climb for a SoBo. 

Bleaklow Head

A tarmac road took me up to the start of the climb. Rhododendron bushes lined the road. One or two were flowering, but it would be another month or so before they all were out. I started the climb up Clough Edge. The first bit was the steepest and so it did get easier over time. Even so, it was a tough haul. Eventually it flattened out and the worst was over. I could now look across the valley and enjoy the views. Towards the end of the edge I came across a young NoBo. He’d done well to reach here by this time from Edale. He said his target for today was to camp on Black Hill. Ten minutes behind him was a LEJOGer. He was older and came across as one of those that seemed to be in a rush. I didn’t delay him.   

Clough Edge finished and the Pennine Way turned east to follow Wildboar Grain. As I was filtering some water for my water bottles from a stream, a couple in their 60s approached. They were from Utrecht in Holland and walking the Pennine Way using B&Bs and baggage transfers. They were heading for Crowden where they planned to take a taxi to their B&B in Glossop. Both of them looked shattered and didn’t give the impression that they were enjoying the walk. I wondered what would happen if they gave up at this stage. Would they still have to pay for the remaining B&Bs and luggage transfers? How would they fill the time that they would then have on their hands? I guess it could be an expensive business stopping on a long trek. I hoped the two made it down to Crowden and decided to continue along the Pennine Way.     

I finally reached the huge pile of stones with a wooden stake on top that signified Bleaklow Head. It was windy and so I made my way around to the sheltered side of the pile of stones to sit down. I was surprised to find a man already sitting there. He was a day walker and seemed to be going on a general exploration of Bleaklow and the surrounding area. He was going to see the wreckage of the Superfortress on Higher Shelf Stones and he set off in that direction. I sat down in the sheltered spot he'd vacated.

Snake Pass

I looked on the OS map and saw the Wain Stones labelled. They are only a couple of minutes walk from Bleaklow Head and it had been years since I’d seen them, and so I decided to go for a quick nosey. They were certainly impressive, especially with the view of Manchester beyond. Before gps, they used to be a good navigation point if you got lost up here. I returned to the stake at Blakelow Head and then headed south along the Pennine Way. Every so often the route was waymarked on a stone. The path roughly followed a grough southwards, although it was sometimes less of a path and more of a stream. The grough was quite deep too and so there weren't any views along this stretch. After about a mile, the path escaped the grough and started to head southwestwards along Devil’s Dike. As I looked south, I could see where the wildfires had been on Featherbed Moss. The fires had reached almost to the top of Snake Pass. I would guess that the idiots who frequently camp and leave all their rubbish in the Lady Clough plantation had probably kicked it all off with a camp fire. I reached the A57  ‘Snake Road.’ This would be the last major road I’d cross before reaching Edale. 

Mill Hill

I have to confess that the 2.5 miles of slabs that take you from the Snake Road to the summit of Mill Hill was probably the most tedious section of the whole Pennine Way. It just seemed to go on forever. The route followed a broad ridge and so there wasn’t much of a view on either side of the path. I guess there was the northern edge of Kinder Scout to look at, but it was so far away that its interesting rock formations were indistinct. The only interesting thing about the route was whether it weaved to the left or whether it weaved to the right. Occasionally one of the slabs might have tilted and sunk into a bog, or one might be loose and wobbled when I stepped on it. It was therefore essential to still keep a diligent eye on the path, rather than to go into full autopilot mode. Dark clouds were gathering in the north and I resigned myself that I’d see some rain at some point. This was a bit frustrating when Kinder Scout, my final destination for the day, was now in sight. After an hour or so of walking the slabs, the gradient of the landscape went slightly upwards and I arrived at the summit of Mill Hill. I sat down to eat a flapjack. I needed the energy for the next bit of the walk. 

Kinder Scout

I descended from Mill Hill to the col between Ashop Clough and William Clough. At this footpath crossroads I continued straight on for the ascent to the Kinder Scout plateau. This was my last steep ascent on the Pennine Way. To be honest, it was probably less than 100 metres of vertical ascent, but the path was challenging. In fact, the path is so steep that I actually find it easier to climb up it,  than down it. Stone steps have been installed to ease the pain for the walker. I set off on a steady plod up the staircase. Maybe I’d over-egged the difficulty, or maybe I’d at last found my trail-legs, or maybe it was just the northwesterly wind that assisted me up the steps, but I soon found myself on the top of Kinder Scout’s plateau with seemingly little effort.    

Those ominous rain clouds were getting closer. The strong winds carried the occasional drop of rain with it. The evening was now getting quite dark. I needed to find a pitch for my tent as soon as possible. I set off quickly along the western edge of the plateau towards Kinder Downfall. Occasionally I’d snatch a glance westwards across Kinder Reservoir towards Manchester. Given the deteriorating weather and the lateness of the day, I was surprised to find a couple and their dog walking towards me on the edge path. Neither of them had rucksacks or coats. Presumably, they’d come up here from Hayfield and were going to descend William Clough to return. It was too windy to talk to them and we just waved a greeting as we passed. There was about 1.5 miles to cover before I reached Kinder Downfall and it seemed to take a long time. Gradually the cliffs came into view and I made my way around to the stream that flows over the edge. There wasn’t much water flowing down the stream today though. I started following the stream into the plateau to find a camping pitch. I thought that there might have been other wildcampers around, but the place was deserted. The wind dropped, the further I proceeded into the plateau. I found a suitable pitch a few hundred metres before the rocks of Kinder Gates. Ten minutes later my tent was pitched. It started to rain and I dived into my tent. I couldn’t believe how lucky I’d been pitching my tent on the Pennine Way. I’d always managed to just finish pitching before the rain had started.     

It had been a long, tough day. I was delighted that I’d reached my planned destination. As I listened to the rain pepper my tent, I hoped that it would clear up by tomorrow for my final day on the Pennine Way.