Captain's Log

Standedge

It was a cold wind that blew across the carpark at Standedge. The weather forecast was for all-day sunshine, but nobody had seemed to have notified Standedge about it. The early morning looked a little grey and dreary. I put on a fleece to reduce the chill and I was quick to get on my way in order to warm up. 400 metres from the carpark and I realised that I’d left my camera on the front seat in my car. Doh! ‘Less haste, more speed.’ I headed back to the carpark, picked up my camera and set off again for the second time. 

Today’s walk would be a repeat of one that I carried out almost four years ago to the day, with Mo and the Cabin Boy. July 2021 must have been outside one of the Covid lockdown periods. I remember it being a very hot day. So hot, that the Cabin Boy felt faint climbing up to the edge at Buckstones and had to have a moment to compose herself. I’m not sure it was going to be that hot today, especially with that strong wind. My route would take me to the top of the shapely Pule Hill and then descend to the Standedge Tunnel entrance at Marsden. I’d then head towards March Haigh Reservoir before climbing up to the edge at Buckstones. There would then follow some hard walking across Moss Moor Edge, where I intended to drop in at the isolated Way Stone on my itinerary. From there, I’d follow the Pennine Way southwards, back to the carpark. 

Pule Hill

Pule Hill looked dramatic as I approached it from the west. The south face is quite steep and I always think it is going to be a chore to climb, but it never feels that way. It is only about an 80m ascent from the road and the strong south westerly nudged me on whenever I thought I might pause for breath. Before I knew it, I was soon on the top and looking back over Redbrook Reservoir to Standedge. I’m not sure how many photos I’ve taken of this view over the years, but I would guess it is in double digits. I followed the hills northern edge towards Marsden. It is a gradual descent and with the gale urging me on, I was almost running. The path swung right to the brick air shaft for the Standedge Tunnel and just beyond that was the commemorative cross (see Virtutis Fortuna Comes for details about this cross). I dropped down to the A62, crossed it, and descended further to the bottom of the valley where the trans-Pennine canal and railway line disappeared into the hillside. Two women walked towards me with large backpacks. I would pass them again a couple of hours later on the Pennine Way, as they headed north and I headed south. I was sheltered from the wind in the bottom of the valley and even the sun made an attempt to make an appearance. 

Buckstones

It was a steep climb along Waters Road as I made my way to March Haigh Reservoir. There are a couple of particularly very steep sections that make me wonder how the residents in the houses higher up cope when it gets icy. The road ran out at The Dean and I diverted on to a path above Haigh Clough. I could have followed this right up to March Haigh Reservoir, but I wanted to visit Buckstone, an edge that I could see on the top of the  hill to my right. A fingerpost pointed me up towards Hard Head Clough, but the track soon ran out and I was left to my own initiative to find a way across the grass and heather. This was my second time up here and I remember that I couldn't find a satisfactory path last time either. Sometimes I thought I'd found a path, only to find it had disappeared a few seconds later. Eventually I reached a definitive path that headed westwards along the contour of the hill. My four year old memories informed me that this particular path descended a fair bit, almost reaching March Haigh Reservoir. Rather than lose height, I hopped over the nearby fence and continued my ascent to the top of the hill. It was a steep section, but it didn’t last long and I picked up a track that followed the top of the edge. This brought me on to the large stones that define the Buckstones edge. It was a fine view back down into the valley to March Haigh Reservoir. There is a carpark on the nearby A640 and so a lot of people come here taking the easy car option to see the views. I joined the A640 and plodded some tarmac towards Buckstones House. This road attracts large lorries and fast cars and so a bit of attention was required. There was a reasonable escape verge and it was possible to see traffic coming towards you in either direction for quite a distance. It wasn't a place to dawdle though and it wasn’t long before I reached Buckstones House. 

The Way Stone

Just after Buckstones House I used a stile to hop over the wire fence onto the moor. There was another wire fence that headed off northwards to reach the broad ridge of Moss Moor Edge. I started following the fence in the hope that I might find a usable track where people had walked before.  There wasn’t one and I ended up wading through knee high heather and treading carefully across clumpy grass. Four years ago, I’d taken a route that drifted away from the fence. It hadn’t been any better on that occasion. At least following the wire fence gave some indication of progress as I passed the posts. The gradient became easier and eventually I met the wire fence that runs east to west along Moss Moor Edge. The track that ran alongside the fence was sketchy, but it offered far easier walking than the heather wading from Buckstones House. I could now hear the drone of the traffic on the M62 on my right, but I couldn’t see it due to the broad nature of Moss Moor Edge. At one point, I did get a view of Green Withins Reservoir which was on the other side of the M62 and in the far distance, I could see the obelisk of Stoodley Pike. On the previous occasion I came up here, I’d just followed the wire fence until I intersected the Pennine Way on White Hill. This time, I wanted to make a diversion away from the fence, to have a look at the Way Stone, as it is labelled on the OS map. I thought I was in for a bit more heather wading, but it wasn’t actually that bad. I found a number of large stones that formed the edge where the hill descended more steeply to the M62. The Way Stone itself was obvious since it was a lot larger than its neighbours. There was a great view northwards from the location. In such a remote place, it seemed surreal to see the busy M62 snaking its way from east to west. I wondered how many vehicles had passed the Way Stone over the years, the drivers unaware of this huge boulder on the skyline to the south. Looking westwards I could see the radio mast, next to the M62 at junction 22. The Pennine Way crosses the M62 by footbridge near there. The Pennine Way would also provide me with my route back to the carpark. 

Pennine Way

I was surprised to find a vague track leading away from the Way Stone and following the contour of the hill to the southwest. It seems the Way Stone did get one or two visitors. The track became sketchy as I approached Linsgreave Head and then it disappeared altogether. The terrain wasn’t difficult though and I was mostly walking through Cotton Grass rather than heather. From Linsgreave Head I took a direct route southwards and soon joined the obvious path of the Pennine Way. I passed a stone which had an inscription saying it was the most easterly point of Lancashire. I was crossing exposed moorland and the strong westerly battered me, and even halted my progress on one or two occasions. I descended for a while, crossed the A640, and then continued along the Pennine Way. Eventually this brought me out on to the edge at Standedge. I struggled with the wind to keep steady as I took a photo of the Castleshaw reservoirs. It was an excellent path along the edge with fine views westwards along the valleys. I reached the trig on the edge and struggled again to take a photograph. I stumbled on, fighting the crosswind. It was all downhill from the trig to the carpark. There had only been 3 cars in the carpark when I’d arrived this morning, but it was almost full now. 

I’d enjoyed revisiting my route of four years ago. The views from Buckstones and the Way Stone were superb South Pennine fayre; vast landscapes and remote moorland. It is probably a route I’d only consider on a dry day in summer though. Snow would make it very difficult and rain would soak your clothing with all that heather wading.