Day 5 - Hebden Bridge to Cowling

It had to happen eventually. Sunshine ! Even the lambs at Badger Field Farm outside Hebden Bridge seemed to be perked up by the strange fiery ball in the sky. Maybe it's the first time they've seen it.

Gambolling addicts

Actually the sun only lasted a few hours, but that was enough to make the initial climbs and drops north from Hebden Bridge a very pleasant, if rather hot, section of the path. Some lovely valleys hiding huge numbers of bilberry bushes around every corner. We're a couple of months too early for the berries, but the tiny flowers are already showing.

Sean's patched up his blisters with Compeed and liner socks, but left out the gaffer tape today (yes, really) so hopefully tomorrow they may have dried up slightly. Here are the happy hikers early in the day before blisters, leg pains, and sheer tiredness kicked in.

Eric, Jonathan, Sean, and Saffie

In case I haven't mentioned it before, on the left of the photo in blue is Eric, who set out from Edale on the same day as us and Sean. Eric is 73 and walking the Pennine Way alone, although obviously he's bumping along with the rest of us some of the time. Much of the time Eric is ahead of the rest of us, so he's no slouch.
More tramping over more boggy moorland, with grouse squarking out from the heather on all sides, largely as a result of Saffie's enthusiastic bounding through the undergrowth. Down past Gorple Reservoir, on past Walshaw Dean Reservoirs, then a fairly arduous climb up over Withins Height moorland.

Eventually the ruins of Top Withins came into sight.

Top Withins

I thought the name rang a bell, but wasn't sure why. The plaque on the side of the remains explains all.

Top Withins plaque

Which seems very much like a polite version of "just stop asking these stupid questions, OK?". It would be quite tempting to add another plaque claiming that the real Top Withins mentioned in the novel is another ruin a few hundred yards away, sending gullable visitors on another wild goose chase.

A rather nice signpost just down the path. The Brontes are hugely popular in Japan, and since so many Japanese visitors come to the area many of the footpath signs include a Japanese version of the sign. Not sure what these Japanese signs say, but if anyone can translate then I'll update this blog.

Update: someone anonymously (from Reuters maybe) contacted me to say that the Japanese says "footpath". Well, what can you say?

Japanese footpath signs

Dropping down from Standbury Moor took us onto yet another Reservoir (Ponden), and the map seemed to suggest we were on the home stretch, with maybe another 4 miles to go.

Sheep at Ponden Reservoir

Another cruel trick though, as the steepest climb of the day was yet to come, heading north over Dean Fields, pausing frequently to get breath back.

Silver Hall Farm

The subsequent slog over Oakworth Moor and Ickornshaw Moor was fairly will-sapping, heavy cold rain for most of the time, until we came over the top on the descent down to Cowling. One final picture of some newborn piglets at Lower Summer House Farm, which can only have been a few days old at most. When they saw us peering in they immediately hid behind their mother then slowly came out to see what was going on.

Piglets at Lower Summer House Farm

We're now ensconced in Cowling at Woodland House, but went out to friends Roger and Phillipa's beautiful farm house over near Earby for the evening meal. Thanks for the lovely meal, Phillipa, and to Roger for the lift there and back.


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