Walk Description

I last visited Manstone Edge in October 2003 and thought that the time had come to pay it another visit.  I parked at Baitings Reservoir and walked across the dam.  Although the water was not full there was a lot more water than when I was here previously.  I walked into the traditional water board coniferous woods and was greeted with the unusual sight of a trig point hidden between the trees.  I walked towards the western end of the reservoir and climbed up to Baitings Viaduct.  Today there was no sign of the old road and bridge that had been revealed in 2003 when the reservoir was almost empty.

I then followed the concessionary path up Greenwood Clough.  Near the top of the clough the path veers of towards the north east and I began the steep climb up to Manshead End.  The views from here are excellent and just in case you are feeling weary after that stiff climb there is even a bench to sit on so that you can get your breath back whilst enjoying the view.  From here it was just a very short stroll to the trig point.  It was an extremely bright white trig that looked as if it had just been painted.  I continued north east, still on the concessionary path, along the flank of Great Manshead Hill and then went down to the end of the concessionary path at Slate Delf Hill.


Here, on a slight rise are the remains on an old World War 2 bunker.  According to John Manning’s 25 Walks in the Pennines: - a handful of men stationed here lit up the hillside during German bombing raids, in the hope that their pilots would mistake the lights for nearby Halifax and drop their deadly cargoes harmlessly onto the moor; a nerve racking posting.  There are two rooms inside the bunker, each with a few years’ worth of bottles and cans trodden into the muddy floor.  It wasn’t a welcoming place.

I now followed the Calderdale Way to the junction of Water Stalls Road.  Despite its name there wasn’t much sign of the road until I reached the farm below Little Crow Hill.  I then followed the bridleway around the north side of Crow Hill, where a small worn path took me up to the summit.  The trig seems to be a horse friendly place as there are 3 hitching posts near the trig.  The views here extend in the north to Ovenden Moor and its’ wind farm and in the south to Holmes Moss and Black Hill.  Closer to I could see Sowerby Bridge nestling in the valley below at the confluence of the rivers Calder and Ryburn.  Just beyond Sowerby Bridge I could see the tall dark folly on the outskirts of Halifax.

After a quick bite to eat I set off on my return journey.  This was the section that would test my navigation skills.  No I wasn’t walking across a pathless moor but simply trying to find my way along a myriad of intertwining country lanes.  I decided to follow the bridleway past Sand Bed and then retrace my steps along the Calderdale Way to Slate Delf Hill.  Here I turned south and eventually joined Coal Gate Road.  This was the end of the moorland walking and the start of the road walk back to the car.  I managed to find some interesting flowers in the verge and spent a while trying to get some good photos of the flora and fauna. 

I tried in vain to find the footpath from Blue Ball Road that is supposed to be between the side of the house and the small reservoir.  There is no water at all to be seen in the now empty and over grown disused reservoir.  As I couldn’t find the path I decided to walk south west and until I came to the next road junction.  Here I found another trig point; this time nestled in some long grass at the side of a field.  I then took the overgrown path down the steep hillside to the A58 just a few yards away from my starting point at Baitings Reservoir.

I got back to the car just in time, as by the time I had stowed my rucksack and changed my boots, the threatened rain had started to fall.  All in all it had been a good walk.  I had barely seen anyone all day and apart from a little rain, not long after I started walking, the weather had been sunny all day.