Walk Description

Today Simon and Beth joined me for a walk along part of the Kirklees Way and the Pennine Way.  Although the weather was poor and views were almost none existant, the company was excellent and we even managed to find a little snow for Beth.  Butterley Reservoir is only about a 30 minute drive from my house and is a handy place to visit when the visibility is poor because the paths are very easy to follow.  Information boards about the Marsden Moor Heritage Trail has been errected since I was last here almost 2 years ago. 

Although the weather wasn't brilliant when I met up with Simon and Beth in Shaw, the visibility deteriorated very quickly as we gained height on our way over to Marsden.  I parked the car near the end of Binns Road and set off along the wide Kirklees Way.  Although the reservoirs were very calm, the reflections were poor because of the fog. We passed a number of sheep grazing on the steep reservoir banks.  They seemed to be balanced very precariously above the water.  It wasn't long before we reached the Pennine Way. 

The Pennine Way left the easy gradient of the Kirklees Way and descended 80 feet via a steep slippy slope down to the Wessenden Clough.  Wessenden Clough is the quiet narrow valley that carries Wessenden Beck from Wessenden Reservoir down to Blakeley Reservoir. 


We crossed the narrow footbridge and stopped for a while to photograph the small waterfall in Blakeley Clough, then it was time to start the steep ascent up to the water tank almost 130 feet above us.  This was the trickiest part of today's walk.  We were all glad to have a short breather when we reached the top of the climb.  From here we followed the Pennine Way across the side of Black Moss to two small reservoirs.  Swellands and Black Moss reservoirs were built in 1794 to provide water for the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.  Unfortunately on November 29th 1810, the Swellands reservoir failed. The Colne valley from Marsden to Paddock was inundated and many mills and factories wrecked under the force of the waters. Six people lost their lives during this terrible 'Black Flood'

We continued to follow the Pennine Way until we had almost reached the A62.  At this point the Pennine Way turns northwest, whilst the Kirklees Way heads northeast.  We turned northeast and followed the Kirklees Way along the remains of the old turnpike road until we reached the old road down to Marsden.  Although the old road carries much less traffic than the main A62 we still had to dodge a few cars before we reached the footpath that took us across the Butterley Reservoir dam and back to the car. 

Although not the best conditions for a walk across the bleak pennine moors, we had managed to get out for a couple of hours and even stayed fairly clean as well.  Thankfully neither Beth nor I had had any problems with our new boots.  Thanks once again to Simon and Beth for their company.

 

Route & Planning

Details and Route Map

Photo Opportunities

Walk Profile

The route map shown here should not be used as a replacement for the appropriate map(s). Before attempting the walk you should check the suitability of this route in relation to your capabilities and experience.