Walk Description

This was a walk over very familiar territory, however toady I walked with a fairly local walking group - The Saddleworth Pedestrians.  Although I have done this walk a couple of times before, I had always walked in the opposite direction.

We set out from the car park below the White House and walked southwards along the Pennine Way.  After the very short steep section up from the road, we walked along Broadhead Drain towards the Roman Road.  We climbed up the remians of the cobbled track and stopped for a while at the Aiggin Stone - an ancient way marking stone.  Then instead of turning south and following the Pennine Way to Blackstone Edge, we followed the Roman Road over the col and down into Yorkshire.  Almost immediately the quality of the path deteriorated and very soon we were trying to find our way over some very deep peaty bogs.  I could hear one of my fellow walkers muttering something about a 'muddy boot' award - a very dubious award for the muddiest/dirtiest walk undertaken by the group.  Thankfully this was just a short section of the walk and we quickly reached dry ground.  We stopped for a snack and soaked up some of the early winter sun.

From here we followed the path towards Green Withens Reservoir and then on towards the M62 motorway, where we joined the Pennine Way.  Just before we reached the Pennine Way, I made a short detour from the path to visit the Two Lads Grave mentioned in Wainwright's 'Pennine Way Companion'.  Thankfully it was looking a little bit better than when I last saw it, but the marker post has disappeared and the engraved stone has been broken onto three.  Once we had climbed back up onto the top of the moor, we found a sheltered spot just off the path and had our lunch in the peace and quiet away from the noise of the motorway.  We than began the steady climb up to the highest part of today's walk - Blackstone Edge.  

The prominent trig point that is now in need of a new coat of paint stands on top of a large boulder.  Nearby is the group of boulders known as Robin Hood's Bed, where confident (foolish???) people can leap across the gap between the boulders and sit inside the hollow of the 'Bed'.  We left the top and meandered our way through the boulders down to the Roman Road and the Aiggin Stone.  From here instead of retracing our stepps down the Roman Road, we followed the narrow track across the open moor and eventually made our way down to the narrow footbridge that spans the Broadwater Drain.  From here it was just a short stroll back to the cars.  It was now only 2pm and although there was enough time to extend our walk, we decided to stick to the original plan and enjoy the early finish.

A big thanks to the members of the Saddleworth Pedestrians who made me so welcome on today's walk.  Unfortunately due to various committments, I haven't managed a follow up walk with the group but hopefully before too long, I'll be able to meet up and enjoy another walk with them.

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.