Pennine Way - Marsden to Hebden Bridge (★★★★☆)

Today the plan is to walk the Pennine Way from Marsden to Hebden Bridge, having walked from Edale to Marsden on the previous day. 

I stayed overnight in Huddersfield, and so it is a short train journey back to Marsden - before I set off up Peel Street (it should probably be called the High Street), where I am able to stop off at a local bakery to fuel up for the day.

From here I head back through town, up the long series of steps to the path above Butterley Reservoir, and start following this reservoir round until it comes to a halt - and after that it is time to walk past Blakeley Reservoir.

Having made it past Blakeley Reservoir, it is time to drop down, cross over the feeder stream between reservoirs, and then climb back up the steep slope on the far side.

Bridge and path up the far side

The view from the top

Here we have rejoined the Pennine Way - and having made it up to the top, the landscape is as bleak as it had been towards the end of the previous day - and from here we make our way across Black Moss, until we reach Black Moss Reservoir.

Black Moss Reservoir

From the far side

Here we work our way round the reservoir, and then continue on towards Redbrook Reservoir - with sunshine now visible on our left, but some fairly miserable-looking cloud on our right.

Redbrook Reservoir and plenty of cloud

I have walked here before when walking the Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Huddersfield to Stalybridge - although on that occasion I was walking on the far side of the reservoir.

In some ways this is an odd thing to say, because we are quite a long way above the canal here - but what makes the Huddersfield Narrow Canal so special is that it has a 3.2 mile long tunnel, that runs under this ridge.

And so when walking the canal, I followed the towpath to Marsden - and then initially headed out from Marsden along the old packhorse route (horses went over the top), before turning off to track as directly over the top of the tunnel as possible - taking me past on the far side of this reservoir.

And as we clear this reservoir - and meet up with the A62 - we pass directly over the top of both the canal and rail tunnels, on their way between Marsden and Diggle.

Here we mark our first encounter (whilst physically on the Pennine Way) with the three trans-Pennine canals - with the second encounter set to come at the end of the day (the Rochdale Canal), and the third to come just before we reach Gargrave (the Liverpool & Leeds Canal).

But as it is today, we don't really get much feel for the canal as it passes us underground - and we are soon on the far side of the road and looking out at the valley below (you can take a look at it as you pass through Marsden without much extra walking).

Passing Brun Clough Reservoir just before the road crossing

The view out towards the valley below

The obligatory finger post photo

From here we are walking along a very pretty ridge through Castleshaw Moor - and as we go, the view out across the lower ground keeps evolving.

From some rocks

Towards Cattleshaw Reservoirs

After a while, we start to pull away from this ridge - and instead start heading towards our next road crossing.

From the road till now, we have been following the old packhorse route across the top of the ridge - and if we were barge horses, we would now be turning right instead of left - and heading on to Marsden (with it being a 2.5 mile walk to Tunnel End in Marsden from here).

As it is though, we are turning left - and here we leave any reference of that canal behind - and start heading across to White Hill, and then on to cross the A672, and then over the top of the M62.

The motorway crossing

Here a new improved path is going down, and it is already in place to support our feet on the next climb up - which will take us on towards the Aiggin Stone (which I don't photograph as I figured it was just a Pennine Way marker) - and this is believed to be a marker of a medieval road (built on top of an older Roman Road).

Looking back towards the motorway

And after passing this Aiggin Stone, we continue on, and head past an old quarry (here I briefly lost the path for a bit) - and there are are plenty of quarried rocks just lying around on the ground, along with clear signs of former buildings or operations.

Presumably all part of the former quarry

And whilst I couldn't get a very pretty photo of it, but here you also have a nice view out towards Chelburn Reservoir - which is of interest given what lies ahead on our route.

Chelburn Reservoir

Back in the late 1700s the Rochdale Canal was being built, and with the summit lying just the other side of the mound in the above photo it had a water issue, as there were a lack of natural streams and rivers that could feed it at this summit.

The solution that was devised was to install two reservoirs - one at Chelburn (as in the photo), and a second on higher ground (Blackstone Edge Reservoir). 

These two reservoirs were completed in 1798by William Jessop and the Rochdale Canal Company, making them among the oldest in the UK (there are reservoirs supporting mining operations which can be a decent amount older) - and played a key role in keeping boats and trading moving along the Rochdale Canal (which runs alongside the River Calder below).

And from here we soon join up with a road - where we find The White House pub - and continue on to reach the recently mentioned Blackstone Edge Reservoir.

Blackstone Edge Reservoir

From the opposite end

Following the construction of these two reservoirs, a later act of 1807 allowed for the construction of further reservoirs to feed the Rochdale Canal - resulting in the construction of Whiteholme and Light Hazzles Reservoirs - and these are the next reservoirs we meet whilst walking along the Pennine Way.

The view out across the valley

Looking back from the southern end of Light Hazzles Reservoir

Light Hazzles Reservoir

And finally, we finish up our run of reservoirs with Warland Reservoir - and it was once again one that was built by the Rochdale Canal Company - but between 1850 and 1857 - and featuring what was at the time one of the largest dams in England.

When the canal was closed these reservoirs reverted to being used to store water to supply homes and businesses - although this does mean that they are no longer able to supply the Rochdale Canal now that it has been restored and reopened - which can cause water supply issues on that canal.

 

Otherwise Warland Reservoir is notable for having boats were sunk into this reservoir during World War II - with this being done to prevent any German seaplanes from landing. And if the water levels are low, you may be able to spot these on your way past (and this comment might answer any questions you might have as a result of that).

Warland Reservoir

View out from the base of the reservoir

Warland Drain

From here we follow Warland Drain - which was designed to channel water off the boggy peatlands into the reservoirs.

But from here we are more generally heading towards Stoodley Pike Monument - which starts to be visible in the distance.

View out across the Calder Valley

Stoodley Pike Monument coming into view

Stoodley Pike Monument was installed in 1856 at the end of the Crimean War, and replaced an earlier structure that was installed in 1815 (which commemorated the defeat of Napoleon and surrender of Paris after the battle of Waterloo).

That earlier monument collapsed in 1854 after a lightning strike, but this newer monument looks a lot more solid - and using a bit intelligence, a lightning rod was also added in 1889 (with the tower having been struck by lightning a number of times).

It is a fairly short walk from Todmorden to this monument, but our path takes us directly up to it, and after that we continue on along the ridge.

Thanks to some research done now that I write this up, I can also tell you that there are steps up to the balcony (which may or may not still be accessible as I didn't try to use them).

Approach to the monument

From the far side

Having put the monument behind us, we are slowly starting to drop down off the ridge - initially heading east - before turning to head in a more northerly direction. After which we start to lose height a bit more quickly.

Looking back at the monument

Looking along the valley from lower down

Soon we are making our way across farmland, and then down tracks that head into some woods - and we continue to drop down through the woods - before turning back on ourselves, until we are heading west and slightly south.

Heading directly away from Hebden Bridge

Soon though we reach a bridge that takes us across the canal - and here we leave behind the Pennine Way - as from here we will be following the Rochdale Canal to Hebden Bridge.

Walking the Rochdale Canal

Here the walk along the canal is a nice one - and one I did more fully after first discovering this canal when walking the Pennine Way from Hebden Bridge to Gargrave.

The best of this canal can be explored by walking the canal from Littleborough (just before the summit) to Sowerby Bridge - which I did as part of a slightly longer route, walking the canal from Littleborough to Halifax.

But today we are not on the canal for long, and soon arrive into Hebden Bridge - and here you can slightly overshoot the train station, and then turn right to cross over the canal, and then head up the hill to the far end of the station.

And so our two days on the Pennine Way comes to an end with a very pretty finish in Hebden Bridge.

Hebden Bridge

Total Distance: 20.9 miles (17.0 miles on the Pennine Way)

Total Ascent: 2,418 feet (1,867 feet on the Pennine Way)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click to read the writeup of the next walk along the Pennine Way from Hebden Bridge to Gargrave.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 103, 109 and 110 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Pennine Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is well way-marked.