Pennine Bridleway - Hebden Bridge to Greenfield (★★★★★)

Today the plan is to complete another section of the Pennine Bridleway - and this is another fairly long stretch starting at Hebden Bridge, and ending at Greenfield - but with the option of being able to split this walk at Littleborough.

By this point I have learned that the Pennine Bridleway is definitely not an easier version of the Pennine Way - and this might in fact be the tougher route. But at the same time it is a very pretty route, and can easily match for the views found along the Pennine Way.

And so I'm looking forward to this walk today, whilst also being aware that this might be a fairly tough day of walking.

But we start the day with a by now familiar trip out to Hebden Bridge - but for once I opt not to head out along the Rochdale Canal, and instead take the easier option of the bus to the point where the Pennine Bridleway and the Pennine Way cross the Rochdale Canal.

Once off this bus, we do indeed cross over the canal - and head up the ridge on the far side, for now walking the same route as the Pennine Way.

It isn't long before we briefly split off from the route of that trail - but this diversion is only there to soften the ascent of our climb - and we're soon back walking with the Pennine Way, until we finally find a turn off to the left, that takes us across the stream and off in the direction of Erringden Moor.

Here we make our way along some nice farm lanes - and are soon heading in the direction of Stoodley Pike Monument.

Heading towards Stoodley Pike Monument

After a jink to the left, and back to the right - we soon once again say hello to the Pennine Way, as it crosses our path.

Path up to the monument on our left

From here the Pennine Way takes a more direct route over the moors, but we are going to be heading further to the west (and covering a fair bit more mileage), before we meet back up with it at Standedge.

As we continue on, it does seem a bit of a shame to be bypassing the monument - and it would be feasible to make a diversion up to the monument, before dropping down to rejoin the Pennine Bridleway.

But this is quite a nice stretch of path, as we make our way round at the half way point up the ridge - with views out over the valley below.

On our way along this ridge, we start to drop down, and give up some hard earned height - and here the monument briefly disappears from view - before once again peaking over the ridge at us (perhaps to tell us off for passing it by without giving it a proper hello).

But as we continue to lose heigh,t we are soon able to look back and see the monument in full, as we make our way past (and beyond) it.

Now well past the monument

From here we start to close in on the houses that are dotted around the Rochdale Canal - and up ahead we have a cluster of houses that form part of the village of Mankinholes.

Heading to Mankinholes

These are very pretty and very twee houses - and here we even pass a horse doing a small section of the Pennine Bridleway, as we walk down the road through the village.

But whilst this is lovely countryside, the roads still retain a bit of a townie mentality - and after I have made it past the horse, a car speeds through in the other direction - and gets a loud shout from a fairly angry horse rider (who is justifiably annoyed at the standard of driving).

Soon we turn off this road, and start following a track - which takes us the short distance round to Lumbutts (which has a very nicely presented pub) - and from here we have a bit of road walking to do along what should be a fairly minor road

The views from this road are lovely, and you can easily imagine yourself having a nice slow drive along here, enjoying the wonderful views - but in reality most drivers are attacking this stretch at speed - and so it best to step well aside as they pass through.

This here is one of the problems with these sorts of areas - we are in the countryside, but we are also very close now to Todmorden - and the town folk of Todmorden clearly do not have much love of the slow life.

But we do eventually get off this road - and back onto a track - and once again we are climbing up the ridge - but only part of the way. And from here we are able to look back and get our last views of the highly visible Stoodley Pike Monument.

Looking back to the monument

As we come up to a bit of a corner on this ridge, the path climbs up more steeply - and then we turn the corner, and start making our way towards Bottomley.

View from the ridge on the corner

Before we reach Bottomley, we pass above Walsden - and here we both get nice views down into that village, and across towards Crook Hill Wind Farm.

Wind farms often get a lot of bad press, but I have a bit of love for nicely placed wind farms on windswept moors - and the turbines here take quite a commanding position on the ridge above Walsden - with the modern turbines providing (in my opinion) a nice backing to the old mills of the Industrial Age.

Walsden and Crook Hill Wind Farm

But the real highlight of this section is the natural shape of the valley - and from here we stay fairly high up on this ridge until Bottomley - where we drop down to once again cross over the Rochdale Canal.

Following the ridge round

Looking back towards Walsden

Heading round to Bottomley

Crossing the canal

The vegetation in this valley is incredibly green given the time of year, and given how dry it has been - but the valley has fairly steep sides, and this is doubly important - because we are about to head up the far side of this ridge.

First we have to cross over a road, and then we follow a track round that initially climbs quite slowly, and then attacks the climb - on a route that runs initially along the very front of the ridge, before moving further into the ridge as we turn through a few switchbacks.

By the time we make it up to the top, our route moves back to the front of the ridge - and here we are follow a road that runs along the very front of the cliffs that line this valley.

On the way, we have been passing round stacks of bricks - and these mark out the ventilation shafts for the railway - which is passing through a tunnel beneath our feet.

Heading up the ridge (and looking down on the canal below)

Proof that we made it to the top of the ridge (we can even see the base of a wind farm)

From the edge of the cliff

The road here doesn't really go anywhere - and that is fortunate because it is a very narrow stretch with no obvious passing points - so if you were to get two cars, one would have to either reverse all the way up, or all the way down the ridge.

All the same, I do pass a car, and here it helps that they come past at a point where there is a bit of a widening of the verge alongside the road.

Whilst this stretch is perhaps not ideal for those with a fear of heights (the path is a road and so wide enough for a car, however), the views out across the valley (and down to the canal) are exceptional here.

But having enjoyed a walk along this ridge, it is eventually time to make the descent back down to meet up with the canal.

And once most of the descent has been completed, we reach a split in the Pennine Bridleway - with the junction here being the southern end of the Mary Towneley Loop (named after the lady who inspired the creation of the Pennine Bridleway).

Here the signage is not particularly good - and so I briefly start walking the wrong way (which is a problem because it would take me an additional 44 miles to complete the loop and return to this point) - but I quickly fix this mistake, and start making my way down to the canal.

Once at the bottom, you do have the option of heading on along the Rochdale Canal for an additional mile to Littleborough train station - and splitting this walk into two - but here we cross over the canal by a lock at the summit.

Crossing a very deep lock at the summit

Having crossed the canal, we can start heading up towards Lower and Upper Chelburn Reservoirs - which were one of two reservoirs built in 1798 to supply water to the canal at it's highest point (here).

The reservoir drain that feeds into the canal

As we make our way up the slope, we will be leaving behind the Rochdale Canal for the last time - and having previously walked (and enjoyed) this section of the canal - on a walk from Littleborough up to Halifax (almost exactly this time last year) - it has been nice to also see the canal from a more elevated perspective.

But now it isn't long until we find ourselves passing Lower Chelburn Reservoir, and then we turn off and start making our way up the ridge above Upper Chelburn Reservoir - as we now start to cross fairly familiar terrain just below the route of the Pennine Way.

Lower Chelburn Reservoir from below (a little baby reservoir)

Looking back across Lower Chelburn Reservoir to our former path

Upper Chelburn Reservoir (a bigger reservoir)

Back to Lower Chelburn Reservoir

And to Upper Chelburn Reservoir

Soon we have made our way around both of the reservoirs - and can now start to head out across a fairly empty stretch of moorland - before cutting round to cross over the A58.

From here we join up with a minor road - and then turn off this to follow an even more minor road, that turns into a track that heads out across the base of Clegg Moor. 

After a while it is nearly time to turn (and head towards Hollingworth Lake) - but ahead of where we are expecting to turn, a way marker tells us to instead take a little shortcut - and here it would seem that the Ordinance Survey guys have once again fallen behind in terms of updating the map, to match what exists on the ground.

I'm not one to turn down an officially sanctioned shortcut - and so appreciating this new route, we start to drop down towards the lake.

Hollingworth Lake is another reservoir - and was another of the many reservoirs in this area built to supply the Rochdale Canal - with the canal needing a fair amount of water at the peak of it's use.

But more importantly in terms of it's history, this lake can be accessed from Smithy Bridge train station (on it's far side to where we are stood) - and this rail access supported it's transformation into a holiday resort (in the 1860s).

The resort itself declined in the early twentieth century (it grew more out of convenience, than due to it's particularly quality) - but whilst it is now mostly used for water supply, Rochdale Council bought boating rights in the 1920s, and developed it into Hollingworth Lake Country Park.

The impact of this can still be seen today - and as we arrive by the lake, we turn onto a road filled with people.

So far today we have barely seen a soul - and so the amount of people takes some getting used to - but it's not long until we clear a Caravan Park, and see a very rapid decline in the number of people walking with us along this road.

Here we are making our way up to Rakewood - which was once a textile-manufacturing village (during the Industrial Revolution).

Once we reach Rakewood, we see signs of that industrial pas, as we pass by the old mills - but more interesting to me is the more modern infrastructure, that comes in the form of Rakewood Viaduct.

Rakewood Viaduct

Our path underneath

The countryside on the opposite side

Looking back towards the viaduct

Motorway crossings are generally something you don't look forward to on walking trails. 

And whilst no walking trails actually cross any motorways (a few do cross dual carriageways), you invariably find yourself heading over via a wobbly bridge, or under via a very depressing underpass.

But this motorway crossing is fabulous - and due to it's height, it manages to cross this valley without seeming to taint it in any way.

And from here we continue to head up the valley - and quickly run into a very lovely old mill. And as we head past, we can see what appears to be the hole where the waterwheel would have once been connected up by the stream.

An old mill

From here we continue on up this track, and then turn back to head back on ourselves (but at a point high up on the ridge) - with views looking down on both the motorway viaduct, and upon the old mill.

Looking down at the M62 Viaduct

Looking down at the mill (and farm sat above)

But now we turn our back on this valley - and start heading out across a section of moorland that is littered with small reservoirs.

And indeed, it is not long before we find ourselves dropping down, and getting ready to head along the eastern end of Piethorne Reservoir.

Looking out towards Piethorne Reservoir

Rooden Reservoir sat behind (on the left)

Along the front of Piethorne Reservoir

Having dropped down onto the far end of the reservoir, we have a climb up ahead of us - which will take us over the next ridge (and across the A672).

Looking down from the opposite ridge

By the time we make it up the ridge, and start getting ready to cross this busy (and very fast road) - we find that the crossing here has recently been upgraded (it has not been remarked on the map yet).

As a result, there is an earlier than expected turn to the left that takes us round to a crossing, and protected path on the far side of this road (whilst the map still shows the original route, where you have to follow the road for a bit, and hope for the best).

This new infrastructure is clearly an improvement - and clearly needed in this day and age (where roads are incredibly fast in rural areas) - but once again the folks at Ordinance Survey could help us out a bit more by being a bit faster to update their maps (they are digital after all).

But despite this criticism of Ordinance Survey, it is great to see how much effort has gone into the Pennine Bridleway - and it is clear that these safer road crossings are a fairly recent addition - so thanks to all that make these things happen.

But once across the road, we are now starting to head round towards Readycon Dean Reservoir - which sits in a fairly steep valley.

And once we make it across to the reservoir, we head across the dam - and then start to make our way along it's far side (although it's obviously it's near side once we have made it across).

Crossing the dam

The route of the water on to the next reservoir

From the far side of the dam

With this trip along the reservoir complete, we turn to the right - and then start to climb up the ridge above - before turning back on ourselves, to follow the route of this ridge - with views down to the road below.

From here it isn't long before we turn to the left, and start to drop down to our next set of reservoirs (by that road) - with this set of reservoirs being Crook Gate Reservoir, Dowry Reservoir and New Years Bridge Reservoir - all of which are fed from Readycon Dean Reservoir.

Once across over the eastern end of Dowry Reservoir, we then cross over the road - and then start to head up yet another ridge.

And once up the ridge,  we turn to the right, and follow a farm lane to a busy crossing of footpaths - where we turn of the left, and start to drop down on the far side of this ridge (where we once again find more reservoirs).

This time we are dropping down towards Castleshaw Upper and Lower Reservoirs (and from our perspective Upper is on the left, and Lower on the right).

Heading down to Castleshaw Reservoirs

At this point I am starting to get reservoir fatigue - but being older reservoirs, they are all beautifully built, and all date back to the days when these things were government funded, and very expensively (but beautifully) done.

And it's an enjoyable trip down, and then between these reservoirs - before we meet up with a road on the far side.

Bending towards Castleshaw Upper Reservoir

Looking across Castleshaw Lower Reservoir (with the village of Delph behind)

Looking back across Castleshaw Upper Reservoir from the far side

We have now (perhaps thankfully) reached the end of this run of reservoirs - and now we are set to begin a section of road walking, albeit along very quiet roads.

But we haven't gone very far before we hit our first point of interest along these roads, as we walk past a Roman Fort.

Here I had assumed from the limited signage on the way past that there wasn't much to see, but having got home and looked up this site, it turns out that I probably should have made more effort to investigate this fort.

Because it turns out that what remains of it is actually in quite good condition (and if you click the link for the source on the image below, there's a load more photos of the fort).

An aerial shot of the fort, Source: Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts

The fort isn't on Open Access land, but there is a footpath that runs along the edge of the field right by the fort, and so I think a bit of a polite potter about is okay to do.

Originally this is thought to have been the site of an older Brigantian settlement (Rigodunum) - but the Roman Fort was built in 79AD, and then replaced in 105AD.

A small settlement then built up around this second fort - and this served a logistical and administrative centre for the area - before being abandoned in 120AD.

The purpose of the fort was to guard the pass through the South Pennines - and from here the road is believed to have passed to the east of Pule Hill, along a similar route to the eastern side of the Standedge Trail. And this in turn formed part of a longer route, running between York and Chester (via Manchester).

But we quickly leave behind the fort, and continue to climb up onto the ridge at Standedge - where we meet up (very briefly) with the Pennine Way, before we turn off, and cut across the A62.

From here we are following the same route I used when walking the Huddersfield Narrow Canal - and starting our descent down into Diggle (via Diggle End).

View to the side once past Diggle End

Here we continue to be able to enjoy some very pretty countryside, and aside from passing by some houses at Diggle End, it is a very rural stretch of path all the way until we arrive into Diggle.

There would have been a point in time when we could have ended our journey here - for there used to be a train station at Diggle - before it closed in 1968.

Diggle train station in the 'good old days'

Every now and then, an effort has been made to restore a station to this spot (and from a walking perspective it would be a very lovely addition) - but whilst there was a point when it was being actively considered, it was dismissed as a non-starter from a financial perspective.

The reason for this was that whilst it would have been far more convenient for train users, it wouldn't have triggered a sufficient jump in additional fare revenue, as most people would simply use this station instead of Greenfield station.

This objection does in my mind rather miss the point of building a train station here - which is precisely so that you could get on the train here instead of getting on the train at Greenfield - but such is the modern world that it comes down to the pounds and pennies of the matter, not to the general view of whether it is a good idea.

We can at least give some thanks to the then Mayor of Oldham, who was kind enough to point out that “Diggle Station is also well placed for hikers to access the Pennine Way” - so thank you Dr Knowles, for you appreciation of those who like to go walking.

But since we can't stop here today, we must continue on - and from here we start a section of road walking, but these are very quiet roads - and in Diggle we have some very considerate drivers.

Once through this section, we eventually turn off the road (after a few wiggles back and forth), and pass by Holly Grove - with views out to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal below.

But this path eventually comes to an end - and here we have one more section to do along these quiet roads, before we turn off, and join a very straight section of path that used to be the Micklehurst Line.

The history of this former train line is closely linked with the history of Standedge Railway Tunnel(s) - with the first (single track) tunnel opening in 1849 - and providing a direct route between Manchester and Leeds for the first time.

But this single track wasn't sufficient, and in 1871 a second tunnel was built - but even then capacity remained a problem along this section of track. 

And so plans were later made to add a third two-track tunnel - taking the total capacity to four lines. And this second tunnel was completed in 1894.

But whilst this would fix the capacity issues through the tunnel, plans also had to be made to expand capacity at the Diggle end of the tunnel. 

And here it was decided that the best option was not to try and extend a railway route that ran along the side of a steep valley, but to lay track along a new route - creating the Micklehurst Line.

Track was laid along the route we are now walking - with this line being completed in 1886 - and four new passenger train stations followed one year later in 1887. Those were built at Staley and Millbrook (near Millbrook), Micklehurst (part of Mossley), Fiezland (directly south of Greenfield train station), and Uppermill (near the centre of Uppermill).

In the end there proved to be only limited demand for passenger services, and so whilst the line only opened to passengers in 1886, these stations quickly closed between 1907 and 1917.

But all the same, this line proved useful in managing the flow of goods traffic along this section of track - and this line was retained until 1966 - when the line was closed between Diggle and Hartshead Power Station (with the power station continuing to use the track between it and Stalybridge for coal deliveries until 1972 - with the power station itself closing in 1979).

These days quite a lot has changed in terms of the rail network in this area - a branch line to Delph has gone, a cheeky little link between Greenfield and Oldham has gone, and these days we are back down to two tracks running through the tunnel.

But hope is there for those that seek it - for the trains travelling through this part of the world are soon (in the next decade or so) set to be able to enjoy the benefits of a newfangled invention called electricity.

And this revolutionary new technology promises to provide faster journeys - whilst there will also once again be sections of this line with three or four tracks (but not here).

But getting back to the walking - it is a good job that they did build (and close) this section of track, for it does provide some nice walking, that is keeping us away from the more urban parts of Uppermill and Greenfield.

And so we are able to enjoy a fairly quiet route down through Uppermill - and then on to Greenfield.

Once we reach Greenfield we eventually turn off to the right - and then make our way across the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, and up quite a steep hill, to the station - from which we can catch our train home.

Total Distance: 25.7 miles (25.3 miles on the Pennine Bridleway)

Total Ascent: 4,288 feet (4,236 feet on the Pennine Bridleway)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

It is another great walk along the Pennine Bridleway, which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite of the National Trails.

Click for a connecting walk along the Pennine Bridleway from Sough to Hebden Bridge.

Click for a crossing walk along the Hudderfield Narrow Canal from Huddersfield to Stalybridge.

Click for connecting walks along the Pennine Way from Marsden to Hebden Bridge, and from Hebden Bridge to Gargrave.

Click for a crossing walk along the Rochdale Canal from Littleborough to Halifax.

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 Bridleway guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.