Pennine Bridleway - Hurstwood to Tonacliffe (★★★★☆)

Today we are setting out for the first of two days that will be spent completing the western half of the Mary Towneley loop of the Pennine Bridleway - after which we will have completed the Pennine Bridleway in full.

The Mary Towneley referenced here was the inspiration behind this trail, and a campaigner for long-distance equestrian trails - and this loop was one of the first sections of the Pennine Bridleway to open - providing a rare opportunity for horses to have a long-distance stroll across the countryside.

But our first challenge of the day will be that of getting to our intended spot in the trail - the point where the Pennine Bridleway at the northern end of the Mary Towneley loop - and here my plan is to take the train to Todmorden, and then catch the 591 from there to a stop opposite the far end of Salterford Lane.

Getting to the trail

Having headed out by train, and then by bus, we arrive at that stop, and from here Salterford Lane proves to be the quiet country lane that we had hoped it to be - and soon we are turning off this road onto an even quieter one, that will take us across to the village of Hurstwood.

From here we initially follow the route of the Burnley Way - but then drop onto a permissive path heading up the western side of Hurstwood Reservoir, and this drops us off slightly to the south of the split in the Pennine Bridleway.

Heading up the eastern side of Hurstwood Reservoir

This means that we need to walk a short distance in the wrong direction (so that we can properly complete the loop) - but having met up with the split point, we can quickly check that no one is going to spot the unusual maneuver we are about to perform, and complete a one hundred and eighty degree turn, to head back down the trail.

Following the Pennine Bridleway to Tonacliffe

With this administrative side of things over, we can now get one with the task of following the trail until we reach our intended stop point - and this means heading back past Hurstwood Reservoir, and following it to it's furthest end (now on it's eastern side).

At the far end of the reservoir we turn, and start to cut across to our next reservoir - Cant Clough Reservoir, and here our path heads along the dam of this second reservoir.

Reaching Cant Clough Reservoir

Walking along the dam

From here we are following a good path out from the reservoir (heading south), and we soon meet up with both a road, and the first of a number of wind farms we will pass today - Coal Clough Wind Farm.

Heading out from Cant Clough Reservoir

And making our way round towards the road (looking back here)

Having reached the road, we are initially running parallel to it along our own little path, before we cross over and start walking through the fields on the far side.

But we don't spend too long walking through the fields before we reach a gate, and here we pass through the gate and start to head down off this ridge.

This gives us some nice views out across the valley ahead - and our time enjoying these views is extended by the meandering route this path takes off this ridge.

Starting to head down into the valley

And now closing in on Holme Chapel

Up ahead of us at the base of this valley lies Holme Chapel - and through this village runs the River Calder.

A few miles to the south-east of here lies Heald Moor, and the River Calder runs eastwards from there, through Todmorden - and on through Hebden Bridge, Sowerby, Dewsbury, Wakefield, and Castleford (after which it flows into the River Aire and on into the North Sea).

This is a well known river, known for both it's contribution to the growth of the textile industry in the Calder Valley, and for being a popular place to live these days - but at the same time, an entirely different river to the one we are about to cross.

We are about to cross a River Calder that flows westwards from Heald Moor, down through Holme Chapel - and then on through Burnley to meet up with the River Ribble near Clitheroe (before flowing into the Irish Sea).

Now here the use of Calder is not particularly unexpected - for it is a name that ultimate derives from the Celtic world for rapid (or perhaps rocky) river - and indeed there are a number of River Calders that can be found across Britain.

But in all my walking I don't think I have yet found a set of geographic features that are so close together that have managed to still end up with the same name.

At some point someone would have realised that something must have gone a bit wrong in the translation, and that it would be handy for the two rivers to have two unique names.

But as it is, there is a Yorkshire River Calder that flows eastwards from Heald Moor (that we will meet up with tomorrow), and a Lancashire River Calder that we are now about to cross.

This crossing is done at Holme Chapel - and having made it over to the far side of the river, we can start to head up the opposite ridge, until our path is blocked by the passage of the railway.

And here we very briefly run parallel to the railway, before we can swap over, and follow it on it's far side.

Now on the far side of the railway

But we are only companions for so long before our path starts to turn away from the route of the railway, and start to slowly climb up the ridge.

And before long we reach a farm where our path shifts, and start to head more directly up this steep ridge - and at the top of this ridge we find a tribute to the Mary Towneley who helped created this trail.

A tribute to Mary Towneley that sits at the top of the steepest bit of the climb

And this here is probably a good spot to break off into a chat about the reason why Mary became such a strong campaigner for bridleway access in this area.

The National Parks and Access to the Country Side Act of 1949 established a framework for creating national parks, protecting natural beauty, and securing public access to the countryside.

But whilst this was a great and noble thing that us walkers benefit from immensely - a clumsy application of the rules meant that many bridleways could be downgraded to footpaths - and this left horse riders with very limited access to these national parks.

Mary Towneley was one of the campaigners who pushed for increased equestrian access - and in a move to highlight the challenges set out to ride with friends from Hexham in Northumberland to Ashbroune in Derbyshire.

Mary was a Lady, and therefore a person who was able to attract some attention - and she is credited as the key inspiration behind the creation of this trail - and to highlight this influence, it was Princess Anne (another keen horse rider) who suggested naming this loop after Mary.

From here we continue to climb further up the ridge, passing an activity quarry on our way to meet up with the route of the A671.

Here it would be possible to simply cross the A671 at this point (if the path went that way), but instead we follow this road for a bit, before then crossing it, and then heading back to almost exactly where we started.

Why we do this I don't know, but since the path we have is good, we may as well follow it, and then we find ourselves running parallel to the equally busy B6238.

As we go a bus passes us - and here I look up what the possibilities are for bus connections to this point - and here there is good and bad news.

If you wish to head to Bury or Rawtenstall, then you are in luck - for we are about to pass a bus stop with an hourly service in that direction. 

But if you wish to head from Bury or Rawtenstall, or towards Burnley, then you have less luck, because there is no corresponding bus stop on the opposite side of the road - and instead the nearest bus stop when travelling in that direction sits by the quarry.

So that does offer options in terms of breaking up a walk, but only if it is convenient for your onward travel to be done in a very particular direction (buses do pass through in the other direction, they just won't stop for you).

But today we needn't worry about such matters, as we are about to head away from this B-road, cut up on the ridge, and then turn left, and run parallel to the road - as we both head on towards the village of Water.

Heading towards Water

As it happens, the village of Water is fairly appropriately named - and the valley here not only draws an impressive amount of water down into the River Irwell (which runs between Bacup and Rawtenstall), but also onto our path, as we make our way through (and out of) the village.

And whilst the quality of paths today has generally been very good today, there have been sections of path where the path has sat below a higher bank - with this meaning that water has flown freely down from the higher bank, onto a path that's really become just a drainage channel for the wider area.

This section has one of the worst such examples, and the path itself is more a stream than a byway - and this does make for a somewhat frustrating walk through this valley.

But we do eventually break through the worst of the soggy section of path, as we start to head on towards Edgeside.

The views make up for a soggy path

Once we get down to Edgeside, we start a section of path that isn't that exciting - as we head along the local roads through this fairly suburban area -  but we do eventually get through, and reach a road that starts taking us up onto the next ridge. 

For now we are staying with this road, but at Cowpen we are able to turn off - and continue this steep climb up to the very top of the ridge above.

As we head up over the ridge, we rapidly turn our back upon the urban base of the valley, and get to enjoy the quiet moorland that now surrounds us.

Heading up the ridge to the moorland above

Eventually we reach Black Hill, and the top of this ridge - and from here we will be making our way along the ridge, before we will eventually start our last descent of the day.

Here we also find England's second largest wind farm - Scout Moor Wind Farm - which according to the brochure is capable of providing enough electricity for 40,000 homes - and with the wind blowing today, it will be producing plenty of electricity.

Looking across at Scout Moor Wind Farm

Whilst these wind farms are a modern addition to this landscape, up ahead we can see evidence of older modifications to the landscape, as we head pass what was once a stone quarry.

Passing the spoil heaps

Once upon a time, this landscape was littered with tramways - and these worked to help move the heavy stone off the moorland - with this stretch being one of the main sections of tramway (see below where the blue and red lines overlap).

Map of the tramways, with the rough position of our route in blue, Source: Valley of Stone

One of the trains, Source: Valley of Stone

Not a lot of evidence remains of those tramways or quarries, aside from the exposed rock and spoil heaps - but our main focus here moves away from these quarries, towards the views that exist looking out from this ridge.

And in particular - and as we make our way further along the trail - we get some nice views out across Cowpe Reservoir (which sits underneath this ridge).

On the way past Cowpe Moss

Looking down across Cowpe Reservoir (with Cragg High Level Tank at the top)

Throughout this whole section it must be said that the path has been very good, but as we continue on the composition of the path continues to change - with the next section seeing some large flagstones laid, before we get into a section with some unusual bricks in the path.

Following the flagstones

Now following a brick road (with Scout Moor Wind Farm behind)

But we are not just following any brick road, for this is a famous road that goes by the name of the Cotton Famine Road.

Back in the 1860s there was a period of time when overproduction in the textile industry led to an excess supply in finished goods, causing the price of textiles to collapse - and this was then followed by a collapse in the price of raw cotton.

But whilst the price of raw cotton initially fell due to an oversupply - a subsequent reduction in imports (with supplies also being impacted by the American Civil War) led to a subsequent jump in the cost of raw cotton.

The result of these two developments was that there was a period of time when the textile industry in this area was disrupted - leaving a large number of cotton mill workers unemployed.

Many of these workers lived hand to mouth, and so a period of unemployment was more than a mere inconvenience - and so aiming to avoid a humanitarian crisis, the Public Works Act of 1864 was passed.

This meant that local authorities could borrow money for approved public works (alongside contributions from local businesses and individuals) - with unemployed workers then being put to work on the rebuilding of sewerage systems, the cleaning rivers, the landscaping of parks and the surfacing of roads.

Eventually cotton prices, and supplies, normalised - but one of the projects that was completed was the construction of what is now known as the Cotton Famine Road.

This road was supposed to be part of a wider project that would see land drained and farmstead established - but in the end, the deep peaty soil put an end to the wider ambitions of the project - which were ultimately abandoned.

But by the end of the scheme, a third of a million stone setts had been hewn and set across this stretch of moorland, with drainage also being installed alongside.

Projects like these probably saved the lives of those workers - and today we have to try and be appreciative of the work that was put into this road - that provides a lovely dry route across this otherwise wet stretch of moorland.

A view out towards the wind farm from further down the path

Looking out towards one of the reservoirs above Wolstenholme

From here we continue to follow this road down the hill, but as we make our way down to what looks to be a car park, we turn to the left, and start walking the local roads.

There are houses along these roads, but only very occasional and fairly isolated ones - but soon we make it round to Wallbank, where we are greeted by a modern housing estate.

But here we do not head through this estate, and instead cut into some foods, and find ourselves briefly walking along the former Rochdale-Bacup railway line (that was fully opened by 1881, and which ceased to run passenger services in 1947 - with good trains running until 1967).

But we don't follow this for long, and we soon take on quite a meandering - and slightly wet - route that takes us across the River Spodden, and across to the main road.

And here our journey for now comes to an end - for here we have access to the regular bus services that run between Accrington and Rochdale - and my plan here is to head into Rochdale, and then onto Manchester for the night.

Then tomorrow I will head back out along the same route, and continue this journey to the end of the Mary Tonwneley Loop.

Total Distance: 20.8 miles (18.4 miles on the Pennine Bridleway)

Total Ascent: 3,058ft (2,582ft on the Pennine Bridleway)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click for the adjoining sections of the Pennine Bridleway from Tonacliffe to Littleborough and from Hebden Bridge to Greenfield

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 103 and 109 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, but there are a few overlapping trails on the map (which can make some navigation awkward)