The next three recces I had planned were so complicated I ended up with a spreadsheet detailing where we were staying, where we were running from and to, where we were then going and what times the trains ran. Overall we wanted to head South as that was (is) where home was (is). However I also wanted to run the Pennine Way South to North as that was (is) the way the Spine Race goes.
I had the first stage divided into three sections which (with some small extra bits at the start and/or finish) could be done by train. The plan was to stay in accommodation at the North end of the recce section, leave the car there for the day, take the train to the South end, run back and then drive down to our next accommodation at the North end of the next day’s run, which is where this days started – simple eh?
Anyway the net result of all the planning was that our first recce would be from Mardsen, we would pick up the Pennine Way at Standedge and run to Hebden Bridge. I had booked us, what fortunately turned out to be, a lovely B&B in Hebden Bridge on the canal (I didn’t know at the time but I ran past it at the start of the second leg of the Spine Race) it also had a very nice pub a stone’s throw away so we took advantage of a nice sunny afternoon when we arrived and sat outside the pub with some rehydration fluids until it was time to check into our B&B.
The B&B was lovely and came with a scone on arrival, wine in the room and a very friendly little dog – and a very obliging landlady called Susy who was prepared to get up to make us breakfast at 7am as we were intending to get the 8:33am train from Hebden Bridge station, about three quarters of a mile away.
We ate in the pub that night, had breakfast the next morning and arrived at the station in plenty of time to purchase tickets. We even managed the train changes correctly and even, even managed to get a cup of tea at Huddersfield station – so far my meticulous planning was paying off!
So what do I remember of this section from the Spine Race? Well, it was dark when I did it but a few things stand out. The Bog – that definitely stands out. Nicki’s Food Bar is a more pleasant memory – shortly before the Bog. The M62 crossing – shortly after the Bog. Reservoirs and Stoodley Pike Monument, and it was unpleasantly steep downhill on tarmac into Hebden Bridge.
From Marsden station we took roads and a barely existent footpath up to the Standedge Trail, which joins the Pennine Way.
Standedge provided some good views and was negotiated fairly uneventfully. Shortly afterwards we found one of those stones which tells you exactly where you are in a way which is almost entirely unhelpful from a navigational perspective. fortunately the path was obvious and with occasional reference to the GPS we weren’t in need of any additional directional assistance.
Soon we reached Nicki’s Food Bar. As we were less than half way into our run we resisted the temptation to stop, instead I turned my attention to more important matters – where was the Bog? My impression was that the van was at a different place in the layby to where it was that fateful night but I’m fairly sure I found the Bog. To be honest I was slightly reassured to find it was basically on the path as it made me feel a little less stupid to have stumbled into it!
Shortly after the Bog we crossed the very impressive footbridge over the M62.
I was fairly certain I was going to enjoy the next section along Blackstone Edge much more than I did on the race itself. This was partly due to the fact it was daylight this time but mainly because I wasn’t coated in bog up to just below my dangly bits. Things were further improved as the cloud lifted a bit and we had some lovely blue skies to run under.
There are many unusual sights on the Pennine Way. I noticed a stone windbreak on Blackstone Edge, much like those favoured by German naturists in Fuerteventura. What I didn’t expect was that it too would be occupied by naked men…
Anyway, as the sun was shining and the sky was blue, here are a few pictures on Blackstone Edge (none feature naked men of any nationality).
A short section of the Old Packhorse Road took us to the Broad Head Drain, which we followed to the A58, where crossed, reluctantly passing the White House Pub to Blackstone Edge reservoir.
I remembered the reservoirs quite well. They are slightly interesting to run past on a sunny day but in the dark they were very dull,especially as – due to earlier over-exertions – I couldn’t manage much more than a fast walk by this point.
We were now heading towards the last significant landmark on this leg of the journey, Stoodley Pike Monument. Rather than pretend to know stuff I will quote the ‘Visit Calderdale’ website:
The 121 foot (37 m) high Stoodley Pike Monument dominates the skyline above Todmorden, sitting atop Stoodley Pike, a 1,300-foot (400 m) hill The monument was designed in 1854 by local architect James Green, and completed in 1856 at the end of the Crimean War.
The monument replaced an earlier structure, commemorating the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris. It was completed in 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo, but collapsed in 1854 after decades of weathering and a lightning strike.
Last time I was here it was dark. That was possibly a good thing as Stoodley Pike Monument is one of those structures that never seems to get closer. The path was also a lot more undulating than I remembered…
Eventually we arrived at the monument and climbed the 39 steps in pitch darkness to its viewing balcony. Sharon complained about me using my phone torch to negotiate the steps and abandoning her to the darkness but to be honest it provided enough light to see about six inches in front of my face and didn’t illuminate the steps at all. fortunately I remembered I was carrying a 900 Lumen head torch for the way out.
From here it was a fairly straightforward run into Hebden Bridge – although it is necessary to be aware that, as is often the case, the Pennine Way doesn’t follow the biggest or most obvious path. The Way turns off Dick’s Lane across some fields, past a disused quarry, through a small bog (obviously) before finally reaching a farm track. If anyone is wondering, I have no idea if the earlier naturists hang out in Dick’s Lane.
Once on the track the only other potential navigational embarrassment is missing the small path where the Spine Race route diverts from the Pennine Way into Hebden Bridge. This leads to a path, which becomes a cobbled road and finally a steep downhill tarmac road. On the race, at the canal you go into Hebden Bridge to the checkpoint. We turned left and followed the canal on the route the Spine Race leaves Hebden Bridge as it took us towards the pub and our car.
So the first of our three recce runs on the first leg of the Spine had gone well. We didn’t get lost and no bogs were fallen in – which is about as good as it gets on the Pennine Way for much of its length. We drove to Marsden to our next accommodation in the New Inn. As I was hungry I ordered a New Inn burger. It was just as well I was hungry…
The next section of our recce would take us from Torside to Standedge. I could remember nothing about this section so assumed it would be fairly dull and uneventful…
The Only Way Is Pennine... 