Wadsworth Moor and High Brown Knoll
Start and Finish: National Trust Car Park at Hardcastle Crags at Bridge End
Approximate time for the walk: 4 hours
Distance: 6 and a half miles
Landscape: Moorland, rivers and forest.
Map: O/S Outdoor Leisure South Pennines
Description of the walk:
This walk starts at the National Trust Car Park at Bridge End. From the car park, go left down the road over the bridge, passing the toilet blocks. Just after the toilet block, turn left up a walled path. Carry on straight ahead, taking the 2nd left hand path (a bridleway sign for Pecket Wall). Continue straight ahead and cross over a beck. Climb up the other side of the beck and turn left by a way mark sign. Continue on this path which leads to a road. Cross over the road and take the path opposite. Reach the next road and turn right down the road for 200 yards.
1. Immediately turn left at the Calderdale Way. Walk up to the cottage and go left to meet a green lane. Continue straight ahead, you will reach a folk in the path. Turn right on the right-hand branch and continue straight ahead to reach an unmade road. Now take the walled path opposite Old Town Slack Farm. When this vehicle track swings right of the farm, go straight ahead, passing over the stile and to open moor. Now turn right round a wall corner. In a few yards, the track bears left with Moor side Farm to your right. Carry on to reach a track junction. At this junction, take left-hand (blue arrow) path and continue along this path.
2. This track leads to an old house comes into view in 50 yards. Just past the house, the path forks. We take left-hand path which leads onto Wadsworth Moors. Continue straight ahead for 600 yards. You will now reach marker posts. Carry straight ahead on this track (take no diversions) off the main path.
3. This track leads to a wall end. Immediately, take a sharp turn left. Follow this path for 500 yards until the wire fence turns right to cross a beck. Continue straight ahead on this path. This leads to a stone bridge. Do not go over cross the bridge but turn left, with the white channel on your right. Follow this path for a few hundred yards which leads to another blue marker post. Turn sharply left here to walk to another blue marker post after another few hundred of walking. Continue walking on the path, passing a few posts. This path leads to High Brown Knoll. This leads to a cross path. Just beyond the cross track is another blue marker. Continue straight ahead pass the blue marker over the moor to get a wide cross track. Turn left along the wide track and go straight ahead to descend off the moor.
4. Continue to reach the road. At the road, turn left for just 100 yards and then turn right over a stile, next to a gate. Continue down the path straight-down taking no diversions to reach the road. Once you reach the road, turn right. Walk straight ahead for just about 200 yards and turn left over a bridleway sign. Follow the path down hill and turn right over Lumb Bridge. Continue up the path to where the path swings left. Follow the path to the left with it. Continue straight ahead along the path.
5. This path reaches a walled track. Turn left along this track. Follow this track all the way back (take no diversions) all the way back to National Trust Car Park overflow car park. Turn left down a path, to reach lower car park. This where the walk finishes and concludes.