Howden Moor Walking with my brother

 

Howden Moor

Walking with my brother RFM Blue Line

10/05/24

                             Howden Moor The walk is the blue line.

Map Link  https://explore.osmaps.com/route/21486945/howden-moor?lat=53.487132&lon=-1.796955&zoom=11.9428&style=Standard&type=2d

    This walk began at the car park just off the A628 near the rail tunnels entrances. The first stretch alongside the steam with the A628 traffic thundering past was uneventful. However immediately we started climbing Far Black Clough we heard a cuckoo calling in the wood to our right. What a joyous way to start the day. The climb is steep but good underfoot though the farther up the Clough you get the worse the path becomes. A little bit of scrambling and some narrow points.

At the top of the Clough we turned towards Swaines Head. The path at this stage was really difficult to follow but then this is the case all the way to Cut Gate End which is several miles.

Crossing the moor we encountered little green lizards scurrying into cover from the path edges where they had been sunning themselves. We then saw a barn owl rise from the moor and hunt a little way in front of us. Probably hunting the very lizards we were disturbing.

Most of the time crossing the moor we heard or saw curlews and larks. The underfoot conditions were wet and soggy with deep patches of peat bog. My brother managed to get up to his thighs in one bog. With my help pulling him from behind he managed to extricate himself. A lone walker may have had a more serious issue so beware. 

If you like moors you will like this upland slog. The wet surface, peat, moss, open water and mud make walking treacherous and hard. Pulling feet out of sticky mud is tiring. You feel your physical resource draining away as the unrelenting moor grabs your every step. Crossing gullies and streams becomes a challenge as you have to decide whether a surface is hard or soft. Following footsteps helps but quite often jumping over and stretching across suspect areas is the only option. Sometimes wide detours around particularly soft spots adds distance to your walk. Inevitably many steps end up ankle deep so modern boots are essential. Don’t even attempt such conditions in anything less unless you want to leave your shoes in the bog.

Featherbed Moss lived up to its name soft and yielding. Even Harden Edge was soft and squelchy but eventually we reached Outer Edge Rocks where we had lunch. This was the first and only time we got decent views of the Upper Derwent Valley with the head of the res in the valley bottom.

 

An interesting beetle caught my eye as its iridescent green striped back was hard to miss. I later looked up the species and apparently it is just called a ground beetle.

Around this point the moor was still very wet and we came across a few upland sheep. We saw a middle sized lamb on the path a little way from its mom and for fun I baaed like a sheep. Imagine my surprise when the lamb ran towards me looking for its mother’s safety. Needless to say we indicated where mum was and the pair were re-united. 

Reaching the cairn at Cut Gate End the route turns left and heads down the well-trodden path to the back of Langsett over Midhope Moors. The soft moorlands transformed into a hard stony path for much of the way hurting our feet and jarring our tired legs.

On the way through the rocky section we met a family going the other way. The eldest of the group stopped for a chat. He was proud of the fact that he was still hiking these high trails at 88 years old and I agree with him a true example of its never too old to hike. I hope I am still hiking at 88. To be fair I hope I’m still here at 88.

Langsett res appears in the distance to signal our walk is nearly over but not before a tough hill on the moors to climb and a short steep track from the weir at the head of Langsett res.

 

This is a very strenuous walk with vast areas of moorland to negotiate but it is quiet and peaceful. It seems that the some of the best areas to experience have to be earned. 11.5 hard miles and 1300 feet total ascent is tough but rewarding.