Meltham Moor RFM Blue Line Walking with Max
Meltham Moor
RFM Blue Line
Walking with Max
30/05/26
Royd Edge Clough was verdant with lush vegetation all the way up the uniform steep slope. It was very good to follow the contour along this greeen path.
We crossed the stream and headed over the farmland on a very well marked path. I only show the kids the route they have always had to find their own way across obstacles and now they often find better ways than me. Max made short work of this stream. Adventure, self reliance and confidence has been open objectives to pass on to the grandkids and I am pleased to say that they all have, or are in the process of, gaining these abilities and attributes. Royd Edge is a very uniform slope and I see from the map there is a path along the top so I will have to incorporate that in another walk.
The hills are getting closer but they still look a long way away and quite high up. We speculated as to why this substantial looking farm had been abandonned and decided it had probably merged with another farm making this set of building unwanted. Today they would have become new homes.
A short stretch of narrow tarmac lead to Ash Royd and then we were on to the green lane called Magdalen Road. This is an ancient road and as it is named after Mary Magdalen it is possibly associated with a lost chapel or even leper house but more likely a specific field or boundary. It actually felt like an ancient way whilst we were on it. Maybe there is some resonance from past travellers embedded in the lane. (Well its better than a conspiracy theory).
I always tell people that when you walk you experience things outside your normal life but you have to be there. These cute little bullocks enrich the soul...... be there!
As we climbed this road towards an area on the map called Magdalen the heat of the day was rising. This weeks heatwave may be waning but it was red hot up here. We paused in a shadow for a drink and a cuckoo called in the woods alongside the road. I see on the map that there is a Magdalen Springs and a Magdalen Clough. Surely there must have been a religious building somewhere in the area for there to be so many Magdalens. I don't know but it is cool to speculate.
The view back down Magdalen Road to Meltham, way down in the valley below and Huddersfield in the distant haze behind the trees, with Royd Clough now visible far below us, just shows how high we have climbed in a relatively short time. This is why we like high places but we are nowhere near the top.
The bulk of Meltham Moor is still over to our left and much higher up but we have reached a watershed with the next valley south, Holme Valley. The photo on the right looking south towards Digley res is an area we have walked over several times.
We pause for a selfie near the A635 and then it is over the road and on to Springs Road down the adjacent valley. This is a curious sight. It is part of the Kirklees Way. This road has a large stone flagged surface at wagon wheel width with deep ruts in the stone formed on both sides presumably by the passage of horse and carts. Where did the road start and end. Was it a salt road. Its close to the modern A635 so is it associated with that route historically. We discussed this whilst we were walking and Max contributed to the speculation. Whatever, the ruts are asking for a story to be told.
We also discussed Black Hill which you can see in the distance. Max, Peter and I had climbed that a couple of years ago but from the other side.
As we passed Nether Lane we could see past the the small group of black cows and the farm, Digley Res which we have walked close to in the past.
The route bent around a deeply wooded little stream. The stone bridge was a little cock eyed but safe. I loved the green moss covered rocks and trees in the cool glade. This was very nice, and cool but we needed to get on. We had a long way to go and hills to climb.
We had been listening to Curlews and watching them flying for ages but this one decided to pose giving us fantastic views of its long beak and larger than expected size. The birds are ground nesting so much of their activity is designed to lure us away from their nests. Lapwings were also in abundance and many were flapping away in the surrounding rough pasture and open moor. Thankfully there must have been plenty of nests around.
We recrossed the A635 at Wassenden Head and followed the Pennine Way on the small section which uses the road. The Wassenden Valley runs all the way down to Marsden with the Pennine Way hugging the right side for about half its length. We were going further east but would encounter the Pennine Way again in a while.
We headed towards West Nab the highest point of Meltham Moor.
We paused at the base of West Nab for a 5 minutes drinks break as we had been walking for about 90 minutes mostly uphill. I was concerned Max did not have enough water but I had brought plenty in reserve. He always underestimates how much he drinks. We were now much higher on rough ground and moorland and the views in all directions were much longer and less agricultural.
A last push up the hill, lead by Max, who quickly sprinted away from me proving his fitness. I am happily a bit single paced. We met a man with his son enjoying the summit. We discussed walking and hills and when they left I was happy to have encountered a kindred spirit because they were the first people we had come across today.
I really like this panorama shot of Yorkshire from the top of Meltham Moor. The heat wave haze adds to the mystique for me. Somewhere you can see Marsden, Slaithewaite, Meltham and Huddersfield.
As quick as we ascended West Nab we were descending down Holy Bank Moor past many more rocks towards Leyzing Clough.
This path was green and very steep much easier going down than up. The Pennine Way was snaking over the hills below us. Our way was off to the right though we nearly missed it.
The route followed a contour on the hillside with the Pennine Way following the valley floor. The further down the valley we went we stayed at the same level whereas the Pennine Way got lower and lower.
It felt odd walking on the level for so long but half way up a hill. Some of the slopes on our left were very steep and it was strictly a case of watching your feet when walking and stopping to have a view. A trip could have been very dangerous.
We chose the steepest slope of all to stop and have our lunch. To be fair it was a comfortable place to sit and the view was pretty good. A long way down though.
All the way down Wasseden we followed the contour and it morphed into a track with easier slopes on our left. The views were beautiful.
We missed our turning to go over the moor on our right which as became evident later was a blessing in disguise. We just could not find a path.
At Black Edge we started to round the hill and leave the valley behind still at the same contour level.
There are the mills in Marsden and the Tunnel Entrances in the valley below us. It has been a long walk to here and we have a long way to go. This is the valley I have been walking around for the last month or so.
We were now on Deer Hill Conduit still at the same level. It was long and flat. In the distance we could see red flags and I was worrying as I knew we had to cross a live firing range. I just hoped we could get through.
We headed up the very steep hill towards Shooters Nab but the sign and the red flags meant we had turn back and try for a re-route. After such a distance, we were about 8 miles form the start, this was a real set back. However there was no option I couldn't risk Max or me getting shot by a stray bullet. If we had crossed the moor earlier we could have stumbled into the range so I was pleased we missed the path.
So I planned an alternate route I hoped would get us back on track. I could see it would be a couple of miles detour but there did not seem to be any hills in the way which was a blessing. The views were still good and we were on the same level.
The first detour was scuppered as the footbridge near the res had been destroyed. I think it was too near the range anyway. I should say that for the last hour or so we had been hearing single gun shots and multiple gunshots on a regular basis but could see no shooters. In fact the range was hidden by vegetation. We walked around the large Deer Hill Reservoir. The next detour was scuppered as the path over the field below us was not visible so we stuck to the lane.
We left Deer Hill End Road and headed down another lane towards Red Lane. This ram in the shade looked very biblicle.
The little cows were resting in the heat, bless them. Since the res we had heard different cuckoos several times but every time I tried to record them they stopped calling. Typical. Red lane was just a rough farm, track. We were getting tired but our spirits were still high. We actually came across a few dog walkers and ramblers here but only a few.
We reached Leygards Lane which we could see was a downhill followed by what looked like a steep hill. I explained to Max that I thought this would be better than going into Meltham via Red Lane and then out again. We were right but it was a really tough hill after 12 plus miles. Finally through some back paths and we were in the car and on our way home. Max had drunk my spare water and I only had a mouthful left so I was pleased there was an extra bottle in the car.
I had to apolgise to max for this 10 mile walk turning into 13 miles. We both felt a sense of achievement as this was a tough 5 hours. We actually kept up a good pace even with an ascent of 1700 feet a lot of the walk was on a level. Well done Max.
OS Map
https://explore.osmaps.com/route/32214193/meltham-moor-rfm-blue-line?lat=53.59109&lon=-1.86955&zoom=14.5632&style=TopoAuto&type=2d
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