Harden Moor RFM Blue Line Wednesday Walk
We met below St Ives in Harden, the same place as last week. There were 3 of us this week Jane, Venka and me. It was straight to a hill. This walk is basically one uphill, a walk along then a down hill.
Moor Edge High Side is a steep street with a long terrace of wonderful stone houses. Its a tough start to the walk.
I loved the tree on the parched slope looking over towards Cullingworth. Our way was more like a lane.
These houses were subject of some discussion between the girls. They looked nice to me. Then we were into the woods.
The path is powdery dry and the light in the wood is divinely dappled but the way is steep. The clue is in the name Deep Cliff Hole.
We watched a Jay for a while in the trees. It was really close and we got some great views but my photo was rubbish.
Heading up Deep Cliffe was a real challenge. This path is a serious scramble with a high dangerous drop off on the left. Only the bravest will head up here.
Finally we got to the top and the path was easier. The views were longer but still scorched.The hills to the south were fine to see.
I love these kind of paths easy to follow and some shade. In the hazy view on the right you can just see the viaduct at Cullingham.
Looking across the valley it is very orange and brown in this extended drought.
More photos by Jane. Its great to add other photos as well as mine. Keep them coming and I'll add them to the blog.
We turned from the view south and headed into the bracken. We did find some Billberries and most were quite sweet.
I joked about the stone circle being where the girls of the Aire Valley sacrifice their chickens but it turns out to be the remains of a Neolithic ring cairn which could be about 5000 years old. Incredible. I am seriously so impressed. I thought they were modern.
We crossed the moor which is relatively easy but it is a long way. The pylons are dominant as there are 2 lines of them but they do not spoil the restful open feeling of the moor.
After crossing Midgeham Flat we dropped off the moor down to the road above Shaw Quarry. In the distance down the road we could see the infamous town of Keighly, a place with a terrible reputation for drugs, racial and social problems. It looks great and is surrounded with hills. It should be a desirable place not a sinkhole.
We had a selfie close to this field of cows. This was a mixed breed herd and we tried probably with different degrees of success to identify the breeds. No Belted Galloways so I was a bit stuck.
We left the views of Keighly behind us and headed up the lane towards Hainworth shaw.
The sheep or goats were odd shapes and colours in this little paddock. A cluster of bee hives in the corner of this field on the right were good to see.
We were still climbing up the lane and the views were hazy over Keighly towards the hills of the Dales. There were a lot of refurbished buildings or new builds which looked either great or very ordinary.
On we went back up to the high land past fields which seemed to have more horses than any other animals.
The views were glorious.
It was quite a long walk as we headed over the dry lane to the Keighly Road.
Crossing the road we walked past a parked car with 4 guys in it who wouldn't look at us, dodgy or what. We then passed 2 cars with a man and woman stood talking next to. That looked like a tryst. Is that a word? or have I read too many Victorian novels. After the human interest we headed right towards St Ives.
We were now going downhill past the golf course and through the wonderfully cool woods.
This rock has got the dubious fame of being the place where Lady Blantyre read her books. Its a nice rock. It would have been a better story if it had fallen on her.
It was not an easy descent down through the trees and areas of cut trees to the west of the lake. We eventually got to the entrance and Pete soon turned up to whisk Jane away.
OS Map
https://explore.osmaps.com/route/32933254/harden-moor-rfm-blue-line?lat=53.84764&lon=-1.86873&zoom=13.8786&style=TopoAuto&type=2d
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