I drove for 10 minutes from our house on the road towards Oldham and parked up on the A640. I then walked the Pennine Way to the A62 and back. On the way I had a good view over the Castleshaw Reservoirs. When Carol was recovering from her brain haemorrhage we used to walk round the reservoirs and sometimes go up to the Roman fort. It’s quite a big fort and it’s good because not many people go there and it’s only got one notice board telling you what’s what.
I met a man who was training for the Spine Challenger (at first I wondered if this was a charity thing for people with back problems) which is a 108 mile race from Edale to Hawes to be done in 60 hours. He told me he does ultra marathons. I’ve looked this up, it seems to mean longer and harder. Anyway he was certainly going at quite a lick and was aiming for Hebden Bridge. I was therefore a bit surprised when he took off on the path to Oldham! I then spotted him coming across the bog on a diagonal to where I was (on the right path for Hebden), I was nice to him and he told me he had a map and had done a navigation course recently! I should have given him one of our leaflets….but he was off like a whippet.
The following week I started from the same spot and walked north instead. It wasn’t a very exciting walk! I got to the main road that goes from Ripponden to Oldham near the M62 and crossed it into a big refuse area next to a mobile phone mast. I cannot understand how people thought this was a nice place to sit in their cars and look at the view. Acres of crap, the mast and the motorway, lovely Sunday out! I went as far as the motorway and crossed it and then came back the same way. I had to pass some boys throwing stones at nothing in particular. Felt quite depressed after this walk.
Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map and use a compass with me and my navigation partner, Cath.