Wanderings, wonderings, Springsteen and The Chicks
5th June
Withens Clough
This is one of my favourite walks. I did a circuit from the reservoir and skirted round the bottom of Stoodley Pike. Lovely day.
18th June
Sophy and I did another favourite around the Walshaw Dean reservoirs. Not much sun so we brightened the place up ourselves!
20th December 2015 – Cat Stones, Rishworth
Fine until it got too hard to cross any more bog because it became a river.
2nd January 2016 – Widdop
A reccy with Cath, in perfect no visibility conditions!
10th January 2016 – Widdop
Another reccy with Cath, much brighter and colder day.
17th January 2016 – Stoodley Pike
In the snow.
31st January 2016 – Widdop
With Maureen, so very soggy from every angle.
14th February – Withens Clough and Stoodley Pike
Almost felt glad to be alive. Beautiful day with deeply intense light.
Song of the day: Badlands
Last weekend Cath and I walked from the Shepherd’s Rest at Lumbutts around the hill and across to Gaddings Dam. We were checking a route for Cath and generally enjoying being out on the snow. At one point we took a right of way on the map that wasn’t visible on the ground and it was nice to see that our bearings worked out and good to keep in practice. Very chilly but lovely in the sun.
This weekend I walked from the Hinchliffe Arms in Cragg Vale, going up through the woods behind the pub onto the hill. Very soon I met a group of 4 roe deer who scooted away, I walked carefully and came upon them again but they shot off again. After the wood up onto a very icy track to the road above Withens Clough reservoir. It started off lovely and sunny and was almost warm but then fogged over big time and again very nippy in the wind. Across the top of the dam and then a very neat contour along a drain and up by Tenter Wood where cloth used to be dried on tenter hooks (so my friend Babs assures me). Back down past a couple of houses where they’ve made a feature of the footpath and turned it into a lovely dry gravel path. Some geese skating on an icy pond and then the 4 deer again.
Apart from some not very well behaved dogs, an atmospheric walk in the cold and mist, very Bronte-esque!
Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map and use a compass with me and my navigation partner, Cath.
I parked near the Hinchliffe Arms in Cragg Vale. Set off up the track towards Turley Hole B&B and instead of heading down the very boggy bit to the stream, which I had done the last time here with Babs and co. I stayed on the track going past an old farm sign saying “If you haven’t been invited, stay away”. As the sign was very old and I was on a public right of way, I ignored this charming command.
The path rises up and goes alongside an old wood, then past a couple of houses, great remote spot. There were some large pedigree dogs here (no, I don’t know what they were, sort of pinky grey colour, smooth coats) but they were well behaved and closely supervised, however I should have got my walking poles out in advance. (Remembering my encounter with a horrible Swiss dog, where I defended myself by crossing the poles in front of me for protection, shouting at it helped too.)
Then I was up on the moor, and took a right heading towards Tenter Wood. This section was quite boggy but OK with gaiters on.
At the end of Tenter Wood, I headed left along a terrace towards Withens Clough reservoir. This is a lovely part and although not dramatic like the Climbers’ Traverse on Bowfell or the Heather Terrace on Tryfan, still has a soothing feel to it, and today it was inspiring looking across to the turning leaves and swathes of colour.
The terrace ends up at the reservoir, where they have finally finished all the construction work, many months overdue. I circuited the reservoir noting that Yorkshire Water seem to have gone mad for fencing. Fences against walls, fences where no-one in their right mind would want to go. But they have improved some of the track and some gates.
At the dam end, they have taken down a hideous building and replaced it with guess what? Well you decide. I can’t make out what it’s for but it has a letter box, although it doesn’t look like a house. They’ve put up a great wind turbine, which was whizzing round madly despite there not really being much wind. Is it me, but wouldn’t a water turbine have made more sense?
Nice walk to keep my feet in!
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| Add caption |
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| Got the self timer working |
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| The old building, photo by Mark Anderson |
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| Wind turbine and new building |
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| Surely not a house? |
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| Just buy a longer chain |
[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Withens+Clough+Reservoir,+Hebden+Royd,+Calderdale+District,+United+Kingdom&aq=0&oq=withens+clough&sll=52.826174,-3.301967&sspn=0.148532,0.482712&t=p&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Withens+Clough+Reservoir&ll=53.702804,-2.029467&spn=0.015243,0.025749&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed&w=300&h=300]
Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.
About 2 weeks ago I decided that I couldn’t continue just eating anything and everything and being very greedy and that I needed to get some control or else I would just expand to Michelin man proportions.
I was also given the sight of my cousin who has lost loads of weight and is now training for a marathon by doing lots of running. She looks fit and is eating healthily. She is in her 20s but this was a bit of a catalyst for me. Or just envy!
So I went back to calorie counting and portion control but this time with a difference. Instead of allowing myself to eat bread and pies and cakes and chocolate because the calories only added up to x, I would eat much more healthily and in fact cut out all those things except for a square of chocolate and a 100 cal energy bar if I wanted them.
This strategy has been working well and I’ve lost a few pounds and am enjoying eating nice tasty food more slowly and not needing to stuff myself of an evening.
Then on Monday I watched Michael Mosley on Horizon and the research seems to stack up in favour of incorporating fasting into one’s lifestyle. MM looked into ways to do this and go to work full time and came up with 5 days of normal eating and 2 days of fasting (limited) on work days.
MM’s reason for wanting to do this is because he doesn’t want to die young like his father did and he wants to be alive for his family and reduce the possibility of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke. In particular he mentioned getting rid of abdominal fat which is a factor for most of those.
Summary of Horizon programme.
Yesterday I tried my first fasting day. I had breakfast of muesli and yoghurt and lunch of soup followed by a fruit yoghurt with fruit juice and later an apple. And apart from a half pint of beer that was it for the day.
Chris and I have also did a bike ride which involved a lot of up especially on the last bit after the pub. Whose idea was that? Enormous hill down to the Hinchliffe! But we probably sweated the beer off!
Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.
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| Chris doing Martian look |
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| Last big hill to do |
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| Stoodley Pike |
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| Last dregs of sun at Blackstone Edge reservoir |
Please visit Map and Compass and learn how to interpret a map with me and my navigation partner, Cath.
