Day 53 - Hebden Bridge to Cowling - 11.6 miles June 1st

It's the 1st of June and after two days of rain, this morning the sun was shining!!

We liked Hebden Bridge.

We arranged a taxi to drop us at The Pack Horse pub and then set off across country to join up with the Pennine Way. We were walking on open grassland 

but there must have been nesting sites very near because for the first 20 minutes we were mobbed by Lapwings.

At Wlashaw Dean reservoir we met David and Nicola both equipped for a perfect morning of birdwatching.

Having lived in France for 20 years, David recently returned and bought a house in Hebden Bridge. They managed to get work completed on their house during lockdown, have moved in and are enjoying all the benefits of living here with the hills on their doorstep.

At the head of the reservoir, the stiles were getting bigger.

In the most boggy parts, the path has been paved with large stones. It's a great walking surface but because of the uneveness you do have to mind your footing and have to spend a lot of time looking downwards 

but my interest was maintained by the constant changing of colour and surface texture.

The trail passes Top Withens, believed to have been Bronte's  inspiration for Heathcliffe's home in Wuthering Heights. 

Unfortunately, not much of the house remains now but is a popular pilgimage spot ....

the weather-worn signs are even in Japanese.

Walking across The Height, my birdspotting app recognised a family of these guys as Meadow pipits. 

We come across a rather cold and forlorn looking Peacock butterfly 

so helped him across the road and left in a more sheltered position where hopefully with a bit of sunshine, he'll be abe to carry on doing his bit!

It was getting cooler as the rain came on so we took shelter

 for our picnic lunch overlooking Ponden reservoir.

Of course, no sooner had we put on all our waterproofs, the rain shower passed and we were back in glorious sunshine.

At the top of Dean Clough we met 

THE .....2 Ians. Two proud Yorkshiremen raising money for Dementia UK while walking the Pennine Way in 16 days from North to South and keeping a video blog on youtube...2 Ians Pennine Way Challenge. I watched this morning, it's well worth a look. I liked Ian's hat (that's the Ian on the right)

We'd heard these chaps from a distance...

 ...but it's still stunning when you get up close.... proper peacocks near Slippery Stones Farm.

Forward!!......

...and the view from the bridge!

If this morning had belonged to the Lapwings, this afternoon definitely belonged to the Curlews. 

A constant, wonderful, haunting almost supernatural call.

Moth with a wing span of 15-20mm.

Then, lower down the hill, at the well named High End Lowe

the Stonechats were back.

I don't know what it is about abandoned tractors....

Then the final field before arriving at Cowling, an ocean of buttercups. Wonderful! 

We were met in Cowling by Jill who'd very kindly offered us accommodation at their place nearby. Sally met Jill through the Birmingham girls.

Jill and Alan with Jess their ragdoll cat.

We had a lovely warm welcome, mugs of tea, Alan's delicious home cooking, a roaring fire and ALL my washing done overnight. Fantastic!

Alan and Jess and

Boo, their horsefield tortoise.

Total distance walked so far = 678.2 miles

Total ascent so far 81 505 feet

If you'd like to leave a comment, correct me on any detail or just nudge, it'd be great to hear from you. If initially it comes up as Anonymous, please just add your name at the bottom so I can see who it's from.

email: david.LL.thomas@gmail.com

mob: 07850109100

If you'd like to contribute to any or all of the great charities I'm supporting, here are the relevant links.

Parkinsons UK   - My dad had Parkinsons in his latter years and the research work this charity funds and the support it provides to patients and their families is invaluable. - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-thomas215

Just Wheels UK  - this is a small charity set up to provide wheelchairs in a rural community in Tanzania. It does this through funding training, education and the local fabrication and servicing of bespoke wheelchairs. My nephew uses a wheelchair and as he grows I can see the life changing freedoms that proper wheelchairs can bring to both users and their families.- 

 https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/campaign/a056900002H35TDAAZ

- RNLI   - these are the brave guys who selflessly head out to sea to help others. I volunteer at Littlehampton RNLI shop and often meet families of those who’ve had first hand experience of their loved ones being saved from the sea. Having sailed for years I can say thankfully we’ve never had to call on the RNLI's services but it’s amazing what it does to know they are there 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-thomas216