South Pennines YHA Haworth Weekend

A couple of great walks in the South Pennines with good weather and great company. Our accommodation was the impressive Gothic mansion, YHA Haworth. Read on for the full trip report!

For this South Pennines weekend we had booked 16 beds at the grand looking YHA Haworth. As it turned out we also booked a nearby dog friendly cottage for an extra 4 of us as we decided to bring Archie, our new border collie along for the first time. Due to a slight injury I was unable to lead the walks, so Ewelina stepped in.

Saturday’s walk was a long 25km (16 mile) route that would leave from the hostel door. It passed through Haworth village with its pretty buildings and cobbled streets. Indeed it’s a regular destination for filming period dramas and also hosts a popular annual 1940’s weekend. The route then conveniently passed the cottage where 4 of us were staying before heading across the moors towards Withins Top. This is very much Bronte Country. The ruins of Withins Top were the inspiration for the Earnshaw family home in the novel Wuthering Heights. It also happens to be on the Pennine Way, one of the classic long distance paths we have in the UK.

The group continued on towards Walshaw Dean reservoir before crossing Wadsworth Moor. Great views to Calderdale and Hebden Bridge can be had from this section. By the time the route returned to our cottage a couple of the group decided to end their walk for a lift back to the hostel. A couple more took the chance to refill water bottles before the last stretch back to YHA Haworth.

The group were glad to be back and get the hiking boots off. After everyone had a shower and a sneaky pre dinner drink we headed into the village for our evening meal at a local pub.

South Pennines – Hebden Bridge Circular

On Sunday we had a shorter walk planned. The start place was Hebden Bridge, a popular location but one which had been badly flooded a few months earlier. Everyone had recovered well from the walk yesterday as they purposefully left the car park behind them.

Some of the group in front of Stoodley Pike Memorial

Photograph by Ewelina Kisiel

One of the main sights of the route was Stoodley Pike Monument. At 121 ft (37m) high it dominates the surrounding area. It was designed in 1854 and completed 2 years later at the end of the Crimean War. It actually replaced an earlier structure which marked the defeat of Napoleon. This earlier monument was finished in 1815 after the Battle of Waterloo but collapsed in 1854 due to both the harsh general weather but also lightning strikes.

Much of the return route was to be alongside the Rochdale canal but due to a path closure (probably due to the earlier flooding) Ewelina had to take the group on a slight diversion. Back at the car park in good time and with blue skies and a cool crisp temperature we said goodbye to each other and headed back to London.