With Graeme. We parked on the A62 by Brun Clough Reservoir and followed the Pennine Way noth over the three trigs of Millstone Edge, White Hill and Blackstone Edge. It was raining when we left the car, blowing a gale on top of MillstoneEdge but by the time we got as far as the motorway crossing before Blackstone Edge it was much improved and it stayed that way. Just past the Aggin Stone we abandoned the Pennine Way and came down the old Roman road to Lydgate. From here a track gives easy walking south down to another motorway crossing. Just before this we passed through the grounds of a house perched right above the motorway and fully exposed to all the noise of cars and lorries thundering by. That would be a tricky house to try to sell.
We turned right after the motorway and headed downhill past some building where a sign told us “Beware Guard dogs. Do not stop.” I hate that. This is a public right of way, people. Dogs that need bewaring of and intimidating signage advertising their presence have no business on it. In any case we passed by safely enough today without the dogs eating us. A bunch of cows with calves grazing by the track by the derelict mill at the bottom of the hill ignored us placidly. Here we doubled back left along the Pennine Bridleway. When it doubled back again right we kept straight on to cut the corner towards Tunshill Lane. The paths are quite a confusing tangle on the map here and it’s not easy to match them up to what is on the ground. But we followed a path that climbed the hill above the track just east of the valley between Nicholas Hill Pike Ben Heys to reach the meeting of ways below Turf Hill. It is rather delightful around here, by the way.
From here it was very straightforward going on a good track past Piethorne Reservoir to the Ram’s Head Pub on the A672. The least pleasant bit of the walk now followed this south into Denshaw but there were verges to walk on so not so bad. We followed Delph Road south from Denshaw and turned left down Wham Lane, continuing on Ox Hey Lane past the llama farm. A big groups of cows in a field on our right got very agitated about our presence as we passed them. We saw there was a right of way signpost pointing right across their field and were very glad that wasn’t where we were going. Anyone following it today would be braver than us; happily we were headed east. On down Low Gate Lane we went and over the dam on Castleshaw Upper Reservoir. It’s not far from here but it is relentlessly uphill which felt quite punishing at the end of a long walk(17½ miles according to Donkin’s Pennine Way book), past Bleak Hay Nook and round the big looping track above Globe Farm back to the carpark. Then back to Sheffield for a curry.
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