On The Pennine Way Part Two (2/3) By Steve Rudd

(1/3), (2/3), (3/3), Part 1

On a chilled-out summer's day I'm sure that Blackstone Edge would be bliss... paradise even, with lofty views stretching in all directions. In bad weather such as I encountered, the sane people amongst you will just want to get down from there as soon as possible, via a Roman road heading towards Stoodley Pike.

More and more reservoirs came into view near Rochdale, but the skyline-dominating Stoodley Pike was nowhere to be seen in the fog. And then, the fog began to sporadically clear for random seconds and fabled glimpses of the faraway Pike sent shivers down my spine. I was nearing my destination, or at least the small but ever-so charming village of Mankinholes. A good mile before the Pike, I left the PW to drop down into Mankinholes because I knew the youth hostel there would restore my weather-beaten spirits... if there was room in the hostel, that was. I hadn't pre-booked my stay, but I hoped for the best, and was thus ecstatic when the guy who has run the hostel since 1983 - the bearded Bob Jones, who is ever such a nice chap - broke the good news that a spare bed was mine for the taking for the night.

Yet, upon first entering the hostel I initially assumed that nobody was actually running the place as I stood at the checking-in desk for a good twenty minutes, ringing the bell and being ignored. There was a Chinese girl in the kitchen when I poked my head through, but she hadn't seen Bob for an hour or two.

Well, it was polling day for the nation's General Election and he might have nipped out to the local polling station at the nearest church. It turned out, however, that he was on the phone in another room all along. While I was waiting, a lady with two kids edged into the hostel - exhausted after an intense day spent in Manchester (complete with a trip to Old Trafford for her son and a shopping sojourn for the daughter), that followed a Queen concert that they'd all attended the night before. Like myself, all they all wanted to do was warm up and chill out - in that order.

Fortunately, the ever obliging Bob Jones - once he'd appeared, and duly apologised for the wait - ensured that everybody staying in Mankinholes hostel for the night felt right at home. So much so, in fact, that the next day I was reluctant to head back up towards Stoodley Pike, which is a well-known monument that can be seen (in fine weather, at least) for miles around, and that commemorates the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, if you must know.

Next stop was the small-town hustle and bustle of Hebden Bridge, which has more than recovered from its industrial past and is now a thriving town that is packed with designer shops and flash restaurants that cater for its many visitors and residents alike, despite the settlement's relatively tiny size. If you've never been, go there: it's a fantastic community that has long benefited from the River Calder that inhabits the valley floor.

Frustratingly though, if you want to witness the many and varied delights of Hebden Bridge, you must leave the Way for a while because the PW merely skirts the edge of town before it vaults back onto the wild and desolate moors that stretch over to the internationally famous town of Haworth.

Haworth, for those who might not know, is largely famous because of three literary sisters who lived there during the nineteenth century. The Bronte sisters were authors who wrote, between them, some of tbe most famous and respected novels ever written in the English language. What's more, the scenic splendour of Haworth and the surrounding area is openly immortalised in their writing, especially courtesy of Emily Bronte's masterpiece Wuthering Heights.

Continued ... next page

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