Hike # 8: Hardcastle Crags and Hebden Water

After a having a crappy time and getting lost during our Fulwood Park Wood hike, we thought this couldn’t possibly be any worse, and it did prove to be much better.

Here is the link to the walk, https://www.ifootpath.com/display-ifootpath-walk?walkID=4689, its around 3 miles in length.

I knew we would have to pay to park at this one, as the guide states a £3.50 charge. I was less than impressed when it was actually £5 and the parking machine also had a ‘guard’ to ensure you paid.

I had a chat with the ‘guard’ (seen through the trees) and it turned out that she was a representative of the National Trust, whom this woodland belongs too. After failing to sell me a membership, we were forced to pay the £5 before entering the forest.

Hardcastle Crags is one of the best wildlife spots in the Pennines for nature watching during the winter months. The locals call the area 'little Switzerland' due to its Alpine style terrain.

Gibson Mill was closed as we were too early or were we? I was under the impresson that this green covered area on the left side of the picture was the 'Mill', but of course it wasn't Doh!...

By the time we arrived at the 'real' mill much later, it was open.

Shadow loved the first section of the walk as it ran alongside a river bank and was lovely and picturesque. He’s one for going in for a splash but wont go out of his depth. Swimming was a skill he never learned.

This is a popular trail and there was no shortage of other people heading the same way, which was to the mill at the end of the first stretch. I do try my best to take photographs when other people are not about.

Why dogs think it’s a great idea to shake off the water on their bodies, while still in the water I will never know.

@bingbabe was on a mission to show off her abs to everyone this day, complete with hiking boots.

Some of the walking was a little uneven, but after doing Pen-y-ghent, this was child’s play. The path was up and down with poor footpaths at times.

These stepping stones were one of a series that we encountered during our walk. They are not natural but we had some fun with Shadow who didn’t quite know what to do when we hopped across. He ended up just splashing across the water and ignoring the stones.

Halfway through the walk we came across Gibson Mill which is a reformed cotton mill complete with café. We couldn’t resist getting some food, and this turned out to be cream teas with liquid tea to boot.

The cream was attracting a lot of troublesome wasps, and I found this piece of log very handy for squashing the pesky blighters when they decided to land. Was that the purpose of these log pieces that were on every table?

The signs for the toll charges on the buildings looked too new to be authentic so I did enquire about them. It seems they were only 2-3 years old but had replaced ones that had been hung 100 years ago or longer. I do love this little bit of history when I see it.

The return trip took us on a very high path that kept going up and up and we thought to put Shadow on the lead for a while in case he fell over the edge.

Hardcastle Crags is well known as the home of the Northern Hairy Wood Ant which lives in huge anthills with nests as large as six feet tall.

We saw these ants everywhere, but alas iPhone cameras are not known for their macro photography capabilities and the shot I took is not the best. I didnt spot any of these six feet tall nests and would have steered well clear if I did.

Hardcastle Crags is renown for its craggyness if that’s is even a word, and this area showed us just that. Huge boulders were everywhere.

On inspection this cave didn’t actually go anywhere but looked quite ominous. Sometimes you have to go off the beaten track to find things of interest like this.

@bingbabe was telling me to come down, but I felt like being an Ape for a while longer and jumped around the rocks looking for something else more interesting.

Hardcastle Crags and Hebden Water is a decent jaunt with some difficulty on the way back due to the high elevation. Like everywhere outside, avoid if the weather it bad and be sure to visit the café at Gibson Mill.