25 Saturday 18 July 2020 Ripponden
I chose the "Upper Ryburn Valley" walk from Paul Hannon's book for the next trip. I suggested we might invite our friends from Rochdale, Mark and Philip, but Simon didn't like the idea. I didn't think about a bad weather alternative so when we got up and it was raining hard, I was a bit stumped. Eventually, I came up with the idea of driving to Ripponden for the walk and then moving on to Halifax if it was too bad.
It was still raining when we got to Ripponden so to play for time I suggested nipping out for some breakfast . The only option was the Co Op where I bought a couple of pre-packaged sausage sandwiches, When we finished , it was only spitting so we set out on the walk which started from the parish church
Looking at the shops , the surviving pubs and the new housing on the route , it became clear that Ripponden has substantially changed character since the old days of the LTS. A fairly traditional Yorkshire village now seems like a gentrified suburb of Halifax.
Just a short distance along, the route passes through a play park. Simon insisted on a nostalgic romp through it which went on for about quarter of an hour. He nearly got stuck in the tunnel.
Once we got going again, we had a pleasant stroll along the Ryburn . I pointed out the redundant bridge over the old railway line which closed in 1929.
Approaching Rishworth , I went slightly wrong and we had to back track a bit. When we got to the main road we saw two much better food options than the Co Op if only I'd known.
The rain then started again and pretty much kept up for the next couple of hours.
We soon came to Ryburn Reservoir.
The wooded environs of the reservoir offered some shelter and when we saw a picnic table we decided to have our snack stop there. Soon enough we had to come out of the woods and climb up towards Baitings.
I warned Simon to expect a number of chained dogs at Higher Wormald Farm but they'd all gone. We soon arrived at Baitings Reservoir where Simon was impressed by the scale of the dam.
At the far end I was deceived. I knew that the old New Inn on the A58 had long since been converted to a house but I saw a line of cars parked outside The Blue Ball above it and believed it was open. Alas when we got there it had been converted into more than one property hence the number of cars.
What was left instead was an easy but uninteresting plod along Blue Ball Road then a couple of bridleways where we met a nice lady called Dorothy and her friendly dog Milo. At least the rain stopped for the last mile. There was a sting in the tail with a narrow overgrown path which got us thoroughly wet before debouching on to Royds Lane where we were parked.
We hoped to get something to eat at The White House on our way back but it was closed mid-afternoon so we headed for KFC in Bury instead. We also called in at Waterstones where I bought a couple of books with a token I had.
It was still raining when we got to Ripponden so to play for time I suggested nipping out for some breakfast . The only option was the Co Op where I bought a couple of pre-packaged sausage sandwiches, When we finished , it was only spitting so we set out on the walk which started from the parish church
Looking at the shops , the surviving pubs and the new housing on the route , it became clear that Ripponden has substantially changed character since the old days of the LTS. A fairly traditional Yorkshire village now seems like a gentrified suburb of Halifax.
Just a short distance along, the route passes through a play park. Simon insisted on a nostalgic romp through it which went on for about quarter of an hour. He nearly got stuck in the tunnel.
Once we got going again, we had a pleasant stroll along the Ryburn . I pointed out the redundant bridge over the old railway line which closed in 1929.
Approaching Rishworth , I went slightly wrong and we had to back track a bit. When we got to the main road we saw two much better food options than the Co Op if only I'd known.
The rain then started again and pretty much kept up for the next couple of hours.
We soon came to Ryburn Reservoir.
The wooded environs of the reservoir offered some shelter and when we saw a picnic table we decided to have our snack stop there. Soon enough we had to come out of the woods and climb up towards Baitings.
I warned Simon to expect a number of chained dogs at Higher Wormald Farm but they'd all gone. We soon arrived at Baitings Reservoir where Simon was impressed by the scale of the dam.
At the far end I was deceived. I knew that the old New Inn on the A58 had long since been converted to a house but I saw a line of cars parked outside The Blue Ball above it and believed it was open. Alas when we got there it had been converted into more than one property hence the number of cars.
What was left instead was an easy but uninteresting plod along Blue Ball Road then a couple of bridleways where we met a nice lady called Dorothy and her friendly dog Milo. At least the rain stopped for the last mile. There was a sting in the tail with a narrow overgrown path which got us thoroughly wet before debouching on to Royds Lane where we were parked.
We hoped to get something to eat at The White House on our way back but it was closed mid-afternoon so we headed for KFC in Bury instead. We also called in at Waterstones where I bought a couple of books with a token I had.
Very good
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