Saturday April 1st

Holmfirth, Upperthong and Lots of Reservoirs

 After consulting Mike Dale's "Adventures in the Northern Peak", we decided to go to Holmfirth to do something different and, at 10.5 miles, we chose what seemed to be a reasonable walk in a new area. After a lovely coffee at the Holme Coffee House and a trip to the Co-Op for provisions, we started on Stage 1 of the walk.

Essential rations... when in Yorkshire
Stage 1 went from Holmfirth to Bilberry Reservoir, starting from the main road and going up the (very steep!) side of Victoria Park. There was a fair amount of twisting and turning down lanes and footpaths on this leg, including a walk though Upperthong.


Door to waterworks in Thongsbridge

The houses were interesting and the views were good- there was a constantly changing perspective on the Holme Moss Transmitter, familiar from Black Hill walks. We got to the Digley Reservoir and had lunch in a good spot above the reservoir.
Outflow from Digley Reservoir


After lunch, there followed a nice walk through woodlands which took us down to the dam of Bilberry Reservoir. From here to Hade Edge (Stage 2) was straightforward. The village of Holme was worth seeing and we enjoyed the ancient stone squeezes along the route, which are very different from the stiles in the Peak District.
A "Squeeze Stile"
We passed a subterranean house with the most fantastic views across the moorland- this unique house was built by architect Arthur Quarmby and he and his family lived in it for 41 years. From Holme the walk took us accros the top of Dobbs Dike and then on to yet another reservoir at Holme Styles.
Riding Wood Reservoir...

The walk ended with a rather spectacular way though a "hidden valley" of more than 1km to finally emerge near Scholes.
Fairy door in the hidden valley

It was then a nice walk downhill back to Holmfirth and the welcome sight of the car. 
In all, 13.6 miles (not the advertised 10.5!) with 760m ascent.

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