Walk lead by Peter Hitchcock, 9.5 miles, 700ft of climbing.
For our first outing of the season, we shall venture to the south of Howarth for a change, taking in parts of both the Bronte and Millenium Ways. We climb out of the car park (no toilets that I could see, so maybe check out the coach in good time) and head south straight on to the Bronte Way. It is fairly level until the village of Marsh then down across fields and a stream to an escarpment and on towards an isolated pub on the edge of the moors. Too early to stop, I’m afraid!! Then onto the moor where the fun starts: mushy bog, snow, water, anything goes till we reach an excellent ridgeline from where we gain super views of Yorkshire. Lunch here before we start our return. This section is challenging because of all the wet weather we’ve had but it improves markedly once we’re down off the moor amongst lots of daffodils and snowdrops.
At 9.5 miles and maybe 700ft of climbing it’s a mediocre ease-in to the season but the muddy conditions will make it quite arduous. Make sure you have waterproof boots, and gaiters and sticks would be a bonus. Your legs will definitely tell you its time for a beer when we finish and there are at least three 2-300 year old pubs to choose from. See you there!
