Bradshaw – Hebden Bridge Hike.

10:00 – 13:30 (pub).

It’s the last day of August  and a good day for a long hike today – no bins & no camera made the going a lot easier (for Sue and me if I'm honest).

The route mostly follows the Calderdale Way.

We headed off through the Bradshaw Farms (Goldfinch and Linnet here) track to exit at the bottom of Ned Hill.

Turning left we soon crossed the main Keighley Road to Per Lane and onto a footpath nr. Mount Zion church to exit at Upper Brockholes.

The path drops down through Stod Fold and rises over Hunter Hill to Withens Road. A bit of a breather needed going up Hunter Hill.

Over Withens road the route  ignores the bridleway but heads off behind a bungalow to drop down fields, past a kennels and then on through a really awkward overgrown path (with singing Chiffchaff for company) with a large fallen ‘Hay Bale’ blocking the way, before emerging at the road nr. the old  Moorcock Inn (if anybody can remember it).

The path then heads across some boggy moorland, down past the Hullet (a lovely house) and down a beautiful tree lined track and on through the woods to emerge at Jerusalem Farm – butty time. 2 calling Nuthatch here.

Butties down the gullet and off again to climb steeply right with the road to the top of the hill. Here an overgrown diagonal path , through heather, cuts the corner off to meet a lane. 

The path goes right and the lane eventually becomes a track after passing the final buildings (Great Horse Farm?) before skirting Midgley Moor. A Whitethroat very kindly landed on the fence here. Over the moor the path turns left to follow several Grouse Butts. Here there were 4 lucky escapee Red Grouse spotted flying and calling. Other than Meadow Pipit and a possible GBBG >  N no other birds seen here. Near the moor stile exit, 2 Raven were calling flying high > S.

Leaving the moor a Kestrel was being mobbed by Jackdaws.

We eventually arrived at the Hare and Hounds pub (a lovely place) for a pint of refreshing shandy. Then off down to Hebden Bridge for a Scone and a nice cup of tea.

Bus to Halifax. - Bus To Ambler Thorn, Queensbury  and a walk up Roper Lane(Kestrel in the fields here)  to take the path down past Shugdens Farm to Bradshaw Lane and home.

Excellent day out.