A windy walk on Holme Moss

Thursday 23rd October 2008 was the last full day of our recent Yorkshire break, and we undertook another walk in the hills around Holme. During the night the wind had been rattling the sash window of our bedroom, and strong winds had been forecast for the day. (The 2500 runners taking part in the Original Mountain Marathon in Cumbria were preparing for their event: the weather worsened for them over the next couple of days.)


We set off up the road, the same route initially as our walk two days previously. We joined the Pennine Way for a while, this section being clearly defined by flagstones. At the trig point on Black Hill the wind was very strong indeed: the light rain driven horizontally, and stinging the face. It was difficult to walk without being blown off course, so I suppose it must have been at least Force 7.


Between the triangulation pillar and Jan in the photo above you can just see the Holme Moss transmitter mast. That was our next objective. To get there ought to have been simple: after all, you can't exactly get lost with something that big to aim for. The trouble was the terrain. It was boggy. And there was no defined path, so I followed the instructions for this part of the walk and set a bearing of 100 degrees. This pointed us to the left of the mast. My orienteering can't have been too bad, as we eventually found why we weren't heading in the obvious direction: we skirted a deep clough (valley). The going was slow, as we had to be very careful where we placed our feet in order not to get a bootful of water. The wind didn't help, either.

At last we reached the transmitter station, now run by something called "Arqiva".


From the nearby car park there was a superb view to the north.


At this point we decided to walk down the road back to the village, and get the woodburner going in the cottage.