Calderdale Hike

[stevefoster]

And it's got a downhill run to the finish, Steve. That never happened before either!

That's good news, i'm off to bed happy tonight, cheers Nick:wink:

[plodding bear]

I'm hoping to get a day off work to have a slow plod round this one. I've never done it before, not all that familiar with the area - does anyone know the total ascent, give or take a few feet? How does it compare with the Hobble? (apart from being a wee bit longer, obviously!)

[Chris H]

I seem to remember reading 6000ft somewhere on a Calderdale Hike leaflet, so tougher than the Hobble. You get Thievely Pike as well as Stoodley, so value for money.

[plodding bear]

That's a good bit more climbing than the Hobble then! I'll have to do some more hill work, I think.

[Derby Tup]

pb when I did the Calderdale Hike I found it was the distance and terrain rather than the extra climb that made it tougher than the Hobble (the Hobble is over 5000ft not 4400ft as advertised). The route has changed since then mind. Good, solid Fellsman training

[plodding bear]

I must admit I was surprised by how nice the area was. I usually stick to Wharfedale and 3 Peaks area, but parts of that Hobble were lovely scenery. It's always nice to see somewhere new, so fingers crossed I can swing the day off.

[Splatcher]

Calderdale's such a good area for running in. It changes every 5 minutes as you run through it - valleys, woods, moors, rough pasture, stone walls. I reckon the Hike's at least 15% longer than the Hobble in time. Miles/feet when I measure them with MemoryMap are 34.5/6230 for the Hike, as against 31.1/5600 for the Hobble. That's along the Hike route I'll probably take - there are options...

For instance, which is the fastest route from CP3 at Crow Hill Nook to CP4 on the Keighley Road?

And is it quicker keeping left of Cant Clough Reservoir?

And which of the 3 possible routes from Thieveley Pike to Slatepit Hill is best? I can't remember which way I went last time.

And which is the better route from Freeholds Top/Trough Edge End? Directly east, or follow the mine track SE then NE?

And which way up Stoodley Pike? Up from Lumbutts & along the ridge, or up the front as per the Hobble?

[GreenFlash]

Calderdale's such a good area for running in. It changes every 5 minutes as you run through it

My over-riding memory of last year's Hike was Stoodley Pike swinging in to view at the far end of the course and then taunting me all the way home - it seemed to take a desperately long time (hours, literally) to get back over to it ... and on quite a warm day too. All-in-all, far too much running for my liking ... though a well-organised and cheerfully marshalled event.

[plodding bear]

What exactly IS Stoodley Pike? It looks like a massively overbuilt public loo. Don't think they'd get planning permission nowadays!

[Splatcher]

What exactly IS Stoodley Pike? It looks like a massively overbuilt public loo. Don't think they'd get planning permission nowadays!

Wikipedia: "Stoodley Pike is a 1,300-foot (400 m) hill in the south Pennines, noted for the 121 foot Stoodley Pike Monument at its summit, which dominates the moors above Todmorden in West Yorkshire. The monument was designed in 1854 by local architect James Green, and completed in 1856 at the end of the Crimean War.

The monument replaced an earlier structure, started in 1814 and commemorating the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris. It was completed in 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo (Napoleonic Wars), but collapsed in 1854 after an earlier lightning strike, and decades of weathering. Its replacement was therefore built slightly further from the edge of the hill. During repair work in 1889 a lightning conductor was added, and although the tower has since been struck by lightning on numerous occasions, no notable structural damage is evident. There is evidence to suggest that some sort of structure existed on the site before even this earlier structure was built."