Walking The Pennine Way When I Was Eleven - Stage 3 (Crowden to Marsden)


Start:  Crowden

Finish:  Marsden

Distance: 12 miles

Total Distance Covered: 27 miles


I was up at 7.45am the next morning for a breakfast of a vanilla drink concoction made from powder.  We left the campsite at 9.20 and set off along the main path out of the valley.  At some point we managed to drift off the official path and down to Crowden Great Brook.  We walked up the brook itself which although not very fast-flowing was still awkward as we stepped over rocks.

Eventually we found a way uphill away from the brook onto some marshy ground and then a further steady climb to the top of Black Hill.  This is a barren wasteland of peat which is the highest point in Cheshire.  Except for the trig point on top it's pretty featureless, although there isn't much "pretty" about it.  There was low cloud by the time we approached the summit and visiblity was severely restricted.  We were able to see a group of two adults and children a little older than my sister and I who appeared to be walking the Pennine Way too.  After all, there was no other reason to be up in such an inhospitable place.  We didn't speak to them, as I recall, but christened them "The Family Party".  There were a few other people around as well so we found somewhere separate to sit down for some lunch.

After eating we set off again into the mist but I had a feeling that we had somehow gone in a circle and were going back the way we came.  After a few minutes I told Dad and we stopped to check our compass.  I was right.  We turned round and aimed in what we hoped was the right direction.

A little later we started to descend below the cloud line and could actually see where we were going.  We weren't on a clearly defined path and had to go down some quite steep slopes and rough grass before finding our way to a proper track.  Once there the going was quite easy as we passed close to three reservoirs.

Dad had decided that we should stay in the small town of Marsden, just off the main Pennine Way route.  After two nights camping with limited meals, he wanted somewhere we could rest and eat properly.   We arrived in Marsden at 5.30 and he found a guest house called The Grey Cat, run by a very nice older lady.  After tidying ourselves up we sat down for an evening meal at a table by the window.  I had minestrone soup, then haddock and chips followed by strawberries and cream.  At one point I looked up to see the Family Party outside gazing longingly at our repast.

The Grey Cat was lovely after two nights under canvas and it felt like we were starting to settle into the routine of a long-distance trail.

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