Walking The Pennine Way When I Was Eleven - Stage 4: (Marsden to Mankinholes)


Start: Marsden

Finish: Mankinholes

Distance:12 miles

Total Distance Covered: 40 miles

At the Grey Cat in Marsden I had Corn Flakes followed by a full English breakfast to help keep me going on the day ahead.  It was great to have a proper meal to start the day.

We set off at 9.50 and left Marsden to rejoin the Pennine Way route soon after.  The Way climbed up to another area of moorland before crossing the M62 on a footbridge.  The bridge had been built relatively recently and we seemed very high over the motorway.  The wind was funnelled through the gap and really blew strongly.   I've been under this bridge many times since and always think back to the time we crossed it.

On the other side we stopped for lunch before yet more trudging through moorland, a little wet here, but otherwise it didn't seem too arduous.  However, I had picked up my first blisters of the walk, although they weren't bad ones.  Near Blackstone Edge the ground was better and we saw some quite interestingly shaped rocks. We reached a long track, which was easy walking.  We were quite high up and as we neared the end of the day's walk we could see Rochdale in the distance below us to the west.

We were camping again and this time we were high up a hill with the striking monument of Stoodley Pike dominating the skyline a little way ahead.  After erecting the tent at 6.15 we went down to a pub in the hamlet of Mankinholes where I had scampi and chips.

While we were down in Mankinholes the wind had really got up and whipped through the tent as we bedded down for the night.

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