A return trip to CMC at Hebden Bridge for another short break during restrictions.
Tuesday May 4th (Star Wars Day) 🟀
Late start because I was waiting in for my new phone (oooh - Pixel 4A) so endless hours fiddling with that during my stay. It was impossible to get on the site WiFi, I hope that isn't a Pixel problem. Cold and rainy so stayed in and ate the veggie chilli I had brought along.
Wednesday 5th
Early start, to find the Singing, Ringing Tree sculpture shown on the GB Adventure Map that Lou had bought me. A slow 40 min drive along Calderdale to Burnley. The valley is still lined with small businesses - garages, breakers yards, small engineering, plus tightly packed houses and streets lined with parked vehicles.
The sculpture was great fun (when I eventually found it - no sign until you're actually there, and even then it calls it 'Panopticon'). It's made of steel tubes so when it is windy, which I expect is every day, it sounds like a drunk is playing the Pan pipes. It was freezing, with snow on the distant hills so I didn't hang about.
In the afternoon I parked above Hardcastle Crags (NT) and walked the 3/4 mile down to Gibson's Mill for a cauli bhaji pasty and mug of tea in the sun. I walked along to climb up some of the crags and gawped at the waterfall. Then the long trudge back up, but was able to test out my new walking shoes and they were just right. A deer leapt out as I went up and I shouted 'Oh! Deer!' but no-one on the path had the gumption to sing 'What can the matter be?'. A missed opportunity I feel.
A quick look at the map, and I set off for Widdop reservoir, which was a narrow steep (1:4) route peppered with baby lambs lying on the road, chewing and staring like stroppy teenagers. This is on the Pennine Way, and in bad weather I imagine it would be so bleak.
Home for a G&T and finished off The Subtle Knife.
Thursday 6th
Sue P came and picked me up, then we parked in Mytholmroyd and walked in to Hebden Bridge along the canal. Lordy, there are some people trying MUCH to hard to be cool in this place. Great to see Sue, we nattered on and had a good laugh. In HB we dodged the rain/hail and had coffees, went to the small market, got stuck in a shop with the tarot-reading owner with no sense of personal boundaries, and had a delicious lunch in a Greek restaurant, on a covered roof terrace by blazing braziers. We needed the walk back after all that. Lots of goslings on the path, guarded by hissing parents.
I was supposed to stay on site again, but:
- my final working roof clamp became detached
- my back door was leaking rain
- if I turned a light on, the hookup was being bypassed! I hadn't noticed and leisure battery was down to the red.
I didn't fancy a night with just a small torch, dodgy electrics, and water coming in, so at 7pm I packed up and headed home.
Contacted a repairer, who can't fit me in until 16th June!!
But a good trip away, it felt a lot longer than 2 days.
