17 miles/27 km

Total miles: 38 miles/ 61 km

It was an early start today, mainly because I’d set my alarm incorrectly and then it was too hard to get to sleep. The forecast today was for rain until 4pm at which point it would clear up. We had a full breakfast made by the pub owner before it was time to head off.

We caught the bus to get from Marsden back to the trail at Standedge. Unfortunately in our rush to get on the bus, we realised we had got on the wrong one. Frantically getting off and running back to the stop, we managed to flag down the correct one who kindly stopped for us between stops. After a short ride, we were unceremoniously dumped in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain.

The rain and poor visibility made it hard going with the wind trying to blow us off our feet. It was difficult on occasion to literally walk in a straight line with the wind.

Our first target for the day was the Pennine Way crossing over the busy M62. Normally you can hear this long before you see it, but on this occasion the wind and rain simply drowned everything out. On top of this, my waterproof trousers failed completely in the weather and I was saturated from the waist down.

From here the weather deteriorated again so it was a case of head down until we reached our next stop, the White Horse Inn. The wind was again blowing a gale and it was hard work even navigating a straight line along the path.

Eventually we reached the pub and stumbled through the front door and into the warm cheery inside complete with a fire. Sadly, two walkers got to the fire first so we were relegated to the ‘Pennine’ room, alternatively known as the place they put wet, stinky hikers to keep them out of the way. After peeling off our saturated clothes, we grabbed a hot chocolate and lunch as we slowly warmed up. The barmaid commented it was starting to look like a chinese laundry as wave after wave of soaked, weather beaten hikers crashed into the pub as time went on.

It was then time to move on and back into the rain putting our wet gear back on. The trail then followed a series of reservoirs as it traced its way towards Stoodley Pike and Hebden Bridge. We were continually pummeled by the wind and rain as we walked.

We then began the long walk towards Stoodley Pike, a memorial built in the mid-Victorian era as a monument to the Napoleonic Wars. It seems somewhat incongruous in the middle of the moorland and is visible from miles away. The good news was that the rain had now eased off and it was really just the strong winds to deal with.

We were able to climb up inside to the viewing area up some pitch black steps. After nearly bring blown off the hillside, we continued on to Hebden Bridge. As we descended into the valley, the wind was now blocked by the hills and the sun started to come out. As we walked downwards through the fields and beech woodland, it became a very pleasant end to the day.

We eventually reached the town of Hebden Bridge which was far prettier than I remembered. Although the weather had improved, all our gear was wet through and we decided to stay at accommodation rather than camp. As there was nothing at Hebden Bridge, we decided to take the short 30 min train ride to Manchester where there was a Premier Inn next to the station.

A quick train ride later, we were spat out in the middle of Manchester and headed to our hotel to dry our gear and get a good night’s rest. The weather is forecast to improve tomorrow so onwards and upwards!