Sunny in Tow Law!

Date: 16th February 2012
Route: Tow Law - Salters Ridge - Waskerley - Waskerley Reservoir - return
Distance: - 16 miles

Weather: -Bright & sunny to start (& finish), overcast & windy on the Moor

An early start saw Bob pick me up just after 9.15am for the short ride up to Tow Law. We parked up in a layby near High Houselop and with shades on set off to pick up the old railway line that would eventually get us up to Waskerley. The going was pleasant and the scenery impressive as we quickly discussed business before turning our attention to rugby.

Sunny in Tow Law - unheard of!

It wouldn't be Tow Law without wind turbines!

Reservoir

 











With FC's game against Catalan been called off the conversation was unusually short on this day. The focus was more on the mentality of groundsmen who "soften" pitches by watering them in minus 7c temperatures, and then wonder why the pitch is unplayable due to frozen surface water!!!! Deep in conversation we followed what we thought was the track only to find our way ahead halted by a large padlocked fence & gate. A trek back up the path (so a mile or more extra walking!) and subsequent review of the map did little to help.
It appeared that our way forward had been thwarted by some poor pre-walk assumptions about public footpaths! After 10 minutes of careful scrutiny we managed to find a detour around a large plantation of trees that would eventually meet up with Waskerley Way railway line. The interesting thing we noticed as we walked around the plantation was the large concrete fencing all around it - why?

"Who put this here?"

Who are you trying to keep out? Or should that be in!

We came to the conclusion that it maybe had something to do with the MoD or perhaps an old PoW camp. By now we were up on moorland and the scenery was much bleaker with little sign of wildlife other than the large numbers of Grouse. It wasn't long before we hit the railway line we had been aiming for and the going should have got easier. However, a constant steady climb up into a very strong headwind meant we were only making <2 mph and with the wind howling in our ears conversation was somewhat subdued.

The Waskerley Way

After what seemed an eternity (but was in fact only 45 mins) we managed to find the smallest bit of shelter and stopped for lunch.

Wind breaker!

As the windchill factor began to bite into our hands we wolfed our scran down in 10 mins and set off back on the return leg. Downhill with a tail-wind we made excellent time. As we left the Waskerley Way and headed back towards Tow Law the wind died down and once again the sun was out - a welcome warmth on the body. Incredibly we managed to get ourselves lost and ended up trekking across a field and over a wall to get ourselves back on the correct path. It never ceases to amaze me how different a route can look coming back the opposite way - why is that??!! We managed to find our way back to the car by 3.30pm and despite a cold spell it had been another cracking day for the time of the year.