Withens Clough & Stoodley Pike

From the car park point 1 turn left uphill, through a gate on the access road to Withens Clough Dam. Follow the road keeping the house on your right, onto a walled track, with the reservoir on your left to point 2 and take the signed footpath (Calderdale Way) to the right, uphill to a wall corner on your left. Continue to where the Calderdale Way turns left over a stile at point 3.

Here the walk bears half right, passing a stone trough immediately on the left and along a walled lane for just around 100 metres where it enters a triangular area. Take the first sign-posted path on the left, between a pair of old stone gate posts, following the visible path up three fields, keeping a ruined wall about 15 metres to your right. The top of the third field is marked with a white capped post. Look ahead and make for a rock with another poised on top of it. Keep this to your left, and make your way through the boulders onto the open moor, aiming for another white capped marker post. If the weather is clear, you'll see the Stoodley Pike Monument ahead. Continue forward to a wall with a ladder stile over it. Cross the ladder stile, where the path immediately takes a half right, and joins a broader path in about 100 metres. Turn right and continue to Stoodley Pike Monument, point 4.

At the Monument, turn right and follow the broad path downhill to a stone stile in the wall at point 5. Go through the stile, towards the wood, keeping a wall to your left and passing a stile that is marked Hebden Bridge. As you approach the wood, look for a stile in the wall slightly to the right point 6, signed to Blaithroyd Lane. Cross the stile into the wood continue on a path that follows the gap between blocks of trees until it reaches a path junction with a finger post at point 7. 

Here you have two options:

Either turn left onto a clear permissive path running between the trees up the gradual slope to a walled, unsurfaced lane. Cross the stile next to the gate and follow the lane point 8a past the ruins on the left to a ‘T’ junction at point 9.  Please note that this lane can become quite muddy in winter or when wet. Turn right and follow this lane, passing Knowl Hill on the left point 10 and continue down the tarmac lane to the car park, passing point 11.

or

Go straight forward, with trees on either side of the path, to the woodland edge.  Cross the stile in the fence and bear left to a gate in about 70 metres at point 8b.  Do not go through the gate but bear right to the wall, keep this wall on your left and descend the slope. This is open access land with tussock grass and this part of the walk can be wet.  Cross a broken wall and continue down hill to a stile at point 11 onto the lane. Turn right down the lane back to the car park.
 

OS Map: Explorer map OL21

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