Wessenden Moor Circular Hike | 4 Miles
Located just below Black Hill, this Wessenden Moor circular hike is a 6km circular route taking in the scenic moorland, streams and farmland of the Wessenden Moor. With views down to Digley reservoir, this is a great Holmfirth walk to do with kids (but we snuck out while our daughter was at school so didn’t take her with us). If you are looking for walks in the Holmfirth area, get the route map for this one.
This Wessenden Moor circular hike is one we have done a couple of times now. Parking is at the A635 lay-by near to the burger van (handy for a cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich after the walk!). There are no other facilities along the route. It’s a 6km walk over moorland and farmland, with some tracks and paved sections too.
To start out, climb over the stile and follow the faint grassy path to the left hand side of the field. The path then leads along the edge of the field and turns sharply left.
Every time we have been on this walk it’s been muddy, and I’ve been very grateful for waterproof walking boots. It was certainly the case this time!
The route takes you past the woods above Reap Hill Clough. We struggled to open the gate leaving the woods so climbed over it (don’t worry, we’re not trespassing. The gate is stiff).
At the stile, the path forks and we took the right hand path down the hill. The track is pretty easy going and you’ll pass some farm buildings, some of which are deserted although not all are. There are signs warning you to keep out of the empty ones.
After a while you’ll come to a stile on your left hand side. Over this, the track will turn left and become Rye Close Lane. This is a bit of a grassy track heading up the hill and on towards the main road. You’ll have to walk along the main road back towards the burger van lay-by for a short distance before climbing back over a stile into the fields again on your left, following a public footpath sign.
The track takes you down through some more farmland where we were greeted by a cow who didn’t seem to mind us being so close to her. The path changes to the old track and you can see the ruts from old cartwheels in the stone.
It then takes you on to the abandoned quarry.
Take care with small people and dogs here as there is a pool of water, quite hard to see from the path but it looks rather deep and will be VERY cold and manky. There are other rocks to clamber on and mounds to play around but take care around the water.
The path takes you back to the stile and gate where the path forked before – you’ve come back down the left hand fork. Head back through the woods and up the field to the burger van and if it’s there, get yourself a well earned cuppa.
This Wessenden Moor circular walk is a pretty gentle hike and takes in some stunning moorland scenery, including Black Hill and Holme Moss. There are views down to Digley Reservoir (and you could carry on down the track and go to Digley Reservoir if you wanted to extend the walk).
This is a great walk to do with kids as there is plenty to see along the way. Here’s the route we took and you can download the gmx file by clicking the image:
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