Day 4. Jack Bridge to Ickornshaw. Bronte country.

The guidebook said that today would be undemanding but attractive. It wasn’t wrong.
 

It was a misty start out of Jack Bridge, the sun promising to burn off the cloud but not quite making it.  By now my boots are starting to get waterlogged with the constant tramping through peat bog. The mill flag stones only help so much.  This morning was no different with the tramp across Black Mires to Clough Head Hill. “Black Mires” says it all.

If yesterday was dominated by Stoodley Pike, today was the turn of The Bronte Sisters. Not that I am a devotee, far from it. I had an excellent view of Top Withins, the now ruined farm house supposedly the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. However, even the plaque on the wall supplied by the Bronte Society exudes scepticism. The history of the house is interesting enough though with or without the Bronte connection.  It tells a tale of a farming / landowning family (Bentleys, no less) and the division of land amongst three sons as their inheritance, each son getting a third of the land once farmed as a whole. Three farm houses were built, Lower, Middle and Top, Withins. Top Withins was built in the late 16^th century and was still in use and occupied until the late 1800s. Now it is a roofless ruin with warning signs posted by Yorkshire Water about its unsound structure.  In today’s sunshine it looked very homely, I imaging in bleaker weather it is not so hospitable.

Top Withins Farm with views to the North of the Yorkshire Dales

Top Withins Farm

Bronte Society Plaque, 1964.

Having whinged yesterday about the lack of signs, today saw a resurgence of the way marker. Some were even in Japanese.  More for the Bronte fans than the PW walkers I suspect.

 

Pennine Way for the Japanese.

I now seem to be moving out of high moorland and into lower altitude farming pasture; lots of dry stone walls and the inevitable stiles to climb. Those reservoirs still keep coming, however.

 

Ponden Reservoir

I had my first sighting of Pen-Y-Ghent, one the Yorkshire Three Peaks that I will climb over in three days’ time.

 

Catherine had a day off from the cycling today. Her day was complicated by tonight’s campsite being 5 miles off route and me requiring a pick up. A very fine site it is though, with splendid views towards Skipton. We had a very fine Kedgeree made with tinned kippers for tea, which was much nicer than it sounds, trust me.

Garmin says:16 miles; 5.4mph max; 3.2 moving average; 2.4 overall average; 6hrs 37 minutes with 1:30 stoppages. I took it easy today. Longer day tommorrow to Malham, Yorkshire Dales proper.

AW

Stone footbridge out of Jack Bridge. Wainwright has a drawing of this in the Companion and talks eloquently about maintenance of footpaths in the days when foot or horse were the only means of travel.