| Walk: | High Bentham - Many isolated farms including 1708 Mewith Head Hall, and over Skew Bridge for the return to High Bentham. | ||
| Start Point: | High Bentham car park | Grid Reference: | SD 667 693 |
| Distance: | 10 miles | Ascent: | 1,000 feet |
| Time: | 5.75 hours | ||
| Weather: | Dry but dull | ||
| Comments: | After a wet journey it had stopped raining as 21 walkers set off from the car park at High Bentham. After passing the parish church and crossing the River Wenning it was onto the fields as we headed east along the south side of Wenningdale through many isolated farmsteads, including the old, 1704 Mewith Hall which must have been a significant influence in the area as it has given its name to many features in the valley. After Hammonhead and Clapham Woods Farmhouse we were pleased to see that Skew Bridge had been re-built, so that we could cross the River for the return along the north side of Wenningdale. (Last time we were here we had another 2 to 3 miles to do). For quite a way as we approached Greystone Gill Bridge we were mystified by a strange pattern of bright squares. This turned out to be a major engineering project to hold the bank of the river in place to support the railway running alongside it. High Bentham came into view as we approached Cowslip Hill along an old green lane before crossing the railway line, and back past the parish church. At various places around the walk there are information boards, giving the history of High Bentham and the surrounding area. E.g. High Bentham had a very early Holiday Camp in 1910, where men and women were segregated to either side of the river. The railway was a main commuter line between Bradford and Leeds and Morecambe and Carnforth where the mill owners lived. High Bentham was a major supplier to the world for fire hoses. There’s more to rambling, exercising the brain as well as the legs! | ||
Scroll down to see photos of the walk
Brian says his piece . . .
and leads off from the car park . . .
past the Parish Church . . .
over the River Wenning . . .
and onto the fields
Dawson Close - in need of some TLC
Mucky field, waiting . . .
to climb the stile . . .
at Far Sunny Bank
Gill Beck
Past Crow Trees . . .
and Brian advises how to get through a narrow stile
An oxbow . . .
as we cross Badger Fold Beck . . .
and a Rambler has a coffee break
Approaching . . .
a rather old, 1704 . . .
sundial . . .
on Mewith Hall
You need a coat round here
Hammonhead
Clapham Woods Farmhouse
New Skew Bridge back over the River Wenning . . .
for a lunch stop
Lower Hardacre
Re-enforced bank . . .
for railway alongside the river
Through Ridding Lane
Only Ramblers take to the fields
Back to High Bentham along an old green lane
Down Cowslip Hill to the railway . . .
and back past the Parish Church