| Saddling up on the Pennines |
|
|
| Written by Andrew McCloy, 2004 | |
|
Page 1 of 2 Andrew McCloy charts the progress of the Pennine Bridleway, a new National Trail that will eventually travel 350 miles from Derbyshire to Northumberland along the western edge of the hills.The latest addition to the UK's growing network of long-distance trails is an ambitious route along the flanks of the Pennines. But what differentiates this route from other long-distance trails is that it's targeted at four-footed users as much as two. The 335km (208 miles) Pennine Bridleway, already partly open, is due to be completed in 2005, when it will stretch all the way from near Ashbourne in mid-Derbyshire to Kirkby Stephen in eastern Cumbria. The route will eventually extend deep into Northumberland when another 225km (140 miles) are added. It looks likely to be the longest and certainly the most challenging bridleway route in the country, but as a dedicated National Trail managed by the Countryside Agency it is quite different from most of the other official long-distance paths - not least its illustrious northern neighbour, the Pennine Way. Unlike the Pennine Way, which sticks to the remote tops and high central ground, the Pennine Bridleway keeps to the gentler western edge of the hills.  Riders at Barnoldswick in Lancashire, benefiting from improvements to the Pennine Bridleway. (credit: John Cocks/Countryside Agency) So who is the Pennine Bridleway really aimed at? "It has been designed and constructed for use by horse riders," explains the Pennine Bridleway's Project Manager Anna Righton, "because they are the most difficult ones to accommodate in terms of safety, surfaces, ability to go through gates and so on. But it will be ideal for off-road cyclists, and walkers will enjoy it too, because it's a great route through some great countryside." The Pennine Bridleway's southern terminus is in the Peak District between Ashbourne and Wirksworth, and the High Peak Trail (a converted railway line) will form the first part of the route. Beyond Glossop, the Bridleway gets to grip with the high Pennine moors, generally staying west of the watershed and weaving its way via old milltowns such as Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, while visiting the undulating green pastures of Calderdale and the Ribble valley. Throughout its length the Pennine Bridleway attempts to utilise the existing network of traditional packhorse routes, many of which have become overgrown and disused. In several places around Rochdale vegetation has already been cleared to reveal whole sections of still perfectly cobbled surfaces. Most were laid in the Middle Ages but largely abandoned when turnpike roads appeared, and organisations like the South Pennine Packhorse Trails Trust - who maintain a rare library of old maps and documents connected with packhorse trails - are working with the Countryside Agency team to restore and ultimately reuse these unique Pennine routes. The idea for a Pennine Bridleway was first suggested back in the 1980s by the late Lady Mary Towneley, a keen Lancashire horsewoman. After riding from Derbyshire to Northumberland in 1986, she began badgering the then-Countryside Commission into creating a long-distance bridleway route along the length of the Pennines. It struck a chord with official thinking, which held that the growing family of National Trails were fine for walkers but didn't adequately meet the needs of other users, and horse riders in particular. Weekend circuitFinally approved by the Secretary of State in 1995, one of the first parts of the Pennine Bridleway to open has been the Mary Towneley Loop. This 76km (47 miles) circuit across the Pennine Moors between Rochdale, Hebden Bridge, Burnley and Rawtenstall has been deliberately designed to provide a shorter outing, especially for horse-riders over the course of a weekend. Already it has attracted a lot of interest, with local people coming forward to offer bed and breakfast and stabling facilities. |
