TPW 4 – BARLEY to PINHAW

1. Go west through car park to join track/road to Narrowgates.

2. Beyond Narrowgates this old road, now a bridleway, runs downstream in grand surrounds.

3. At the houses at Whitehough, turn sharp left up the access road.

4. After the houses the road swings up to the right.

5. Before the top, watch for a stile on the right after a small red-brick building.

6. The path runs on through lovely beech wood beneath the grounds of Whitehough Camp School.

7. Emerging into a contrastingly open field, rise left to the buildings at Intake Farm.

8. From the corner stile the Way is deflected up around the external boundary of the house’s grounds. Dropping back onto its drive, go left out onto the road.

9. Turn left uphill to a sharp bend, then right on another access road, to Hollin Top.

10. Approaching the house, bear left of its confines to a stile in the wall just above.

11. Passing behind the first house to a gate, ignore the green track rising away, and continue straight on along a thinner path (behind the house) to a stile in the wall.

12. Cross the field top above Bank End Wood, and at the end advance on to a barn.

13. Passing round into the barn’s yard, leave through a gateway on the right, just to the right of a corner stile which is ignored.

14. Head away with a wall on the right, initially on a stone flagged path.

15. As the wall turns off keep straight on this pleasant open crest.

16. At the end drop towards the top corner of the wood, and an old iron gate/gap-stile await in front.

17. From the stile continue straight down through the new plantings to a stile below, with the house at Bank End just over to the right.

18. Resume straight down another area of scattered young conifers, using stiles to cross an ‘internal’ fence.

19. Aim slightly left of the landmark of Stansfield Tower to drop to a stile at the bottom.

20. Cross a side-stream and with the main beck over to the right, rise up the field to find a stile beneath a telegraph pole.

21. With another stile just behind it, slant down the field to join the road via stone steps at a red-brick bridge.

22. Cross the road, not the bridge, and descend steps to a slab bridge at a confluence.

23. Over the side-stream, follow Admergill Water upstream on a slim green path.

24. Through several pastures we approach the hamlet of Lower Admergill.

25. Before the first house (Admergill Barn) the path has been diverted to cross a prominent footbridge on the right, and resumes upstream to a gate into the grounds of the house.

26. Go right out on the drive, and right over a cattle-grid and bridge.

27. At the first bend, take the drive along to the left to Admergill Hall Farm.

28. Keep straight on the drive until it turns up to the left by a seat, with Burn Moor rising high above.

29. Keep straight on upstream, through pleasant mixed pasture and past wildlife ponds to arrive at two stiles.

30. Take the right-hand stile, cross a slab bridge and climb up the bank, bound for the gate on the skyline.

31. Near the top the faint path slants across to the gate, using a stile to emerge onto the A682.

32. From the stile opposite a path slants up to a wall corner with a farm behind.

33. Bear left with the wall to a gate in front of Admergill Pasture Farm.

34. Don’t advance to the house itself, but go straight up the yard to a pair of stiles at the top.

35. From the left-hand one a path rises by a wall and old sunken way, and on from another stile up to the top end of the sunken way.

36. Don’t cross the stile here but go a few yards to the right, where another stile and gate send a short-lived, enclosed green way out onto Gisburn Old Road.

37. Go left on this quiet, gently rising back road.

38. Our way follows the old road only briefly however, and just beyond the isolated Peels’ House take a kissing-gate on the right.

39. Head away with the wall, sections of boarding assisting through moister moments as this reedy way lead along to the terminus of the walled green lane of Lister Well Road.

40. This way rolls on for some time, gradually declining until commencing a more pronounced descent. Here, from a stile by a gate on the right, head off on a more inviting track down the heather moor.

41. As the track swings right to a pond, continue down to the gate below to leave the moor.

42. Descend the pasture to agate/stile in the corner below, and an arrow-like green way descends to the farm at Copy Nook.

43. Its drive continues downhill, still in grand fashion, to emerge onto the B6251 Barnoldswick-Foulridge road.

44. Go left a few yards along the road and then turn down the side road for Salterforth.

45. This leads quickly down to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal on the edge of Salterforth.

46. The Way takes to the canal towpath opposite the pub (left) and heads away past the colourful moorings.

47. The canal passes under the B6383 Barnoldswick-Kelbrook road at Park Bridge, and is followed as far as the next arched canal bridge, Cockshutt Bridge, alongside which is Lower Park Marina (refreshments).

48. The route shuns both the canal and the bridge, and goes through a stile/gate on the right.

49. A grassy path follows the wall directly away to another stile, then slant left across the bottom of a minor grassy ravine.

50. Continue up the slope, past its top end on to a stile onto the roughly surfaced Salterforth Lane.

51. Head straight off along the drive opposite, to Kayfield.

52. Entering the farmyard, advance to a gate straight in front then on through two small enclosures linked by stiles.

53. Cross the next field to a gate/gap-stile at the far right corner, then bear left at a stile at the end.

54. Ignoring an adjacent stile, bear gently away from the left-hand hedge, soon reaching the brow of the large field to reveal Earby in all its glory.

55. Drop left to the bottom of the field, some way to the right of the solitary house at Hill Top.

56. From the stile in the fence descend the field-side to merge into the house’s drive, which then continues downhill to pass under the old railway to meet the A56 Colne- Skipton road in Earby.

57. Go left a few yards and cross to head off along Albion Road, joining the shopping row of Victoria Road.

58. Go left on this to the end, passing the little bus station.

59. The Way turns right past further shops, and keeps left along Water Street.

60. Water Street becomes Red Lion Street and duly passes the pub of that name.

61. It continues as Moor Brow Road, then Birch Hall Lane and at a tight corner reaches the youth hostel.

62. Turn along the rough lane immediately after the hostel.

63. Before the car park, however, take a gap-stile on the left and a path runs through the trees to a footbridge on Wentcliff Brook.

64. Across it, slant away from the beck, up the field-side and up past a largely destroyed hedge to a prominent stile in the wall above.

65. Joining the access road of Gaylands Lane, turn right to rise steadily uphill.

66. Simply remain on this to the house at Thornton Highgate.

67. A little above the house the rough road forks. Take the left branch through the gate, and continue rising to a sharp bend with the isolated house at The Mount to the left.

68. At this junction of ways take the gate in front, onto a corner of Thornton Moor.

69. A splendid track heads away, keeping close to the right-hand wall.

70. On a minor brow the track veers away from the wall and forks.

71. The right branch, seen striding out across the moor, is the direct and most commonly used route to link the Pennine Way with the youth hostel. It rises pleasantly to arrive at agate/stile and wall-corner at the far end. Here the Pennine Way is joined

72. The left branch, a broad seldom used track that swings sharp right at a fork at the back of Stone Pit Hill, and soon fades to another minor brow. A fainter way then works left to meet the Pennine Way path alongside the moor edge wall. This too leads on to the stile at the wall corner.

73. From the stile the path runs on to merge into a moorland road .

74. The road rises gently to a T-junction with the old Skipton-Colne road