Todmorden 3.0: Thieveley Pike
This week saw a third trip to the hills surrounding Todmorden, in this case visiting Thieveley Pike, which looms over the South side of the A646. Starting out just below it at Ratten Clough, this was a nice little 4.5 mile loop, with around 1,000ft of ascent.
I was determined to make more use of the Nikon 100-400 on this trip than I did on the last visit to this area, so I left it on the Z7 for more of the walk than I probably should have, only swapping between that and the 24-70 quite a bit as the storm approached and then settling on the 24-70 for the latter part of the walk as we headed back down into the valley. A 2nd Z body would really simplify this.
All images taken hand held with the Nikon Z7 plus either the 24-70 f/2.8S or 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR S. I think the CPL remained sat in my pocket for the entire walk. Processed from individual raw files in Capture One Pro 23.
1 - Top of Ratten Clough Woods
I started the walk with the 100-400 on the camera and was determined to keep it there, so shots like this, taken as we exited the incredibly steep woodland path, ended up a bit more cramped than I would have liked at the time, although on review, I quite like the way it came out. Better light would have helped.
2 - Stoodley Pike
Stoodley Pike sits roughly halfway between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge. Standing atop the 1,300ft hill, the 121ft Stoodley Pike monument was built in 1815 to commemorate the end of the Napoleonic war. This shot was taken from roughly 5.2 miles away at Beater Clough.
3 - Looking Back
This shot is looking back as we leave Beater Clough and head out across Heald Moor.
4 - A Big Softy (probably)
As we made our way across Heald Moor we came across this rather large creature sat right on the path. Now, it's probably the most gentle of creatures, but I decided to give it a bit of a wide berth rather than stepping over it, which would have just been plain rude.
5 - A Gap In The Wall
6 - The Unspoilt Countryside
7 - How's The Serenity?
8 - Dark Clouds Approach
Murky clouds gather over Pendle Hill as we reach the trig point at Thieveley Pike. I could have done with a bit of crepuscular action over Burnley (the town on the bottom left here), but none came during the time I waited.
9 - Eye of The Storm
Well, technically, it's just a gap in the clouds, but it's got that kind of look to it.
10 - Murky Layers
11 - On The Descent
After rounding Dean Scout, we descended into the valley below Thieveley Scout wood, which looked lovely, but was home to swarms of very determined flies. We didn't remain here very long.
12 - Unicorns Beware?
A grim warning to unicorns everywhere or a lost childs toy? A mystery we'll probably never solve.
13 - The Last Leg
The final stretch as we headed back down to the A646. It's a really pretty valley, so it's something of a shame someone decided to run a busy road through the bottom of it (says person parked in layby on said busy road).
14 - Back In The Valley
This was taken from the side of the A646 (it's behind me), looking eastward at the opposite side of the valley to the side we just walked along. Lovely view, but could do with a smidge more light, although at this time of night that's not going to be happening as direct sunlight is thoroughly blocked by the hill we'd just descended. The clouds were starting to catch a bit of light though, but as it was a school night there was no time to hang around to see what developed.
