RUMBLINGS…

Phew… tickets for the pacific Crest Trail talk have sold so well that we’ve had to change the venue.

The talk will now be held at St Peter’s Church in Stainforth. It’s much easier to find that the village hall, being just a stone’s throw from the car park and visible to those coming into the village from the campsite.

This wonderful, generous offer by our vicar, Roger, means that we can accommodate twice the numbers and still serve tea and coffees.

That means that tickets are still available in the Craven Heifer in Stainforth, and are now available once more at Cave & Crag, and at Castleberg Sports in Settle. Only two quid a pop folks.

Other fine refreshments will be available in the Craven Heifer immediately after the talk.

Many thanks to everyone for the fantastic level of support we’ve had for this event.

The third and final talk in a series organised for the South Pennine Walk & Ride Festival takes place tonight.

Author and journalist Andrew Bibby (below) will discuss his fantastic book Backbone of England (pub Frances Lincoln), at the Coach House in Littleborough, just a stone’s throw from the Pennine watershed which he walked over a lengthy period - a route that’s probably as close to the original vision for the Pennine Way that legendary access rights and footpath campaigner Tom Stephenson proposed back in the 1930s.

That the route is walkable today is only because we have new access rights bestowed by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. - if the water gatherers and grouse moor owners had their way, we’d still probably be banned from the watershed of our own country.

Andrew’s talk will be illustrated with images taken by photographer John Morrison, who’s travelling all the way from the Lake District to take part in tonight’s special event.

The talk starts at 7.30pm and will be held at the Coach House in Lodge Street, Littleborough, OL15 9AE (GR: SD938164).

The cost is a mere £3 and refreshments will be available.

The pic above shows Hebden Royd Town Mayor Coun John Beacroft Mitchell, author and tonight’s speaker Andrew Bibby, Pennine Prospects chair Pam Warhurst, myself, and Graham Joyce, head of Pennine Prospects, on behalf of whom I organise the South Pennines Walk & Ride Festival. The picture was taken at the festival launch in Hebden Bridge on September 12.

John Manning

A project I’ve been working on closely in recent months is drawing closer to fruition – you can download a programme for the 2009 South Pennines Walk and Ride Festival here (note: download starts immediately).

The festival will take place from September 12 to 27, and features an incredible 108 events, ranging from short nature walks to yomping great strides over the South Pennines moors, from introductory mountainbiking courses to road cycling adventures and orienteering events of all levels to, for the first time for this particular festival, two horse riding events.

Most of the events are free of charge, and only a handful require pre-booking. Most are reachable by using the area’s excellent public transport network, both west and east of the Pennine watershed.

It’s the ideal opportunity to discover and explore the South Pennines, an area of deep valleys and expansive moorlands, rich in industrial and natural heritage, wedged between the more crowded Yorkshire Dales and Peak District National Parks.

(more…)