Mick and Neil M. chose this grey and breezy day to trudge up the "Long Drag" (Calderdale Way towards Stoodley Pike from near Mankinholes). Hour after hour, mile after mile (well, nearly 1 mile) with posts and tools they struggled up the ancient stone track to Long Stoop (or Stoup) - the mysterious standing stone where the Pennine Way crosses - and replaced the top of the nearby direction post with a precision-engineered slab of timber.
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| Direction post, Long Stoop, and Stoodley Tower |
Then a half mile or so S. along the Pennine Way to fix a new marker post indicating the start of a minor path branching off to the right across bleak moorland. Back to Long Stoup and back down the Long Drag, on the way planting our remaining post to show the top of path Todmorden 169, an alternative route down to Mankinholes for those who prefer walking over quag and tussock to stone.
One question remains: why did those people lug an extra post all the way up the Long Drag and halfway down again? This is because we had intended to put in another signpost at a location along the Pennine Way, but when we got there we found that a post of the highest quality had already sprung up of its own accord. Truly are these Pennine moors a place of magic and mystery.
Work funded by welcome donations from members of the public.
