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Walk Summary:  Moderate Easy 5.8 mile circular walk around Pule Hill Marsden.
Start : Riverhead Brewery Tap pub in Marsden
Locality:  Marsden
Area: West
Start OS Grid reference: SE0489511644
Start What3words : offline.proves.tried
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance miles: 5.9
Ascent meters: 374
Estimated Walk Time  hours: 3.5
Pub & Locality:  Riverhead Brewery Tap at Marsden
Parking: Road side parking in Marsden or at National Trust/Railway station carpark
Public Transport: Bus 335 from Holmfirth bus station to Slawit then Bus 938 to Marsden. Journey time circa 1 hour 10 minutes. Check bus times.
Walk Description: Starting from the station car park in Marsden walk down the road towards the village centre. As the road bends left at the bottom of the hill, keep straight ahead onto Towngate and pass the church on your right. At the A62 junction cross the road and keep ahead onto Old Mount Rd. Pass the cottages of Throstle Nest and take the signed footpath to the right. Follow the track up through Rook Wood, keeping left with the track as it approaches buildings. The track leads to a stile , which is crossed into a field and the path continues upwards alongside an old sunken road(1). At Manor House Farm pass through a gate and continue ahead, keeping the farm on your left. A field gate is reached and a sign indicates paths ahead and to the right. Take the path on the right and follow it steeply down a valley side to a footbridge and gate to the path continuation. A clear, but narrow path crosses the steep hillside into a field where the path follows the edge to a stile. Cross this stile and turn left up a well defined path to a gate. Through the gate turn right and follow the path down to a footbridge over a brook.  Keep following the path across rough and wet ground in the direction of the ruined Intake Head Farm ahead. As the farm is approached the path keeps left to pass behind the buildings and an indistinct route then aims for the ventilator shaft on top of the hill to your left. The ground here can be very wet and the best path needs to be chosen to suit the conditions. When the ventilator shaft is reached continue straight ahead on a clear path which crosses moorland and then follows the escarpment edge of Pule Hill, giving fine views to the west. To gain the summit of Pule Hill (2) keep following the path until a stone marker post is reached and views are available in all directions. Now retrace your steps back to where an old quarry track joins from the left and follow it down until you have access into the quarry workings. At the south west end of the workings may be found one of a series of Stanza Stones,(3) written by the poet Simon Armitage. Continue down the slope towards the road but approaching old buildings on your right find a footpath on the right, initially across quarry waste but then becoming clearer on rough grass as it contours the slope, parallel to the road. Pass behind a renovated building and at the end of private land take a path to the left, straight down to the road. At the road ,cross, turn right and walk down past cottages. Shortly after, take a footpath on the left down a long and steep set of stone steps, between walls. At the bottom, cross Redbrook and turn right and cross the old pack horse bridge ahead (Eastergate). The path follows the brook down to a road (Blake Lea Lane) which is followed for 50m downhill and to a footpath left. Take this path, at first alongside woodland and then across steep and rough pasture (take care crossing a shale bank above a stream). Look for a path leading to the right and aiming for a stream crossing ahead. The ground here is often wet and cattle poached. Cross the stream and follow the path to the right down to Fair Hill Farm which is passed behind. The path then becomes a lane which is followed past Troaves Farm and then left when a junction is reached after about 130m. Keep on the tarmacked lane, past Berry Greave and then, after around 150m take a lane on the right, between walls to a pedestrian gate. Pass through the gate and turn left, past cottages on left and through another gate onto a well made path to a road , which is crossed and then bear left past the old canal warehouse. Keep ahead to join the canal towpath and follow it towards Marsden and your starting point.
Other comments and points of interest: (1) the old sunken road is thought to be an early route through Marsden. A Roman road has been traced and excavated above Manor House Farm and the route is probably associated with a ford across the river Colne, in front of the present Riverhead pub.
(2)  Pule Hill is a noted site of archaeological remains, prehistoric flint tools and a burial urn have been found here.
(3)   The Stanza Stone in Pule Hill quarry is “Snow” and is one of a series of stones extending from Pule Hill to Ilkley. Composed by the poet laureate, the Pule Hill site is particularly appropriate as Simon Armitage was born in Marsden and played in these quarries as a boy.

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