The Twelfth Winter Solstice Walk
Sunrise at Stoodley Pike, photo courtesy of David Zdanowicz Photography
This year we are heading for another iconic Yorkshire location to watch the sunrise. The 121 foot high Stoodley Pike Monument dominates the skyline above Todmorden, sitting atop the 400m Stoodley Pike Hill.
The monument was designed in 1854 by local architect James Green, and completed in 1856 at the end of the Crimean War. Stoodley Pike Monument contains a spiral staircase of 39 steps, accessed from its north side. You can climb 40ft above ground level to take in the views from the balcony, there are no windows on the way up so bring a torch.
The Winter solstice walks have become a caching tradition, which is now in the 12th year. For some reason, there is a perverse enjoyment in getting up before the larks and climbing to a remote summit in the cold winter weather to try and see the sunrise - so please come and join in the annual solstice walk. Around 300 will attends have been logged over the years. This year we head to Stoodley Pike but we are not taking the tourist route - instead we are going in on the less visited easterly approach from Mytholmroyd so hopefully it will be a new walk for many people.
Where/When.
- Saturday 11th January 2019.
- Meet from 6:30am. We will depart shortly afterwards.
- Assemble at the the start of the footpath at the parking coordinates - see waypoints.
- The event is officially at Stoodley Pike (listed coordinates) between 8:15am and 8:45am. Sunrise is at 8:19am but might not become visible until a few minutes after that time.
There is plenty of roadside parking available on Cragg Road, please park sensibly so you aren't in the way of local residents. Please log a will attend and remember to look out for announcements in the days before the event which could include weather updates or tweaks to the walk plan (the event times won't change).
We aim to arrive on the hill to see civil twilight - 'blue hour' - and then watch the light change as 'golden hour' arrives and the sun rises.
We encourage you to join us for the walk which has always been a good laugh no matter the weather. However, the event itself takes place at Stoodley Pike during the specified timings so you are more than welcome to make your own way up and meet us there - please state on your will attend whether you are coming for the walk or making your own way up.
Warnings.
We are following map marked footpaths and lanes climbing up the ridge from Mytholmroyd. You should expect moorland conditions, boggy underfoot, so please dress accordingly; some caches involve leaving the path. I am planning to take the main ridge walk up and stop for any existing caches and take a slightly different route down to get a couple more. If you haven't been up here before there should be at least 10 finds on the route including a newish War Memorial cache at Stoodley Pike. The climb up from the parking to Stoodley Pike is around 300m over 2.5 miles (slightly longer to detour for caches). Check the forecast - it may be below freezing, drinks and hair were frozen in 2009. There could be wind and rain, as those who climbed Black Hill will remember. Do not treat this walk lightly, it is a remote moorland location in Winter. We will do our best to look after everyone but we do suggest bringing your own torch as it will be dark when we leave and GPS etc in case you should need to navigate yourself off the hill for any reason.
Astronomical spiel.
This event has always been associated with the winter solstice even though it has never occurred on the actual date of it - for the 2009 event Foinavon just did a play on words for the event title which stuck, but we actually always have it early January as something to look forward to after Christmas! So in fact this event occurs more towards the latest sunrise of the year which does not occur on the shortest day (i.e the Winter Solstice). If you are curious to know why, Google it.... something to do with the length of a Solar day in relation to 24 hours.
The definitions of twilight are:-
Astronomical Twilight - The stars begin to fade and disappear. On our solstice day that will occur at 6.11am. We will be driving to the meeting point at this time.
Nautical Twilight - The horizon becomes visible and sailors can navigate. On our solstice day that will occur at 6.53am as we are beginning our walk.
Civil Twilight - This is what people regard as dawn. On our solstice day that will occur at 7.38am. We should have finished our climb and be able to enjoy the view by this time.
Sunrise - The disk of the sun becomes visible. On our solstice day that will occur at 8.19am, shortly after we arrive at the monument.
The blue hour is the period of twilight in the morning or evening, during the civil and nautical stages. When the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade favoured by photographers. The golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky.
History of the events.
Perfect Sunrise 2008,2010,2012 (we are due one!)
Visible Sunrise 2016,2018,2019(ish)
Total Mist and Fog 2011,2013,2014
A Raging Tempest 2015
Ice and Snow 2009,2017
11 winter walks - Foinavon/bargee/Lodgebarn
10 winter walks - The Magna Defender