Author Topic: The Pennine Way - The Return!  (Read 1045 times)

MadManDan

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The Pennine Way - The Return!
« on: 12:20:58, 16/01/18 »
A Guide for the complete novice, and a possible joke for anyone else.


Way back in the hazy summer of 2016, for those of you who can remember it, a dashing handsome young man set off on the Pennine Way.  This is about me though, and I have no idea what happened to the other guy.


http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=31392.0 [nofollow]


Last time, I managed to get quite far on the trail, and with all good walks, it wasn’t without incident!


Day 0 – Arrived at Kirk Yetholm, after my friend lost control of his car on gravel at 50mph and we ended up through a hedge
Day 1 – Kirk Yetholm to Byrness – The only day that was without any sort of incident
Day 2 – Bryness to Twice Brewed – First 2 thirds of the day, no worries.  Final third, discovered mud and depression.  Finally got to the stop over for the night, knackered and totally exhausted. 
Day 3 – Twice Brewed to Alston – Got there, and the YHA is closed for one night only, and tonight was that night, so had to get a B&B as the local pub was full.  Nice little B&B as well.
Day 4 – Alston to Dufton – Should have gone further, but got really depressed with walking, and an hour where I went the wrong way
Day 5 – Dufton to Bowes – this is where is all started going wrong.  Shedded a lot of weight from my backpack.  Hiked along and went further than the YHA Langdon Beck, because I felt great and not tired.  When crossing the road, I found a small rabbit that had been stunned by a car and helped it by placing it carefully in a hedgerow. You’d think Karma may have noticed this, but no.  Onwards I marched to the next YHA at Blackton Grange….except it’s no longer a YHA is it?  The woman there was nice enough to say there was a B&B just over there…gesturing at bleak open moorland 9pm at night.  I checked the map… was there hell!  Instead of walking over moorland late at night, trying to find my way, I took the shortest route across the moor to the duel carriageway and hiked up to Bowes.  By the time I got there, my battery was dead on my phone, and even worse, the pub was shut.  Nowhere to stay,  so I slept in Bowes castle. (No roof)
Day 6 – Bowes to Keld.  This wasn’t too bad, but I had a hungry stomach.  Supplies were low.  (1 Belvita biscuit and half bottle of water) I set off.  Sweet Jesus, if the mud just before Hadrian’s Wall was bad, this was a new level of Hell.  Eventually got to the Tan Hill Inn and had breakfast.  Foot was hurting quite a bit, so I changed my socks.  It was during this that I noticed the sore foot was swollen.  Dry socks on, I limped 4 miles to Keld thinking I’ll walk it off.  Stayed to the road, as it runs parallel to the PW.  Took another break at Keld, and then decided, enough.  Went in the pub, and called for my back up.
At the doctors later that afternoon, and a few Xrays later, the swollen foot turned out to be a stress fracture of the central metatarsal (Mrs is a nurse)


I made it 150 miles. - This summer, the other 120 miles!
In positive news, it was for charity and I did raise just over £1,200 for The Christie’s in Manchester





What can I recommend for the plucky enthusiast novice who wants to attempt this?


Check what you pack! 

This is an itinerary of what I started with:


60l Rucksack (Possibly better with 40l)
Hiking boots (Decathlon do an excellent pair for £40)
Hiking pants (2 pairs) – Kept 1 pair, threw the others
Hiking socks (2 pairs) – Dry socks are a godsend!
Hiking Poles
Lightweight water proof coat
1 zip up fleece
Baseball cap
Water proof pants – (Not needed.  Hiking pants dry very fast)
2 tshirts (wicking type)
Sunglasses (high hopes!)
Sunblock (Very high hopes!)
2 x chapsticks
1 light neckerchief type thing – around the neck, turn to a hat, glasses wipe, and a hanky as last resort
2 maps – A-Z of Pennine Way (North & South)
Compass
Zip lock bags – helps keep things dry!
Portable phone back up battery – Get a decent one, not a cheap one!!!
My phone
Small mini spare phone (back up)
Charger & wire
Headphones
Head-Torch
Spare batteries
Sleeping bag (was told YHA’s don’t have bedding…they lied!)
Shower bag
Medium sized towel (about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have)
Cheese (I was sponsored by Mexicana cheese, which was nice of them)
2 x 1L bottles of water
Belvita biscuits
2 Large chocolate bars
2 Apples
Kendal Mintcake – someone bought it for me.  Tastes like toothpast.
Med-kit – cheap mini one, but with extras I added, like paracetamol, ibuprofen, diarrhoea tablets, antihistamine
Emergency foil blanket


A couple of things that I would like to mention from the kit.


1.   Your phone.  This is the 21st century and phone’s now can pretty much sing and dance.  They are a useful tool, comprising of not only phone, but camera, GPS, 3G/4G internet.  You may have the old veteran hiker who is abhorred by such a thing, but don’t go without it!  The GPS High up in the hills, just after Greggs hut, the path fades, and I followed for 30 minutes what I thought was the route. Map seemed to be right,  but when that path vanished, I booted up the GPS and had to backtrack.
2.   Portable phone back up charger.  Do NOT get the one from a poundshop.  You want a decent one that can charge your phone at least twice.  I made the mistake of a cheap one.  Learn from my mistake, not repeat it.
3.   The mini spare phone.  This was an item I was told by the Mrs was a non-negotiable item.  Made sure it was charged fully, Sim card in, battery out so it won’t discharge, then sealed it in a bag.  When the battery on my phone died just outside Blackton Grange, it allowed me to let the Mrs know I was OK.  £10 for the phone, £5 for the Sim, Priceless for no earache!
4.   Emergency foil blanket – Cold, without sleeping bag, middle of nowhere – this will help.  £1 from a shop, and smaller than a pocket pack of tissues!
5.   Maps & Compass.  There are a lot of wooden posts with a picture of an acorn on along the route.  The map is essential when you don’t find them, or accidentally leave the path.
6.   Food and drink.  Better to have more than you need, than less.  There’s not many shops on the route.  Belvita biscuits are OK, foil packed, and great as a back up. Think ‘lembas bread’.  Chocolate is handy too. Keep it in the middle of your back pack.  Too high, it’ll melt on a warm day, too low, and you’ll never retrieve it.
7.   Med Kit - Kirk Yetholm to Byrness.  It’s about 28 miles, not crossing any roads.  I spent 5 hours walking before I actually saw another soul.  Just take it with you.
8.   Headphones.  Alston to Dufton, was the dullest day.  You do basically a large semi-circle of pretty much featureless landscape.  My suggestion is that if you want headphones, take a small MP3 player instead of your phone.  I know I should have.


What I wish I knew then:


1.   Sleeping bag was not needed.  YHA’s despite what my friend in the pub told me are very nice!  Dufton was the best one, and their breakfast is amazing. 
2.   If the route looks wrong, then you are probably wrong.  Check, check and check again.  If you’ve packed your GPS phone, the Pennine Way is listed.
3.   Book in advance for places.  Yes it’s a pain in the [censored], but, you get to find out useful things like, are they open (Alston)? Or that they exist (Blackton grange)?
4.   To remember my hiking poles.  I only realised they weren’t there, when getting out of my friend’s car.  Fortunately, the Border Hotel landlord had a collection of abandoned hiking poles and for a couple of quid in the charity box (Mountain Rescue), he let me have my pick.
5.   A small pair of flipflops or canvas shoes.  When you get to the YHA or wherever that night, the last thing you or they want, is for you to be wearing your boots.
« Last Edit: 12:36:39, 16/01/18 by MadManDan »
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sussamb

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Re: The Pennine Way - The Return!
« Reply #1 on: 12:58:08, 16/01/18 »
When the Spine Race is over I'll read this, too busy at the moment  ;)
Where there's a will ...

 

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