Author Topic: TR - Pennine Way  (Read 12979 times)

sussamb

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #15 on: 19:43:44, 13/09/20 »
 ;D  that may explain the odd diversion  ;)
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Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #16 on: 07:53:49, 14/09/20 »
DAY 3 – 25th August 2020
Diggle to Heptonstall
17.18 miles 27.65km
7.50am to 3.20pm


At breakfast we met 3 other PWers, though only one of them did we ever meet again.
The owner of the accommodation took us back up to the PW in his car, it would have been a long drag up hill without the lift.
Today was wet, wild and windy. Thanks Storm Francis.
Going along the edge at Standage was one of the 2 or 3 places we checked our position by GPS on the whole walk.

I was not looking forward to the bridge over the M62 in the high wind and rain but the weather kindly relented for us briefly as we went across before closing in again immediately we got to the other side.



The day did calm down in the middle and we managed to sit for our lunch rather than eating on the hoof as we do on bad weather days. Then the rain returned.






Eventually, after watching it grow steadily larger for hours we arrived at Stoodley Pike and as we arrived so did torrential rain.


We were staying in Heptonstall and had the choice of either a bus ride or an extra 1.5 miles walking to get to our accommodation. With the rain and wind at full pelt again we realised that unless we got a shift on we would miss the once hourly bus and either be walking or waiting in the awful weather. We flew up and down the steep hills from the Rochdale canal to Colden panting up the inclines and sliding down the muddy paths. We made it to the bus with 5mins to spare.

Our room in the pub had a large bathroom in which was a hot water tank which looked like it supplied the whole building. We turned the radiator and heated towel rail on to full, opened the hot water cupboard and hung our soaking kit on every available surface. When we returned from the bar it was like a sauna but by the morning everything apart from our boots was dry.

richardh1905

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #17 on: 08:01:43, 14/09/20 »
Making use of the hot water tank made me smile!
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Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #18 on: 08:28:16, 14/09/20 »
I'm surprised that we didn't strip the wall paper, even with the windows slightly open and the extractor in the bathroom left on it was very hot and steamy in the room.


Another thing which shocked me about this and a number of other places we stayed was that they didn't want us to take off our boots, even though I always tried to, and would then show us in to rooms with beige carpets.

sussamb

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #19 on: 12:14:34, 14/09/20 »
Possibly they knew in the conditions the rain would have washed them clean  ;D
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Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #20 on: 16:21:36, 14/09/20 »
DAY 4 – 26th August 2020
Heptonstall to Cowling
16.62 miles 25.14km
8.50am to 3.15pm


We got the bus back to the PW and went straight to May’s Shop. A PW institution and purveyor of anything your heart could desire. Here we set the template for all future lunches with cake, in this case glorious iced buns, and apples. My right knee was feeling strange, I think I had done something to it the day before on our sprint up and down the hills at the end of the day. I bought some ibuprofen which was, annoyingly, the only thing I had meant to pack that I didn’t have with me. My one concern on the trip was that one of us would pick up an injury as I knew that otherwise we should be OK with the distances, terrain and walking consecutive days.


Stoodley Pike now behind us.



It was an overcast day with patches of sun. We met a couple, he was a photographer and asked if he could take a photograph of us as we walked away. To be honest it was nice to be asked as we wouldn’t have known if he had just taken it. I do regret not giving him my email so that he could send us a copy.




The paths, as they were or the entire walk, were absolutely sodden and at one point I miss judged the mud and came within a whisker of going in over the top of my boot.
There were plenty of people about as we passed Top Withens.




Heading over the moors we met another lad and dad pair, though they were considerably younger than us the boy being about 9 I would think. They were walking for 4 days south on the PW to their home near Hebden Bridge. This was their second day so they had been out in the foul weather the day before. I remember a couple of times when my son was younger that people taking an interest in his walking when we met them on the hills really encouraged him, I hope we did the same for this lad.







The rain, having  generally held off all day, got us in the end. We turned up at our B&B damp, though the rain had stopped by then, and they took our boots off to dry by the Aga. They also told us about the father and son that had been there the night before, the ones we had met earlier in the day. It sounded as if everything they owned had been Aga dried.
« Last Edit: 16:25:04, 14/09/20 by Ridge »

rural roamer

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #21 on: 16:50:20, 14/09/20 »
Loving the gradual reports Ridge, something to look forward to read each day! Gosh you did have it wet, looks worse than when we did it and I thought that was bad! And you haven't even got to the worst boggy bits yet. Our mileages have never added up correctly on any LDW, mind you that might be because we include any off route bits to accommodation  ;D  Our PW total was 277.5 but that will include walking to the Old House at Crowden, walking down into Diggle, Langdon Beck, Old Repeater Station at Housesteads and probably meeting the minibus at Trowse Farm.  No navigational errors of course!  :D

April

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #22 on: 17:25:31, 14/09/20 »
Enjoying the reports Ridge  :)  Love the shot of Top Withens  O0


Still chuckling at the hot water tank  ;D


PS, you can make the TR's longer if you like, we want more  :)
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Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #23 on: 17:28:55, 14/09/20 »

Loving the gradual reports Ridge, something to look forward to read each day!
Pleased you are enjoying them RR, I'll try and do another instalment tonight.
Our mileage also included to and from accommodation.


PS, you can make the TR's longer if you like, we want more  :)
I struggle enough knowing what to write the length they are.


April

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #24 on: 17:33:00, 14/09/20 »
I struggle enough knowing what to write the length they are.


 ;D
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karl h

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #25 on: 17:59:33, 14/09/20 »
Well I'm enjoying my virtual Pennine way so far...finding it quite easy actually, although I slightly tweaked my elbow reaching for the biscuit tin :)
Id be careful that the Yorkshire tourist board don't nick that beautiful photo of Top Withens O0
« Last Edit: 18:02:41, 14/09/20 by karl h »

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #26 on: 18:14:33, 14/09/20 »
Thanks Karl.
I waited for ages to take the Top Withens photo, not waiting for the light or the clouds or anything like proper a photographer I just wanted the people wearing bright orange to shift which they eventually did.

emdaw

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #27 on: 19:44:03, 14/09/20 »
Enjoying reading your reports, our Pennine way had to be put off till next June due to lockdown.  O0

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #28 on: 21:27:49, 14/09/20 »
That's a shame but probably sensible.
Note to self, don't be too rude about the odd people we met on our way to Dufton.

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #29 on: 21:36:19, 14/09/20 »
DAY 5 – 27th August 2020
Cowling to Malham
19.41 miles 31.24km
7.55am to 4.30pm


It was a misty morning as the climbed the hill out of Cowling.



Today we shifted from the moors to the dales as we headed north.



We also had a section along the Leeds Liverpool canal.






Having investigated on line the possible places to eat in Malham, and winced at the prices, today was the only day we planned to have our main meal at lunchtime. I sent my wife a picture of us tucking in at the Dalesman in Gargrave and got a shocked response.

The weather played a similar trick on us as yesterday and as we walked along the river towards Malham at the end of the day it decided to rain.


Quite a lot of people as we came in to Malham and loads and loads of cars.
Our accommodation was slightly quirky and after we had eaten food we bought in Gargrave we decided to head to the pub. It was still raining heavily. I don’t think The Buck in Malham are used to people arriving in full waterproofs, stripping them off and hanging them about to dry and then removing their boots and leaving them to gently dry by the fire at the other side of the room. Nothing was ever said but we decided we should probably slope off when someone arrived at the table next to ours wearing a suit.



Back at the accommodation we met the other residents in the lounge. There were six of them, 1 man and 5 women, all from Hull. At least they started by saying they were all from Hull and then very quickly told us the places that they were from which were definitely outside Hull and, in fact, absolutely not Hull at all. They were all in their 50s or early 60s I would guess and with a wide selection of lovely dogs. They were really nice and it was a joy to sit and talk to them for a while, I just couldn’t work out what their connections were.

 

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