Author Topic: TR - Pennine Way  (Read 12959 times)

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #60 on: 09:51:52, 16/09/20 »


Looks obvious to me, particularly when captioned 'Another tough day on the Pennine Way'

She's only once been sent a picture like this before when we've been away walking and that was 10th August 2011 (I've just checked). Our only day ever in the Lakes where we have not walked all day as the weather was horrible. I think she was worried that something had happened and we had given up on the PW.

rural roamer

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #61 on: 12:41:02, 16/09/20 »
I know that people doing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks are raising valuable funds for worthwhile charities, and as we too were also effectively on a sponcered walk I can't really complain, but we were glad to leave the large, noisy groups in matching pink Tshirts behind as we headed north.
When working out our dates the first thing we did was make sure we weren't doing Pen-Y-Ghent or staying in Horton on a weekend. O0

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #62 on: 18:28:19, 16/09/20 »
DAY 10  – 1st September  2020
Middleton in Teesdale to Dufton
20.77 miles 33.42km
8.25am to 4.50pm



A long, lovely day in warm weather but with a cooling breeze.

Our landlady could not be at the B&B for breakfast so it was beautifully cooked and served by the lady who introduced her self to us, and will for ever be known as, Claire's Mum.




There had been, as I think I may have mentioned, a lot of rain. Now at least we were reaping the benefit as there was loads of water coming over the falls.

Low Force


High Force



A really nice day for walking



 

Clambering over all the rocks on our way towards Cow Green we met a slightly overweight cyclist coming the other way having to carry his bike. I can't now remember where he asked us if he was close to yet but he had much further to go than he estimated.

A little further someone greeted me with 'Hi, are you Ridge?' which for a moment completely threw me as no one actually calls me that in the real world. It was emdaw and Mr. emdaw who were walking Dufton to MinT and then back the next day in preparation for their own PW walk. They had been following our reports and it was lovely to meet them. I hope, when they get to do the PW next year, they enjoy it as much as we did.

Cauldron Snout was spectacular.



 

We then had the long track section, quite hard on the feet, to take us to the moors above High Cup Nick.


It was a beautiful day and there were quite a few people sat about at the top of High Cup Nick.


This is probably where my plan to walk the PW started to take root many, many years ago. I must have been quite young and we were on holiday as a family staying in Church Brough just north of Kirkby Stephen. We had walked up to High Cup Nick from Dufton and I remember seeing some bedraggled figures weighed down by enormous rucksacks coming out of the mist across the moor. My Dad explained that they were PW walkers and that it was the same PW which was not far from our home in Sheffield. I was just amazed that it was possible to walk all that way.
My memory is awful, the fact that I can recall this incident so clearly, it must have made a huge impression.

The intervening years had wiped from my mind the long track in to Dufton once you have dropped down. We stood aside to let a group of local residents go the other way.


At our B&B there was a note on the door telling us that they were out and how to get in. Very trusting of them, anyone else reading it would have had complete access to their home.

It had been a long day today and the 2 track sections had really taken their toll. It was tough walking down to the Stag Inn that evening but we struggled on bravely.

April

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #63 on: 19:04:48, 16/09/20 »
Great stuff Ridge, some lovely pics again too  O0


I've never been to Cauldron Snout despite having done High Force and Low Force a number of times, I must go  :)


The path down to Dufton does go on forever, we climbed it when we did High Cup Nick.


I would like to see footage of you both going back to your B&B after you had been in the pub.
Hate will never win

sussamb

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #64 on: 19:17:13, 16/09/20 »
I think that is one of the best days on the PW, and again some great photos.


Ridge, when you have a moment it might help us all if you could list the places you stayed?
Where there's a will ...

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #65 on: 19:38:46, 16/09/20 »

I think that is one of the best days on the PW, and again some great photos.


Ridge, when you have a moment it might help us all if you could list the places you stayed?
Agreed about it being a great day.


I thought about giving the accommodation a star rating but it is so hard as some was much more expensive than others and also location plays such a huge part in how good they are. What I would say is that I will never, ever return to the Angel in Alston.
If anyone has specific questions about any of the accommodation I'm happy to talk about them.

23/8 Crowden - My Dads
24/8 Diggle - Sunfield Stables
25/8 Heptonstall - Cross Keys
26/8 Cowling - Winterhouse Barn
27/8 Malham - Miresfield Farm
28/8 Horton in Ribblesdale - Golden Lion
29/8 Hawes - YHA
30/8 Tan Hill - Tan Hill
31/8 Middleton in Teesdale - Belvedere House
1/9 Dufton - Brow Farm
2/9 Alston - The Angel
3/9 Greenhead - Greenhead Hotel
4/9 Bellingham - The Barn
5/9 Byrness - Forest View
6/9 Byrness - Forest View
7/9 Kirk Yetholm - The Plough
« Last Edit: 19:46:37, 16/09/20 by Ridge »

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #66 on: 19:40:52, 16/09/20 »
Great stuff Ridge, some lovely pics again too  O0

I've never been to Cauldron Snout despite having done High Force and Low Force a number of times, I must go  :)
Thanks April. It is slightly melting my brain that I am commenting on one days walk while trying to write the next instalment and then organising the photos for the remaining days.

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #67 on: 21:34:08, 16/09/20 »
DAY 11  – 2nd September  2020
Dufton to Alston
20.39 miles 32.81km
7.45am to 4.05pm

What a day this was, probably the hardest walking and wildest weather of the entire route. It actually felt like 4 walks rolled in to one. Dufton to Knock Fell (pleasant), Knock Fell to Gregs Hut (wild), Gregs Hut to Garrigill (hard on the feet), Garrigill to Alston (pleasant again).

We set off enjoying a pleasant walk through the fields of Dufton and then up to Knock Fell.


By the time we were here it was obvious that the weather was taking a turn for the significantly worse and we waterproofed up and battened down the hatches.





Over Great Dunn Fell I knew that we were on the right route and I knew that there was an enormous radar station at the top. What I hadn't
appreciated was just how bad the visibility had become. Until we were actually at the fence we could see nothing of the radar station at all and even then it was only part of it through the murk.



Heading up Cross Fell we started to follow recent footprints in the gloop and then passed 2 women. We continued to meet them occasionally for the rest of the PW and they were 2 of the very few other PWers we met. 1 of them was the only person who we learnt both their christian and surnames. Since returning home I have discovered that she and I have a mutual friend. It is a very, very small world.

On Cross Fell the wind was getting stronger and the visibility no better. We were having to walk at an angle in order to keep going straight ahead.







Eventually we descended out of the cloud and had our lunch in Gregs Hut, it was a very welcome refuge from the weather.




Now came the hardest part of the day. Long miles down the hard track from Gregs Hut to Garrigill in the very strong wind. Rob got more and more angry at the pounding his feet were taking on the hard surface and the pounding the rest of him was taking in the elements.




As we arrived in Garrigill an elderly gentleman stopped his car, blocking the street, to chat to us about what the weather was like on the tops. The post office did not have the widest range of goods available but we sat on a bench on the green to drink lemonade and stuff ourselves with chocolate. A UPS van drew up beside us and the driver got out and then returned with a tea tray, I wish I had know that the Post Office did this.

The next section of the walk was a gentle, though at times rainy, walk by the river in to Alston.


That night we dined on fish and chips. When Mike Hartley set the original FKT for the Pennine Way he famously stopped for fish and chips here too.

We returned to the pub we were staying in and when some of the patrons, who were friends of the staff, started throwing food about we retired to our room.

richardh1905

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #68 on: 21:38:07, 16/09/20 »
Great photos of the Teesdale waterfalls and of High Cup Nick - what a day that was.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

April

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #69 on: 22:06:28, 16/09/20 »
It is slightly melting my brain that I am commenting on one days walk while trying to write the next instalment and then organising the photos for the remaining days.


 :)


That pub sounds like a nightmare.
Hate will never win

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #70 on: 22:33:04, 16/09/20 »
That pub sounds like a nightmare.
There was a sign outside looking for a new tenant. Hopefully it will get someone in who can spruce it up and sort it out.

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #71 on: 07:38:45, 17/09/20 »
DAY 12  – 3rd September 2020
Alston to Greenhead
17.9 miles 28.8km
8.45am to 4.25pm


As we stepped through the door of the pub in Alston it immediately started pouring with rain which continued for most of the morning. We stood in the deluge to put on our waterproofs.



The early part of the walk winds between river and railway.



 

Over bridges and under viaducts



 

We walked through Slaggyford, hoping for a shop to buy something to lift our waning spirits. We hoped in vain.
Now we were on fields and moor.



Crossing the moor the path deserted us completely. The rain had stopped but everywhere was absolutely sodden with the earth a shifting mass of water, plants and mud. We headed for the fence at the other side and clung to it doggedly. When we met other PWers on route we would often talk about favourite and least favourite days. When ever this section was discussed everyone always said 'I just headed for the fence'.


We were not enjoying our selves. We had stopped taking photos. We got grumpy with each other and plodded on. We had to cross a golf course, my absolute least favourite terrain, then plodded down the road in to Greenhead. This was supposed to be a short and easy day for us and it certainly didn't feel like it.
We had never walked this number of successive days before and I began to wonder if we had reached our limit of enjoyment with walking. Perhaps a weeks walking was OK for us but longer was too much.


The Greenhead Hostel, where we should have been staying, was closed so we were now in the Greenhead Hotel which was in the process of being refurbished and is very swanky. We trailed mud across the brand new carpets. The swish accommodation  at least lifted our spirits, as did meeting April, Beefy and Squeaky who came to join us for a drink. We maintained social distancing as much as possible but couldn't resist rubbing one of them behind the ears. It was great, particularly after such a day, to have nice people to talk to.
They had kindly brought some glue for me to try and repair my boots with. I snatched it from them and didn't offer to pay. When I realised later that I had not paid Rob did point out that they were so nice they probably would have refused the money anyway. This was true, which only made me feel even worse! Thank you again.


We had four more days to go, I hoped our spirits would not be so low for the rest of the trip.
« Last Edit: 07:43:23, 17/09/20 by Ridge »

April

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #72 on: 08:20:29, 17/09/20 »
Love the shot of the sheep travelling under the bridge  O0


The commons leading down to Greenhead are bleak and boggy, not helped by the sight of pylons either.


It was great to see you both, the highlight of our week it was. Squeaky liked you both straight away, she is normally a bit stand-offish with strangers and it is rare for her to go up to someone she doesn't know. The glue was always going to be free, besides you bought us a drink it was probably double what the glue cost! It was nice to hear Geordie voices, I wonder if the staff I heard speaking are from Haltwhistle. Although quite a distance from Newcastle they still sound Geordie-ish  :) 

PS Beefy says thanks for the rub behind his ear  :D
Hate will never win

Ridge

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #73 on: 08:48:14, 17/09/20 »
Love the shot of the sheep travelling under the bridge  O0
Thanks April, I had to wait quite a while for 2 sheep to face the same direction at once even though they were all supposedly heading that way.
It was great to meet the 3 of you and, as it turned out, it was on the day when we needed it most.

harland

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Re: TR - Pennine Way
« Reply #74 on: 09:01:30, 17/09/20 »
Squeaky liked you both straight away, she is normally a bit stand-offish with strangers and it is rare for her to go up to someone she doesn't know.
It was probably the smell that she liked! ;D

 

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