DAY 1 - 23rd August 2020
Edale to Crowden
20.3 miles 32.67km
8.50am to 5.20pm
I don’t know when I really accepted that we were actually, eventually, walking the Pennine Way but it certainly wasn’t on the first day as my Dad drove us from the home I grew up in along the familiar lanes to Edale. This is a section of the PW which I have walked many times before and, as there was no accommodation open in Crowden I would be back in my old bedroom that evening too.
We took the obligatory photo outside the Nags Head and set off in short sleeves.
The clouds were low and by the time we got to the bottom of Jacobs Ladder we were in full waterproofs and it should more accurately have been renamed Jacobs River.
As we ascended Kinder we disappeared in to the cloud. Had we walked on our intended dates earlier in the year we would have been sweltering in a heat wave and complaining about being too hot, today we were getting the full PW experience.
There were quite a few people about and far too many of them were not dressed for the conditions. We met a family who looked like they were taking their dog for a walk round the local park talking to a man in full camo gear. Clearly they were not happy and we stopped to see if we could help. The family had nothing with them and were trying to get back to Edale. We pointed them in the right direction and encouraged them to ask people as they went.
The paths were like streams and, crossing on to Bleaklow, the streams were rivers.
Crossing the rivers became a major obstacle. Later in the walk we met someone who had gone thigh deep in here.
Coming down towards Crowden we dropped out of the cloud only to discover that the path across the dam wall at Torside reservoir was closed and we had just over 2 miles extra to walk which felt like a long way at the end of a tough days walking.