The Pennine Way, part 6

Thursday 16th April 2009

Cauldron Snout and High Cup Scar

This was a shorter walk than I had previously been doing during the week at only thirteen miles. Despite taking my time I still arrived in Dufton at four o'clock, two hours before I’d been arriving at my overnight stops on the previous days. Although this was a shorter walk, I quite enjoyed it, maybe because I was able to take my time and just enjoy the walk. The weather started as grey and misty, but throughout the course of the day the cloud lifted to reveal a nice sunny day, however the wind got stronger and stayed cold, making the weather less pleasant than it could have been. The walk began by crossing farmland over the Langdon Beck and across to the River Tees where I resumed my walk beside the Tees continuing into the wild moorland area of the upper Teesdale. This was an interesting walk with a variety of surfaces underfoot including large boulders that I skipped over; this was quite fun, especially as I was able to take my time over them. Eventually I rounded a corner and saw the awesome Cauldron Snout, the River Tees having one more ace up its sleeve, one more waterfall, a long series of cascades that were a spectacular sight. Scrambling up the rocks beside the snout just added to the fun and was a fitting goodbye to the River Tees. After seeing to my blisters below the dam of the Cow Green Reservoir I took a track through Birkdale Farm and out onto the open moorland. This is a wild, bleak moor, but I was on an excellent path that crossed the southern flanks of Meldon Hill, not far from the edge of the Warcop Army Training Range. Red flags marked the edge of the range and warned me to stay out, but they were unnecessary as the Pennine Way steers a course outside of the range and over to the valley of the Maize Beck. It was when I dropped into this valley that the weather brightened so I decided to stop for lunch and enjoy my surroundings, making sure I was sheltered from the strong wind that was now coming down off the hills. Proceeding beside the river I crossed a bridge over the beck and continued along the Pennine Way climbing away from the Maize Beck as it swung north. Crossing the wide plain before me I came to the edge of the bowel-loosening High Cup Scar. This is an absolutely, incredible place that has to be seen to be believed as it is a huge scar in the landscape that is so big it’s proportions can clearly be seen on a map. I visited the scar in 2006 on my way to Northumberland, and it was an awe-inspiring sight then, but it was even more terrifying this time because the strong wind was trying to blow me over the edge! It seemed to me that it must be unusual for the wind to be coming down off the hills as usually the winds in these parts are south-westerly’s that would be funnelled by the scar onto the hills. I considered dropping down into the scar, but in the end I stayed on the Way, rounding the top of the scar. While constantly battling against the wind, I followed the Pennine Way along the northern side of the valley slowly descending the grassy slopes away from the High Cup valley towards the village of Dufton. Coming off the open country and away from the strong wind I walked along a lane in the sunny, but blustery weather, all the way down into Dufton. Although I would have liked this walk to have been slightly longer, after recent walks I did appreciate not having to rush and being able to take my time to enjoy the walk and the surroundings, and made me wish that I had been able to do that on the previous walks.

The Pennine Way, part 5

Wednesday 15th April 2009 

 

Sleightholme/Bowes Moor and Teesdale 

 

I had to really push myself for this walk, even though I had no big hills to climb, since I had over twenty-five miles to cover and after starting from Tan Hill Inn at 9.30 am, I arrived at the Langdon Beck Youth Hostel 8½ hours later. This was an exercise in sheer determination and stamina as I pushed myself into maintaining a constant speed of 3 miles an hour throughout the day. All through the walk I somehow managed to keep this up, constantly keeping my eyes on the GPS device in my hand, checking the time, speed and distance as I travelled. To make things a little more interesting the weather, particularly in the morning, was abysmal. There was a drenching mist and zero visibility as I set off from Tan Hill Inn across the wet, inhospitable heathland of Sleightholme Moor blindly following a faint path through the bog. Navigation was tricky and the scenery was non-existent, nevertheless I pushed on utilizing all my experience in walking in these conditions to stay on the Pennine Way. 

 

The bog underfoot eased slightly after a while, and then the path improved significantly as I joined a wide track, Sleightholme Moor Road, where I was able to put on a sprint and demolish the miles. At Sleightholme Farm my pace slowed as I crossed farm land and the Sleightholme Beck before descending to the busy A66 trunk road. Just before reaching the road I crossed over an intriguing spectacle that made me stop my haste: God’s Bridge. This is a natural rock bridge over the River Greta and is not an uncommon sight in the limestone districts of the northern counties, but is still a fascinating and welcome sight of rock on an otherwise uninteresting, boggy walk. Moving away from this natural curiosity I could no longer ignore the noise coming from the A66; this intrusion of civilization into the eerie silence and bleakness of the open moor was an unwelcome shock and I had no desire to stay near it any longer than necessary. 

 

After going through the underpass I quickly pulled away from the road crossing yet more bleak heather-clad moorland where no one would dream of walking in this weather unless completing the Pennine Way. There is nothing of any interest in Bowes Moor, just a wide, featureless moor as I passed over various dull, low hills and crossed Deepdale. If I never have to walk across this moor again I will be very happy and even though the weather had eased slightly, becoming drier and with wider views, it didn’t make the moorland crossing any more enjoyable. I simple kept my head down and kept going, eventually starting to descend towards a series of reservoirs and some semblance of civilization in Baldersdale. There was still little of interest besides a nature reserve around the reservoirs so I climbed back out of the valley over the headland where I found yet another series of reservoirs, in Lunedale. Once again I had to descend to the bottom of the valley before climbing back up the hill and somehow dragged myself up Harter Fell, the biggest hill on the walk, where there is a distinctive circle of trees at the eastern end, Kirkcarrion (in fact, the highest point on the walk was at the start, at Tan Hill Inn). After passing over the top of the hill I quickly descended the open grassy hillside of Crossthwaite Common into the final valley of the day, the awesome Teesdale, where I quickly nipped into the town of Middleton to a newsagents for something to eat.

I now had just eight miles of easy walking ahead of me and all of them beside the River Tees along a stretch of river that must rank as one of the finest in the country. The walk was made a delight by the sheer beauty of the river and the many waterfalls that populate it, not least the awesome High Force, possibly the biggest waterfall in the country, certainly the most impressive. After paying recently to see some of the waterfalls it was quite satisfying to be able to see this one for free even though the crowds on other bank had paid for the pleasure. Despite my rush I lingered at High Force and at a number of places beside the river recalling an afternoon I spent here in 2004 in better weather, and at a more leisurely pace. With this highlight of the day's walking over I rushed on to try and keep to my schedule, eventually arriving at the youth hostel at exactly six o'clock, precisely the time I had been aiming for.

 

Unfortunately all my effort was in vain as I was soon told that the hostel was in fact closed, despite the fact that I had paid for bed and breakfast that night. Thankfully the volunteer who had been working there let me stay the night and even let me accompany him to the local pub for dinner. With hindsight I wish I’d got the message that the YHA said they thought they had been given me back in January as it would have easier for me to have to spend the night in a B&B in Middleton, and not need to rush throughout the day. I could have taken my time, however in the poor weather I had, particularly in the morning, and the dull landscape, there wasn’t much to linger over. Still it would have been better to have been able to have taken my time over the riverside walk. It was a tragedy to have hurried at that stage for it is quite simply one of the loveliest sections of the whole Pennine Way.

The Pennine Way, part 4

Tuesday 14th April 2009 

 

Great Shunner Fell and Swaledale

 

After my tortures of the previous day I was relieved to now have a relatively easy walk with few problems as I traversed contrasting terrains of open moorland and tranquil valleys. First thing in the morning I bought a new pair of inner soles and immediately slipped them into my boots. My feet remained painful throughout the morning (they had been painful the previous evening even while wearing slippers!) but by the afternoon the pain had thankfully begun to ease. I began the walk by going over to the village of Hardraw and visiting the waterfall of that name, Hardraw Force, the highest in England. The entrance to the waterfall is through the wonderfully old Green Dragon Inn (a name that’s also in The Lord of the Rings), and along a path into a gorge at the end of which was the waterfall. It looked really tall and spectacular even though there wasn’t really much water going over it since there’s not been much rain this spring, which is a problem I’ve had with all the waterfalls on this walk. Despite this it was an awesome waterfall and I had to drag myself away as I had many miles to walk that day. 

From there I walked up a lane onto the open hillside following a walk I'd previously done in 2004 when I'd been in this area doing bits of the Pennine Way. I seem to recall it rained on that occasion but now although the sunny weather of the previous days had gone it was still dry and I had views from the top of the hill. The walk up Great Shunner Fell was long and painful as I toiled up to the summit but the path was varied and interesting even if the scenery wasn't. The vast fell was a wide, heather-covered hill with few features of interest beside the occasional cairn, but this is typical of the English Pennines. Eventually I reached the summit where I had my lunch and tended to my feet which would fortunately not give me any more problems for the rest of the day. The journey down the fell was also prolonged with the distance across the entire fell totalling ten miles from Hawes all the way back to civilisation, but the excellent paved path, essential on this sort of boggy terrain, made the traverse enjoyable and relaxing.

 

Eventually I came off the open hillside onto a green lane that brought me into the picturesque village of Thwaite, and after passing through I climbed the hillside opposite onto a delightful path that hugged the side of the hill above the beautiful valley of Swaledale. This excellent path was ever changing and interesting throughout, following the contours of the hillside through rocky terrain and woodland that was a great contrast to the bleak moorland of Great Shunner Fell. This path was so good I even compared it to the Lake District thanks to the stunning views down Swaledale and occasional rocks beside the path. Unfortunately the weather was not good as it was overcast and the distant views were shrouded in mist. Near the end of the path I spotted a sign to Kisdon Force so I dived down the tricky path to the spectacular waterfalls at the bottom. I'd seen a lot of waterfalls so far during the course of the Pennine Way, but these must rank highly, if only for their isolated tranquillity and peacefulness. The lack of crowds and an easily accessible path set these waterfalls apart as something special and to be cherished. Returning to the Pennine Way I neared Keld and dropped back down to the river at a wonderfully secluded place with a few small waterfalls, wooden bridges and a lovely sward where the Pennine Way crosses the Coast to Coast path. Despite the enormous charms of Swaledale, the last Yorkshire dale that I would encounter on this holiday, I had to leave it all behind and venture out onto the open moorland once again climb up onto the vast hillside. It felt odd to be leaving all sign of civilisation behind me even though it was time to halt for the night and find somewhere to stay. I was sure there was not going to be anywhere to stay nearby as there seemed to be nothing to see for miles around, until eventually I turned a corner and saw Tan Hill Inn, and a welcome sight it was too. This is the highest inn in Britain and is a fabulous place to stay. I had a wonderful night there enjoying the great atmosphere inside and will always consider it a highlight of the week.

The Pennine Way, part 3

Monday 13th April 2009

Whernside and back onto the Pennine Way

This walk was much more tiring and difficult than on the previous days in this holiday even though I walked no further and that was mainly because of the problems I was having with my boots. Back in September towards the end of my week in Scotland I started to have trouble with my boots which I put down to the inner sole wearing out. I bought a new pair but they gave me blisters so instead I added volume adjusters to the bottom of my existing inner soles. This had worked well throughout the winter but I now found that it had not been good enough. The previous afternoon the soles of my feet had started to hurt and then during this walk they became excruciatingly painful from no less than three blisters. Fortunately I was staying in Hawes at the end of this day so was able to buy some new inner soles there before I left.

The walk on this day started very well with a stroll along the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail, for which there is a charge. This was a wonderful walk past a series of stunning waterfalls along a cleverly constructed path that enabled me to get close views of all the waterfalls including the spectacular Thornton Force, which is a grand looking waterfall in a beautiful setting, though I was not seeing it at its best as it was in shadow and not in spate. Despite this, the whole river walk was a great treat and I was gutted that I was unable to complete the whole trail along the River Doe past more waterfalls as I had a long way to travel and I was not returning to Ingleton.

Leaving the waterfalls behind I climbed the hillside above through the last limestone pavement that I would encounter on this holiday as I left limestone country behind, and onto the southern end of the great ridge that summits at the top of Whernside. This was a long and tiring climb with little of interest on a boggy hillside beside a dry stone wall. The weather was colder than the day before with a stiff, cold wind and the views were hazy. Eventually I reached the summit but I didn't linger as it was really cold but continued along the ridge descending the heavily manufactured path. As I was walking down the paved path I passed many people who were coming up the path on this Bank Holiday Monday to reach the summit of Whernside, the highest of the Three Peaks. Despite the colder weather the area was still as popular as it had been the day before and I was glad to be walking away from the crowds. By now my feet were really hurting but I struggled on to the impressive Ribblehead Viaduct where I sat down and while having my lunch I took my boots off to ease my aching feet, though once my boots were back on my feet were in agony once again.

With views of Whernside and the twenty-four arch viaduct behind me I made my way onto the road and agonisingly walked along it for a mile or two until I got to a clear track that climbed the hillside of Cam Fell. Wearily, I struggled up the hill where I finally rejoined the Pennine Way and continued along the track, a Roman road called Cam High Road over bleak grass-covered hills. I had definitely now left the fascinating limestone features of the Three Peaks area and was entering an area of bleak moorland hills that have few redeeming qualities, but are typical of the English Pennines: rocks are rare while heathery bogs are common place. At this point the walking was fortunately relatively easy as the old Roman road was on a very good track, and since it is Roman in origin it is, of course, straight as an arrow.

I continued onward acquiring more blisters and becoming more exhausted as I struggled past Dodd Fell Hill and finally, to my great relief, began to descend into Wensleydale, which is another great Yorkshire dale, though by now I such great pain that every step was a torture. Hobbling along the lane I came into the tourist-filled village of Hawes and to the youth hostel. I would not consider this a great walk as Whernside has no redeeming qualities as a hill, unlike the other two of the Three Peaks, and the rest of the walk was over bleak, grassy hills. The only glimmer of goodness in the entire day were the waterfalls along the River Twiss near Ingleton, as they were simply awe-inspiring, but by the time I was nearing Hawes they were a distant memory. My painful feet had made the whole walk a matter of simple endurance. Thankfully I was able to get some decent inner soles in Hawes or I would not have been able to continue my holiday.