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.