Nine Standards Rigg and the Teesdale waterfalls

 Wednesday 15th September 2004

After my walk on the day before this I headed to the small market town of Kirkby Stephen and stayed at the atmospheric youth hostel that used to be a Methodist chapel. There I found a great camaraderie amongst the other people staying at the hostel as it seemed most of them were in the process of walking the Coast to Coast Walk and were exchanging stories of their exploits along the trail. At the time I had not walked along any part of the Coast to Coast and was feeling rather left out. A great mix of people had come together because of their love of walking and many of them with a goal of walking from one side of the country to the other, from the west coast of England to the east coast. This is what a youth hostel should be, but in recent times youth hostels have catered more for families looking for a cheap holiday and the unity of endeavour for all hostellers has sadly gone.

The Kirkby Stephen Youth Hostel is no longer part of the YHA network, although it is still open as an independent, though it no longer provides meals for everyone and this was when most of the camaraderie happened. I was torn between my options for what I was going to do the following day. My schedule called for me to be far away from Kirkby Stephen the following evening and yet I was keen to experience a little of the Coast to Coast spirit on the trail. Eventually I decided that I would follow my fellow hostellers along the trail all the way up to Nine Standards Rigg, so next morning I set off through the historic market town following the route of the Coast to Coast Walk over the River Eden to the village of Hartley and along a quiet road gradually gaining height. Wainwright got into a lot of trouble with his original route for the Coast to Coast Walk as it took routes through private land where there was no right-of-way so he was forced to make many hasty alterations, usually onto roads.

When Chris Jesty did his second edition in 2010 he suggested an alternative through the Ladthwaite valley, however the road remains the official route and when I walked up it in 2004, and later in 2010, it was the only route. It is a pleasant walk, despite the tarmac, and the weather that had been poor for most of my holiday was now shining brightly on me and lifting my spirits. As is inevitable with large groups of walkers the various Coast to Coast walkers were strung out along the length of the road all going at their own pace with me going at my pace and only occasionally talking to my fellow coasters. At the end of the road the trail follows a bridlepath up Hartley Fell before coming off to head up Faraday Gill straight towards the prominent cairns that stand guard at the summit of Nine Standards Rigg. These stone cairns were rebuilt in 2005 so when I was at the top in 2004 they were still in various stages of decay; nevertheless they provided a commanding view across the surrounding countryside.

I had far-reaching views across the Eden valley towards the Lake District, but it was the views north that proved to be the most memorable. I could clearly see something very large and very white sitting at the top of one of the highest hills of the Pennines, and although I had no idea what it was I was so intrigued I made a point of finding out. It was the radar station at the top of Great Dun Fell whose giant, white domes can be likened to golf balls when seen from many miles away. This distant view distracted my attention from my immediate purpose of getting across the top of Nine Standards Rigg. There is a serious problem with erosion on the hill and for many years there have been various paths to take depending on the season, but this hadn’t taken into account the high rainfall in recent weeks so there was a terrible quagmire at the summit that all the coast to coasters were having to negotiate on their way down to Whitsundale.

I had to return to Kirkby Stephen so I left my brief companions on their slithery way and turned west to Baxton Gill Head and onto a bridlepath that was actually the original route of the Coast to Coast up Nine Standards Rigg. This soon brought me back onto my outward route and down the road all the way into Kirkby Stephen. After lunch I drove up to Teesdale parking at the Bowlees Visitor Centre to begin looking at the stunning waterfalls in the area. Not far from the visitor centre is Summerhill Force and Gibson’s Cave, however I have no memory of visiting them even though I’m sure I did. I do remember leaving the visitor centre to cross the main road and pass over Wynch Bridge onto the Pennine Way a short distance from Low Force. Following the trail upstream I eventually reached the stunning High Force, which must be one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Britain.

I was walking along the southern bank where the Pennine Way passes close to the waterfall, but access to the northern bank is via a private footpath for which a fee is charged. Despite this there were many people on the other side whereas on the southern bank I was on my own, enjoying the spectacular views for free. The weather was fantastic so I wandered further along the Pennine Way until the River Tees started to veer away from the path and at that point I turned around to head back past High and Low Force and return to my car. On this day I made two very different walks, one up a hill that is topped by many piles of stones stacked in many ways, and the other past several waterfalls to a stunning waterfall that is a wonder of the North Pennines. After several days of poor, at best mixed, weather it was great to have some wonderful sunshine and some great views to enjoy it in.