Day 2 - Crowden to Globe Farm Bunkhouse, Standedge
Day 3 - Standedge to YHA Mankinholes
Day 4 - Mankinholes to YHA Haworth
Day 5 - Haworth to Lothersdale B&B
Day 6 - Lothersdale to YHA Malham
Day 7 - Malham to YHA Stainforth
Day 8 - Stainforth to YHA Hawes
Day 9 - Hawes to YHA Keld
Day 10 - Keld to Baldersdale via Bowes
Day 11 - Bowes to YHA Langdon Beck
Day 12 - Langdon Beck to Dufton
Day 13 - Dufton to YHA Alston
Day 14 - Alston to YHA Greenhead
Day 15 - Greenhead to YHA Bellingham
Day 16 - Bellingham to YHA Byrness
Day 17 - Byrness to Uswayford Farm
Day 18 - Uswayford Farm to YHA Kirk Yetholm
Day 19 - Return Home from Kirk Yetholm
Thoughts at the End of the Walk
Mileage and Ascent
Weight of Rucksack and Equipment
Enjoyment and Equipment
Accommodation and Facilities
Other Walkers
Costs (Prices in 1991)
Photos and other comments (2023)
About the Walk
Price comparison - multiply by 2.93 for 2023 equivalent
The concept of such a long distance walk was first put forward by Tom Stephenson, in an article in the Daily Herald in 1935. Nothing happened immediately and it was laid to rest until after the war. Eventually, in 1951 it received ministerial approval, which was just the start of a lengthy series of negotiations with landowners to open up many new footpaths. Although much of the route was along existing rights of way, there were still some 70 miles, which required new access. In 1965, this was finally completed and there was a grand opening attended by many keen walkers.
The idea of the walk was to follow the Pennines along most of their length, taking in many of the beauty spots along the way. There was also an attempt to keep to the high ground and avoid public roads and built up areas as much as possible. The route runs from the Nag's Head in Edale, Derbyshire to the Border Hotel in Kirk Yetholm in Scotland involving over 250 miles of walking, although it is considerably less as the crow flies. A number of minor changes to the route have been carried out in recent years to cope with the problems of erosion along the more popular sections, but the overall walk is much the same as it was at the outset. Also because of the soil erosion, particularly over the peat moorland, many paths have been reinforced by various means. Several different methods have been tried including duck boards and wooden palings laid flat on the ground. There is even one short stretch where the palings have been 'floated' over the boggy ground on polystyrene slabs. However, the most popular method, at present, is the use of large stone flags, which are more durable and should eventually blend better with the landscape.
I had heard about this in my early twenties in the 1960s and was even tempted to have a go at that time when a friend suggested it. However, I had many other things on my mind at the time having just started a job after finishing university. I was also unsure whether I would have the stamina to do so as the suggestion was to take a tent and camp along the way which would involve carrying a lot of weight, so I didn't take up the suggestion at the time.
In the 1980s when I had moved over to work in Yorkshire near Pontefract, I started going walking with friends from work and most of the walks were around the Peak District, so I frequently came across singposts for The Pennine Way and would often walk short sections of it, especially around Kinder Scout as part of day walks in the area. As I walked, I often looked far ahead over the moors and thought how good it would be to keep on going without turning back around to the start. I became quite fit with this walking but had still never tried doing more walking the next day as I was generally tired and weary and in need of a rest. However, this urge stayed with me until I finally decided to take on the challenge in 1991.
The Opportunity
The first stage of planning was to decide on the form of overnight accommodation to use. The options were:-
Youth Hostels - which provide a warm, dry bed, meals, drying facilities with less weight to carry and the security, from Jean's point of view, of knowing that I had arrived safely each night. On the negative side was the extra cost and the fact that the stages would have to be fixed by the locations of the hostels which are not necessarily at the points one might want them to be.
Camping - which gives more flexibility as to walking distance and is cheaper, but has the disadvantage of requiring a much heavier pack to be carried and the problem of keeping dry in wet weather.
The matter was decided by the fact that my wife Jean would not feel happy if she did not know if I had arrived safely at the end of each day, which could not be guaranteed if I were camping, so that meant staying in hostels. However, this still left the question of what to do on some of the stretches where the hostels were not very well placed. The starting date was also decided as Friday 24th May 1991 to fit in with other commitments, even though this meant being away on Jean's birthday. The advantages of that time of year are the long daylight hours and the probability of drier but not too hot weather.
It was suggested that it would be a good idea to get sponsorship for the walk for a local charity, Kirk Smeaton Church Organ Restoration Fund. This had the advantage of setting the arrangements in concrete and ensuring that everything possible was done to make sure that the walk went ahead. The total amount of sponsorship finally came to £236 (about £600 in 2023 prices).
I decided to do the walk on my own, because of the difficulty of finding anyone else who was both interested and able to do the walk at the same time as me. Another reason for doing it on my own was because I thought that it would put me much more in control of the pace I found most suitable. I also wanted to take photographs on the way and it is often difficult, when walking with others, to take the necessary time to get the best viewpoint and lighting conditions for some of them. On my own I could easily wait for quarter of an hour for the sun to break through, but walking with others I would have been inclined to take a hurried shot and then carry on. The disadvantage of walking alone is that there is nobody to give moral support if things get difficult, nor to chat with and help to pass the time on the less interesting sections.
Planning and Training (or what not to do!)
Note (2023): this may seem a rather excessively long account but it illustrates what the mind goes through in taking on a first long distance walk and some of the pitfalls along the way. After the completion of one walk and the realisation that it has been achieved, subsequent walks are much easier to undertake as there is a feeling of confidence that they are also achieveable.
Sunday 7th April 1991
I started walking with an old frame rucksack, which I had picked up some time ago at the Church Fayre Jumble Sale for £1. For ballast, I filled it with potatoes making a weight of 23 lbs. and did a 9-mile walk along the Went Valley, part of which is Brockadale Nature Reserve and is just a few minutes walk from my doorstep. I suffered a lot of pain from my shoulders and also found that the metal fasteners holding the shoulder straps to the frame were cutting into my back whenever I pushed my shoulders back. This was rectified by a slight modification to the fasteners to fit them facing backwards and bending them round the frame tube.
Monday 8th April
I decided that the only way to guarantee being able to do regular walks was to get up early in the morning, so I arose at 6am with the dawn chorus and had a 5 mile walk around the Went
Valley. This still gave me a lot of pain in my right shoulder from carrying the rucksack.
Tuesday 9th April
After another 5 mile walk the pain in my shoulder started coming to the surface as spots. Massaging with Deep Heat Rub helped a bit, but it started to worry me, as things seemed to be
getting worse rather than better.
Wednesday 10th April
I did the same walk without the rucksack to give my shoulder a rest. The walk was much easier and took 15 minutes less.
Thursday 11th April
Walked with the rucksack again and realised that I was tensing up my muscles to lift the weight of the pack. By trying to relax the muscles, I suffered less, but it was still giving some pain.
Friday 12th April
By now, my feet and legs were adjusted to the extra load; if only I could say the same about my shoulder.
I bought the National Trail Guide 'Pennine Way South' book which is based on 1:25,000 map sections, and sent off for the YHA Pennine Way Information Pack for £1.50. Others at work advised me to buy a good pair of boots - I didn't think that my old ones would stand up to the 400 miles or so which would be involved in
training and walking the Pennine Way itself.
Saturday 13th April
After the usual 5-mile walk I started the shopping, buying boots, socks, shorts, compass, emergency blanket etc. - the expense was mounting and there were still several more things to buy.
Sunday 14th April
Went for 11-mile walk in the new boots and, apart from the folding of the boot over my right toes and some rubbing on the left ankle they did quite well. The shoulder still gave quite a bit of pain, but was helped by massaging at intervals of a few miles.
Training now dropped down to alternate mornings during the week with longer walks at weekends. The shoulder pains were helped somewhat when I realised that the muscles would be better if they were working and pumping blood through them rather than just being tensed up. By flexing my shoulders whenever they started to hurt I managed to go for much longer without too much trouble and with fewer rests. The boots were causing some pain on
the toes of the right foot, but some padding and slackening of the lower part of the laces relieved this.
At work, I met Brian Prunell, a colleague who had walked the Pennine Way, and picked his brains. He told me not to take on too much in the first few days, but after that the system gets used to walking and it is possible to take on more.
The training received a setback when I realised that the family had robbed some of the potatoes from my pack and the 23 lbs. I thought I was carrying was in fact only 17 lbs. A further setback came when I realised that the potatoes were sweating and sprouting, so I had to find an alternative and turned to newspapers, bringing the pack back up to 23 lbs. which I thought would be about the weight I would need to carry on the real walk.
Having received the YHA information pack, I decided on an 18-day walk, splitting the final 27-mile stage with a B&B at Uswayford. There is some confusion as to the mileage on some section of the Pennine Way, as some sources quote from Wainwright, who increased the figures by some factor depending on the difficulty of the terrain. Other sources, such as the Ordnance Survey guide books, measure exactly along the map, which gives a somewhat lower figure. Using the lower figures, this made the longest day's walks about twenty one and a half miles and twenty and a half miles, with an average of about fifteen miles a day. I sent off my booking form to the Pennine Way Bureau in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, and found by phoning that the Earby hostel was already full, but that they would arrange B&B instead. When the booking form came back it also appeared that the Dufton hostel was full as well and they booked B&B there. It actually turned out that Dufton closes on Tuesdays, at that time
of year, which the bureau did not seem to be aware of at first. Instead of Earby Hostel, which was full because of a Christian crusade March of a Thousand Men", the bureau booked me into B&B at Lothersdale. Despite these minor problems the service from the Pennine Way Bureau is very good and saves the effort writing to every hostel individually to make bookings.
I bought most of the remaining items that I needed - sleeping bag liner, 'Pennine Way North' book, water bottles, water purification tablets, blister pack, whistle, small torch etc. and started to weigh out everything and to work out just what things I really needed to take.
Saturday 27th April
Did the Bleaklow end-to-end walk from the Flouch Inn to the car park near Crowden; a distance of about 16 miles and very similar to the first day of the Pennine Way. Carrying a pack of 18 lbs plus food and drink I managed quite well without much trouble from my shoulders and I felt quite fit at the end of it. The big question to ask was whether I could get up the next day feeling fit enough to do another walk - the answer was "YES".
The training continued as before and I was still having problems with my shoulders. Oddly enough, I had less shoulder problems on the Bleaklow walk than on lesser walks around the valley.
Another setback to the training occurred when I took out the newspapers from the rucksack in order to sew on some new closure straps. The newspapers were taken off for recycling and I had to look for something else to carry. I tried a 12 pack of Tetley's bitter, but it was rather uncomfortable and not very well
balanced, and ran the risk of becoming depleted in training! I therefore, reverted to carrying some 'A' Level physics books which somebody was throwing out - just the thing for a bit of light reading en route!
Friday 3rd May & Sunday 5th May
On holiday in Northumberland, so walked up Cheviot from Kirk Yetholm and down the next valley - about 21 miles - with a light rucksack. The weather had been dry and the summit of Cheviot was easy to walk over.
The next walk over Cheviot from Langleeford two days later, after heavy rain was the complete opposite; the peat near the summit was diabolical, and would definitely be worth missing out in these conditions. I walked via Uswayford to see where the B&B was and found it to be in a beautiful, remote valley.
I continued the normal level of training during the following week and found that, although I still suffered some problems from pains in my shoulders, they were manageable.
Monday 13th May
Towards the end of a brisk 5-mile walk around the valley, my left anklebone started to hurt more than usual where the boot was rubbing. It wasn't helped by the fact that I also twisted my left ankle.
Wednesday 15th May
I made some padding to fit in my left boot in the hope of protecting my anklebone. However, it was very painful after 5 miles, and to make matters worse, I again twisted my ankle.
I started to get worried at this point, as I had suffered similar problems with my right ankle with my old boots and it took a very long time to recover, even doing about one 5 mile walk a week. I was now facing 18 days of continuous walking with no hope of the ankle recovering in time. The only hope was to pad
the boot sufficiently to protect the anklebone and hope for the best. Without padding I now found that I was in agony walking even a few yards, and even with padding I was having considerable difficulty. I experimented with various different materials and finally came up with a piece of hall carpet with a cut out for the anklebone. Even that did not work completely well and the finally modified version was not tried out until the start of the
Pennine Way. Needless to say I was having grave misgivings about setting off. Before this problem, I couldn't wait to get started, but now I was wishing that there was more time for recovery. However, everything was booked and to cancel at this stage would have meant a lot of reorganisation and maybe not doing the walk at all this year, so I decided that there was no alternative but to set off and see how it worked out.
At Easter, when I first decided to walk the Pennine Way, my weight was just over 12 stones. I decided that it would be a great help if I could lose about half of the weight of the pack I would be carrying. During training I, therefore, also cut down on food by missing out lunch most weekdays and in this way I achieved my aim. At the start of the Pennine Way I weighed 11 stone 3 and by the end, after eating everything that I could lay my hands on, I weighed 10 stone 13.
Day 1 - Friday 24th May 1991 - Edale to Crowden
Distance: 16 miles - 2400 ft Ascent
N.B. The calculation of mileage is a somewhat inexact science and that of ascent is even more so; different figures tend to come out depending what methods are used. The figures I have given are based on my own measurements and my own counting of contour lines, but should only be used as a rough guide. Where accommodation has been used within about half a mile of the route I have included that in the main figures, but where longer detours have been required, those have been shown separately.
After all the build up and training the day of reckoning finally came and I had a considerable amount of anxiety about the state of my left ankle and my shoulders. If it came to the worst, I thought that I might be able to do at least some of the walking in trainers, but this was not really an option in the first few days because of the numerous peat bogs. As for my shoulders, I had no idea whether they would get better or worse as time went on.
I said goodbye to Jean and our elder daughter Amanda, who had driven me down to Edale, and wondered for a moment whether I had taken leave of my senses now that the big day had arrived. However, this was no time for doubts, so the only thing to do was to get started and see how it went. After photographs and farewells I made a start at 9.45am setting off along the 'alternative' route which, according to the latest book is now the recommended route. It is about a mile longer than the other route, but is easier going and easier to follow.
The weather was overcast with mist over Kinder Scout, but there were a few bright patches in the sky. My first consideration was to take it steadily as there was no rush and I hoped that it would be easier on my feet. The ground was very dry in most places, as there had been little rain in the past few weeks, so that would make the going over peat a lot easier. In fact, there had been so little rain that they were seriously talking of closing areas of the Peak District because of the fire risk. As I climbed to the top of Jacob's Ladder the mist had already started to lift and the top of Kinder was clear. I made the first error in route finding by ending up to the south of Kinder Low but this only added about half a mile to the route, as I was able to head across the top of Kinder in the general direction of Kinder Downfall. I soon regained the correct edge and reached the Downfall only to find that it was bone dry. I stopped for something to eat but was pestered by a sheep with a lamb, which were scrounging for food. I made the mistake of giving them an apple core and found that they then followed me all the way off Kinder to Mill Hill.
Kinder Scout from Mill Hill
Torside Clough from Torside Reservoir
Coming down from Kinder I met a couple who commented on the sheep following me and, though I didn't realise it at the time, I was to see a lot of them as they were following a very similar schedule to mine. They were called Mike and Edna from Southport and were now grandparents. They had done most of the major walks in the U.K. and had done the Pennine Way several times before. When asked about which walk was best they had no hesitation in saying "the Pennine Way". The going over Featherbed Moss was rather difficult, but it could have been a lot worse had the weather been wet. Coming over Bleaklow the rain clouds were threatening, but I managed to avoid the worst and only caught a few spots of rain. This part of the walk was relatively easy, as was the descent to Torside Reservoir. The sun started to come out and it eventually turned into a beautiful evening.
By the last couple of miles to the youth hostel my ankle was starting to get painful but was not too bad. Booked in at 6pm, joined the YHA and prepared for my first stay in a youth hostel. The dormitory was rather crowded with not much space for everyone to put all their rucksacks and equipment, but the Warden was very friendly and helpful, as were the other people who were staying there. There was a choice of four things for dinner, and for breakfast, so I opted for soup, chilli and apple crumble, with grapefruit and full fried breakfast in the morning.
After dinner, I walked up the hill behind the hostel with magnificent views over the reservoirs in the evening sunshine.
Day 2 - Saturday 25th May 1991 - Crowden to Globe Farm
Me on Black Hill Summit (raised trig point caused by erosion of peat) Note the ancient rucksack that cost me £1 but caused a lot of pain
Wessenden Head Reservoir
Blakeley Reservoir
My ankle seemed to have recovered by the morning. Started off at 9.20am as there was only 12 miles to walk. There was low cloud over Black Hill and the weather was overcast but not raining. The cloud gradually lifted during the ascent to Black Hill and was clear of the summit by the time I got there. Kept on meeting people from the hostel and walked from Black Hill to Globe Farm with a French Canadian called Yves. There was a pleasant walk past the reservoirs of the Wessenden 'alternative' but the weather started to worsen, although it only ended up with
a little drizzle. After taking it very leisurely and having several rests, arrived at 4.20pm.
My feet were holding up well and I did not have much of a problem from my shoulders with the rucksack, which had given me so much trouble during training. However, this had been a very easy day and even Black Hill summit was no problem with the peat dry and firm underfoot. I could see what it could be like in bad weather though. We made a slight error on Black Hill and ended up at the wrong side of Issue Clough, which added about half a mile, but otherwise everything went well.
Globe Farm was very pleasant. The accommodation is similar to the YHA but the standard of food and service is better and more akin to Bed & Breakfast. Dinner was soup, lasagne and bilberry pie and breakfast was 4 courses if you want them all, including a huge fried breakfast.
Went to Floating Light (Thwaites hand pulled) for a couple of pints with Yves but the beer was a bit quot;off" that night.
I had one blister on the side of my right heel but it was not causing much trouble.
Day 3 - Sunday 26th May 1991- Globe Farm to Mankinholes via Stoodley Pike
Distance: 13 miles on PW + 1.5 miles to YHA - 1100 ft Ascent
Started at 9.30 with weather overcast but with high cloud and little wind. Over Standedge there were lots of hot air balloons; I counted 11 at one point, and the walk was very pleasant with good views and easy going. The sun tried to come out but didn't quite manage it. When I reached the A640 road, I couldn't make out exactly where I was until I realised that I had followed the edge along instead of bearing right to Oldgate Nick, so I had to walk about half a mile up the road to rejoin the Pennine Way.
Castleshaw Reservoirs
Dhoul's Pavement on Blackstone Edge
The scenery was not very interesting over Windy Hill and the M62 motorway until Blackstone Edge and a cool northerly wind came up. At Blackstone Edge I met Mike and Edna again and walked with them to the White House where we called for a couple of pints of quite good John Smith's. The following reservoir walk was easy going but rather tedious until Withens Gate and Stoodley Pike. The monument has steps inside up to the first level with fine views of Calderdale, which is a beautiful valley that I didn't realise existed. Descended to Mankinholes the long way round, via the Pennine Way, to make the next day's walk easier.
The hostel was rather crowded as it was the Bank Holiday weekend and the facilities were not all that good, but adequate.
There was a choice of two meals for dinner and I had soup, cheese and onion pie and rhubarb crumble. The evening turned very pleasant, so I sat and admired the view for a while before going down to the Top Brink with a choice of Marston's Pedigree, Castle Eden, Whitbread and Boddingtons - all hand pulled. It was very busy, as there were a lot of people in there, who were walking the Calderdale Way and other local walks.
I had a very poor night's sleep, as all the bed springs creaked badly whenever anyone moved. There was also someone snoring very loudly in there. One of the Pennine Way walkers told me later that he thought that the snorer was in the bunk above him. He gave a large shove with his foot on the mattress above and the chap then got out of bed and went to another dormitory to sleep. The only thing was that the snoring didn't stop as he had picked on the wrong person.
Day 4 - Monday 27th May 1991 - Mankinholes to Haworth
Distance: 11.5 miles on PW + 5.5 miles to YHAs - 2750 ft Ascent on PW + 500 ft from/to hostels
After the usual breakfast, I started out at 9.20. Haworth had an early dinner at 6.30pm and was nearly 18 miles via the Bronte Way, so there was less time for lingering. The morning started bright but then clouded over and became rather humid. All parts were still in working order and I didn't have too much in the way of blisters or aches and pains. Some say that if you can set off on the fourth day you have a good chance of making it to Kirk Yetholm.
Calder Valley and Stoodley Pike
The first three and a half miles are easy going along to Hebden Bridge, but then there is a steep climb up the other side of the Calder valley, which gives a fine view looking back at Stoodley Pike. My feet were doing well and I only had a few twinges from my back in the mornings. This tended to improve as the day went on, especially as the load decreased, as the food and drink was used up.
For the first time so far it looked as if a real downpour was imminent, so I stopped to put on the waterproofs. However, it only ended up with a bit of drizzle so I need not have bothered. The scenery was pleasant but not spectacular and by about the half-way stage at 1.20pm. I called for a pint in the Pack
Horse Inn with Thwaites and Ruddles. This is only a few hundred yards off the Pennine Way. The pub was quite busy as it was Bank Holiday Monday and the weather was pleasant enough for people to be drinking outside. A couple of young Pennine Way walkers hobbled in carry large rucksacks with all their camping gear. One of them in particular was suffering very badly from blisters. I didn't see them again, so I don't know whether they eventually made it.
The rest of the day was easy walking apart from one moderate climb up to Withens, which is supposedly the setting for Wuthering Heights. At Withens I joined up with the Bronte Trail and
headed for Haworth via the Bronte Falls. Everything around Haworth is prefixed by "Bronte" as there is large tourist industry surrounding the birthplace of the Bronte sisters. It is so popular with foreign tourists that there are even signs written in Japanese. This detour from the Pennine Way was for accommodation in the nearest Youth Hostel and involved nearly 4 miles of extra walking in each direction. A sign says "Youth
Hostel via Bronte Falls 3 3/4 miles; via direct route 3 1/4 miles". The waterfall and bridge were crowded with people as it was Bank Holiday Monday, and the road into Haworth very busy. I discovered later that when I met up with the proper road it would have been better going via Penistone Hill rather than via Cemetery Road as that would have been more pleasant and leads out to the back of the church. The Youth Hostel is about a mile along the road to
Keighley, opposite the Bronte Hotel, and after a long walk it seemed as if it were never going to appear. I arrived at 5.30pm and discovered that they had delayed dinner until 7pm, so I could have lingered more if I had known. The hostel is in a fine old mansion with much more room than most. However, my dormitory was filled with a coach load of German teenage boys and the floor was littered with empty beer cans (despite this not being allowed
by the YHA). There was also a large party of teenage girls from London and the landings and corridors were milling with people. The Germans were not in for dinner and were last seen waiting outside the pub for opening time. The girls filled the dining hall with a sound level of about 200 decibels, which didn't make for a very relaxing meal, but there again it is a "Youth" Hostel. There was a choice of two things for dinner - I had soup,
lasagne and gateau.
The warden was concerned for the plight of a few of us and said that, as a family had not turned up, we could move into their four bedded room in the hope of getting some sleep.
I had a walk around Haworth after dinner (about 2 miles) and then called at the Bronte Hotel where I met a Cornish chap from the same dormitory and was bored to tears by his rambling tales, so only stayed for a pint and escaped for an early night. The night was relatively peaceful until 6am when the London girls
got up to depart with much crashing of doors. Breakfast was more relaxed with them out of the way.
Day 5 - Tuesday 28th May 1991 - Haworth to Lothersdale (Earby full)
Distance: 8.6 miles on PW + 3.8 miles from YHA - 1400 ft ascent + 430 ft from YHA
Accommodation - Lothersdale B&B - No evening meal, B&B plus packed lunch £12.50 - Drying room very good.
Started at 9.20am and returned via the Bronte Way as there was not far to walk to Lothersdale. This time I found the better route at the back of the church and avoided the road. The Bronte
falls were much more peaceful with hardly anyone about and, after a rest by the bridge, I reached the Pennine Way again by 11.10am. The walk round Ponden is pleasant, but the wind was freshening from the NE. Ickornshaw Moor was bleak, with few redeeming features and, with a bitterly cold wind, it seems like it must be the low point of the Pennine Way. Eventually the cold forced the wearing of a thick jumper and, for the first time (and the last
time), a change into trousers although my legs were not all that cold; it was more the rest of my body. Dropping down from Ickornshaw Moor brought more pleasant scenery and more shelter from the wind. At Ickornshaw I called for a pint at the Black Bull. They have hand pulled Whitbread and Tetleys and do bar meals etc.
Ponden Reservoir
Lothersdale
After a few hilly pastures and after lingering as much as the cool weather would allow, I arrived at the B&B at Lothersdale at 4.20pm where I was greeted with a cup of tea, a large slice
of quiche and a bun. The day's walk had been deceptively tiring; all the up and down over hilly pastures is as much as climbing a mountain, but without the reward of a good view.
The B&B has a very good drying room so, after a shower, I washed everything that needed washing. The thick socks that I washed in Haworth were still not dry after a night in Haworth's drying room and hanging all day from the back of my rucksack. I wandered around the village, which has a Post Office/Store and a
pub. After sitting for a while in the park by the river I phoned home at 6pm and then returned to the B&B where I found three other Pennine Way walkers who had just arrived; Tom and Jeanie, and Roger. We all ended up in the pub where the meals were all a bit expensive. The gammon I had was one of the cheapest at £4.60, but it was, at least, a huge piece and went down well with the Tetley's bitter.
The others had all set off on Saturday and were booking in as they went along. Tom was in the Merchant Navy and was told by Jeanie that they were doing the Pennine Way next time he came home on leave, so he had been breaking his boots in by walking around the ship! Roger was on his own and had a rather ambitious plan to finish in about 12 days, but started suffering from blisters on the first day. He began to realise that he could not achieve such a short time, so then planned to join the other two and extend the finish.
I had a room to myself with bunk beds and tea making facilities. There was also a patio with tables and chairs, which would have been very pleasant in warmer weather.
Day 6 - Wednesday 29th May 1991 - Lothersdale to Malham
Started at 9am with easy walking on a dull but pleasant day with less wind. After the climb to Pinhaw the walk goes over rolling pasture to Thornton, which I reached by 10.35 and, after stopping at the Post Office to write a card and buy drinks etc., I set off again at 10.50. There was more pasture then until the
Leeds and Liverpool canal, which has an interesting double arched bridge. Into Gargrave there was more pasture and at this point the sun just started to break out. I met a lone, rather overweight, Pennine Way walker carrying camping gear. He was shuffling along in a very mechanical way, much as tramps tend to do - I presumed that this was because of the weight he was carrying. At the time I was not quite sure if I had come the wrong way, judging the direction from the position of the sun, but he pulled out his compass, quickly confirmed the direction and shuffled on his way again.
Leeds Liverpool Canal
Malham Cove
I stopped off in Gargrave to post off my first slide film and to have some lunch before proceeding along towards the Aire valley. The sun then came out fully, making it beautiful for walking by the river. The last stretch to Malham is on the hillside to the right of the river and gave fine views of the
Cove. I arrived at 15.40 at the youth hostel, which was open from 13.00, but not for booking in. I dropped off my rucksack, changed into trainers and went for a walk around Janet's Foss, Gordale Scar and Malham Cove (about 4 miles) and happened to meet Mike Ward (who used to be my boss) and his family on the way. The weather turned out very fine and the scenery was fantastic, even though I had seen it many times before.
Dinner at the hostel was not the most inspiring, but O.K. - soup, fish and chips and apple strudel. After dinner I met Tom and Jeanie who told me that Roger had dropped out at Gargrave and caught the bus back. Later I called in the Buck Inn which has a good selection of hand pulled beers.
Day 7 - Thursday 30th May 1991 - Malham to Stainforth
Distance: 14.3 miles on PW + 3.5 miles to YHA - 2400 ft ascent
After a rather slow start waiting for the YHA card and packed lunch I got off at 9.15 to a cold, overcast start with a fresh north wind. The cove did not look so magnificent in drab weather. The walk was rather dreary past Malham Tarn with mist over the fells. However, the cloud was gradually rising and by the top of Fountains Fell it was only just hanging around the top and was not very thick. Coming down from Fountains Fell there should have been a fine view of Pen-y-ghent, but only a vague part of one end was visible, then a few patches of blue appeared in the sky and the full outline showed up. By the base of Pen-y-ghent it was a lot clearer and I had a rest before the steep climb to reach the summit at 2.10pm with only 3 1/2 miles to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. The weather gradually improved to a beautifully sunny afternoon. On the descent from Pen-y-ghent I
called at Hull Pot, which is about a quarter of a mile off route but well worth the detour as it is very impressive. In fairly dry weather no water reaches the pothole as it all disappears into the ground beforehand, but in wet weather there is a waterfall into the pot. I also walked down into Tarn Bar, which is like a miniature Malham Cove just off the route (although I think this was on private land). I reached Horton at 4.15pm and met Mike and Edna who had to miss out Pen-y-ghent because Edna was not feeling well with a stomach upset.
My overnight accommodation at Stainforth Youth Hostel was, once again, about four miles off the route. There is a limited bus service, but I decided to walk instead, as I had enough time and preferred to do everything on foot if possible. I changed into trainers to help my feet and set off down the road, which was not very busy and had good verges to walk on. No bus passed me on the way, but I found out that they were at 15.40 and 17.35 from Horton, so I was just between them. The hostel was another old mansion and was very pleasant, with big rooms, which were not overcrowded. Dinner was soup, chicken and crumble, which were all very nicely cooked. Later I went to the pub in Stainforth with good Thwaites and met some of the other Pennine walkers.
The only bus in the morning was at 7.50, so it was a choice between having breakfast or catching the bus. I decided on breakfast.
Day 8 - Friday 31st May 1991 - Stainforth to Hawes
Distance: 13.5 miles on PW + 3.8 miles from/to YHA - 1350 ft ascent
Started off at 9.05am with a lovely sunny start to the day and I decided to walk in trainers as far as Horton-in-Ribblesdale, so I put my boots, camera and map book into my rucksack as well as the full day's supply of food and water. After a short way along the road I saw what looked like a track across the fields, so I made my way along there. However, it turned out not to be a proper path and, after a mile or two, having had to climb a few walls, I made my way back down to the road again for the last mile and a half. The extra few pounds made the pack feel heavy and when I took it off in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and walked across the road to post a card, I felt as if I was floating across the road with my feet hardly touching the ground. It shows just how much you adjust to carrying a certain weight and how much difference a small change to that weight can make.
After a rest, I set off from Horton-in-Ribblesdale at 10.30am wearing my boots and continued on the Pennine Way again - it does seem a bit of a waste of effort doing these 8 mile return trips to youth hostels. It is not too bad if a pleasant off-road route can be found, but if there is no such route is readily available it becomes rather tedious and frustrating. Although in this case it is possible to use the bus, I feel it goes against the grain to use anything but foot power, even for off-route stretches. The alternative, in this case, would have been to stay in B&B accommodation in Horton-in-Ribblesdale or to use the Bunkhouse Barn which is about a mile from Horton-in-Ribblesdale, but which has no meals service. The weather clouded over but was not too
bad and the first few miles out of Horton-in-Ribblesdale were not very interesting, as there was not much of a view from the track. After three and a half miles the route turned left and offered a fine view of Ingleborough with the cloud having just lifted from the top. Gradually the sun started to break through again and by 1pm it was very pleasant, so I stopped for lunch at Ling Gill and stayed for a while to sunbathe. It was a very
pleasant spot by the old packhorse bridge over the stream. Further down is a gorge, but access looked to be rather difficult so I didn't go down there.
Ling Gill Bridge
Cam Houses
Apart from a very fresh north wind the weather was improving all the time as I started the ascent of Cam Fell with beautiful views of Ribble Head and the Three Peaks behind, and Cam Houses and Upper Wharfedale in front. Along West Cam Road I went a little way down the side of the valley to get a better view and
take some photographs, and eventually arrived at Hawes youth hostel at 6pm. I discovered that the ones who had caught the bus in the morning and set off from Horton-in-Ribblesdale at 8am had missed the best of the weather and had walked much of the route in mist. By setting off later and not taking the bus, I had managed to do much of my walking in fine weather.
The hostel at Hawes was a modern purpose built one, with a very friendly warden and good facilities. For dinner I had soup, fish pie and apricot crumble. My feet were feeling a bit tender at the end of the day but this could be because much of the walking has been on hard tracks and roadways. The backs of my legs were feeling rather sore having caught the sun for most of the afternoon.
After dinner I went into Hawes for a drink and met up with several of the other Pennine Way walkers. There were a number of pubs to choose from, as Hawes is a busy market town.
After a peaceful night's sleep, my feet were fully recovered and ready for another day's walking. Making a 9am start the first stop was in Hawes to buy some sun tan lotion for my legs. Hawes has quite a good number of shops and a bank, which did not have a cash machine, and was only open on certain days of the week.
The day started off with beautiful sunshine and the usual cool wind from the north. The views were magnificent. I called to see Hardraw Force which is accessed through the Green Dragon Inn and cost me 50p admission - I can remember when it used to cost 6d in old money (2 1/2p), but that was a long time ago. There was at least a trickle of water coming over the fall; I expected it would have been completely dry considering the almost total lack of rain that there had been for several weeks.
River Ure at Hawes
Muker in Upper Swaledale
Swinner Gill
At the summit of Great Shunner Fell I had lunch and sat for a while in the pleasant sunshine, sheltered from the wind by the cairn, and chatting to a number of the other Pennine Way walkers. A short while after setting off again I settled into a sheltered hollow at about 2,000-ft to sunbathe for about an hour. The weather was the best so far and the views were marvellous. After descending to Thwaite, I stopped again to sit in the sunshine, as there was plenty of time to spare. The last couple of miles to Keld had marvellous views of Upper Swaledale, which is not
accessible by road, and is a steep sided valley with cliffs and waterfalls.
I arrived at Keld Youth Hostel to find that the parcel from home that I was expecting had not arrived four days after being posted. The parcel contained some spare clothing, a clean towel etc. as well as the guidebook for the second half of the route. Apparently even first class letters can take four days to reach
there and I was not the only one to not receive a parcel in time. I left my address and the parcel was eventually redirected home, having taken a total of three weeks to get there and back. Fortunately there was nothing I was too desperate for as I was managing to wash things as I went along. The only thing which was a nuisance was the missing 'Pennine Way North' map book, although I still had the other 1 inch to the mile map with me, which was good enough to see me through even though it lacked the detail of the book.
The hostel was very busy as it is at the crossing point of the Pennine Way and Coast to Coast walk. Facilities were not so good and the drying room was useless, but there was a good airing cupboard if you could find room in there. I had dinner of soup, shepherd's pie and apple crumble and was beginning to wonder if crumble is the only pudding recipe that the YHA possess. The evening was lovely and, as there was no pub nearby, I went for a walk to the waterfalls and back (about 2 miles). The hillsides were absolutely covered in rabbits which all started running away as I walked along, there being about a hundred white bobbing tails retreating up the hillside in front of me. It was still quite light as I returned to the hostel just after 10pm.
Some people had made their way to the pub in Muker, three miles away, by taxi. I didn't join them because I wanted to go everywhere by foot and didn't fancy another six-mile round trip to walk there and back.
I did not get a good night's sleep as all the beds were old with sagging springs, which creaked every time anyone turned over.
Day 10 - Sunday 2nd June 1991 - Keld to Baldersdale via Bowes
Distance: 18.8 miles - 1500 ft ascent
Accommodation - Baldersdale YHA - No meals service, but well stocked shop open in evening and again at 8am - drying room quite good.
Started out at 9.30am in light rain which gradually got worse making the walk to Tan Hill very dreary. Although it was about 11.15am on a Sunday there was no problem getting drinks, so I settled down with several other of the Pennine Way walkers and had a couple of pints of Old Peculiar at £1.60 a pint in front of a warm fire. Eventually, with a brighter outlook on the world, I set off into the rain again. Soon the rain stopped and gave way to somewhat brighter weather, but the walk was not very interesting. I reached God's Bridge at 3pm and the river was dry. At this point I had to decide whether to take in the Bowes Loop adding 4 miles to the walk. As the weather was reasonable I decided to do so, thinking it may add a bit of interest to the day's walk. However, I soon regretted it as there is not much to see in Bowes apart from the castle and the weather turned bad with freezing cold rain in the northerly wind. In addition, much of the route over the moors was without a proper path and quite hard going over the rough ground.
God's Bridge over River Greta
Bowes Castle
Eventually I reached Baldersdale youth hostel at 6.40pm with rather tired feet. I phoned home shortly after arriving and must have sounded rather low, as Jean wondered whether I was about to pack in the walk, although the thought had never crossed my mind. This was the first hostel without any meals service and I was completely unprepared for self-catering. As this hostel is very remote it was well stocked with food, including frozen meals for one, which could be put in the microwave oven. The real problem was with making drinks and packed lunch as it meant having to buy so many bits and pieces and I kept having to call the warden back to the shop for something else I had forgotten to buy. For dinner, I had beef curry with rice, a cheeseburger (all frozen/microwaved) and a choc-ice.
The facilities were good with a pleasant lounge with a snooker table. There being no pub for miles around, I settled down to read one of the Pennine Way books from the hostel bookshelf. It was 'One Man and his Bog' by Barry Pilton and was absolutely hilarious, although I didn't have enough time to read it all. In the morning the shop opened at 8am and I bought all the things I needed including a microwave breakfast and tin of luncheon meat for sandwiches.
Day 11 - Monday 3rd June - Baldersdale to Langdon Beck via Middleton-in-Teesdale
Distance: 14.5 miles - 1650 ft ascent
Accommodation - YHA Langdon Beck - Dinner 7pm, Breakfast 8.15am - Drying room very good
Started out at 9.30am in light rain which gradually got worse making the walk to Tan Hill very dreary. Although it was about 11.15am on a Sunday there was no problem getting drinks (pubs were not supposed to open before noon on Sundays at the time), so I settled down with several other of the Pennine Way walkers and had a couple of pints of Old Peculiar at £1.60 a pint in front of a warm fire. Eventually, with a brighter outlook on the world, I set off into the rain again. Soon the rain stopped and gave way to somewhat brighter weather, but the walk was not very interesting. I reached God's Bridge at 3pm and the river was dry. At this point I had to decide whether to take in the Bowes Loop adding 4 miles to the walk. As the weather was reasonable I decided to do so, thinking it may add a bit of interest to the day's walk. However, I soon regretted it as there is not much to see in Bowes apart from the castle and the weather turned bad with freezing cold rain in the northerly wind. In addition, much of the route over the moors was without a proper path and quite hard going over the rough ground.
Grassholme Reservoir
River Tees near Forest-in-Teesdale
Day 12 - Tuesday 4th June 1991 - Langdon Beck to Dufton
Distance: 12.5 miles - 920 ft ascent
Accommodation - Dufton B&B (Dufton Hostel closed on Tuesdays) - B&B
plus evening meal £14.50, packed lunch £2.50
Started out at 9.20am with a steady walk to Cauldron Snout with bright sunshine at first but gradually clouding over. Over Falcon Clints, which consist of a lot of sharp angled stones, it is hard on the feet and can be dangerously slippery in the wet. Cauldron Snout, a series of cateracts in the river Tees, was as
impressive as ever despite the limited flow of water and I stopped for a while until 11.00am. At the other side of Cauldron Snout I stopped again waiting for the sun to come back out to take a photograph, only to find that when it did come out the shutter on the camera had jammed. After a bit of fiddling with the camera and a few wasted frames, it was 0.K. again.
Cauldron Snout on River Tees
River Tees below Cauldron Snout
High Cup Nick looking down the valley
High Cup Nick looking up the valley
Middle Tongue from Peeping Hill (bottom of High Cup)
Dufton village
The next few miles involved a steady climb, which gradually got squelchier, though never too bad. The weather was overcast and there were even a few light hail showers. Crossing the river towards High Cup, the path was better and drier. Of all the sights so far, High Cup was the best for sheer scale and grandeur. The sun even managed to come out a bit as I arrived and I spent some time admiring the view before moving on. I reached the B&B at 4.30pm (the youth hostel being closed that day) with the weather gradually improving towards evening time.
I had a cup of tea and a bath and it was good to have a nice hot soak, although it was a while before my sunburned legs would tolerate being lowered into the hot water. The B&B was very good, but very prim and proper even though I was made very welcome in my dirty walking gear - the advantage of youth hostels is that one doesn't feel out of place as everyone else is in the same state. The evening meal at 6.45pm was very substantial with soup, braised steak with 2 veg, roast potatoes and boiled new potatoes with apple pie and cream for dessert, although I was on my own for dinner as no one else was staying there. The standard and quantity of food was definitely a step up from that in the youth hostels, but the cost averaged about £5 extra for B&B, evening meal and packed lunch.
Dufton is a pleasant little village with a Post Officer/Store and from just out of the village Great Dun Fell with its "golf ball" radar station was clearly visible. It was so clear that it only looked about a mile away and it was hard to believe that it was actually about 4 miles away and 2,000 ft higher up.
The mountains of the Lake District were also very clear in the distance. I met up with the rest of the Pennine Way crowd in the pub, which also had a lot of people in from the Appleby Horse Fair. The beer, however, was only pressurised Whitbread's.
Day 13 - Wednesday 5th June 1991 - Dufton to Alston
I asked for breakfast at 7.30am and got off to an 8am start on a beautiful day with hardly a cloud in the sky and little wind. At about 1250 ft up I stopped to take off my T-shirt and take a photograph. The day was very clear and the early start meant I didn't have to rush so could take advantage of the good weather. I stopped again for a snack at about 2,000 ft at 9.45am and put the T-shirt back on, as it was getting cooler at that height. Knock Old Man was reached at 10.15 followed by Great Dun Fell at 11.00. The weather was still very good but with a cool wind, which was hardly surprising at 2,780 ft. I had lunch at 12.00 at the summit of Cross Fell where I met the first person since leaving Dufton - he was just out walking for the day. There a sheep kept pestering for food and became a bit of a nuisance, so I had to get up and shoo it away.
Knock Fell and Lakeland Mountains
Greg's Hut on Cross Fell
This section of the Pennine Way is often considered one of the more difficult because of the amount of climbing and the high altitude which, at just under 3000 ft is the highest point of the walk, but in the fine weather it didn't cause any difficulty. The walking was quite firm under foot apart from a few short sections between some of the fells, which were not too bad, although it would be a lot worse in wet weather.
I set off from the summit again at 12.40 and joined the track down. It was not very clear which route to take off the summit even in good weather and would definitely require a compass bearing in mist. The track started off very rough and stony making it hard on the feet. Greg's Hut is a mountain refuge hut just below the summit and could be useful in bad weather. I looked in to see what was there, but didn't stay, as I was not in need of a rest, having just had one at the summit. After a few miles it was possible to walk more at the side of the track where it was softer on the feet. The track went on for mile after mile although it was possible to make good time on the fairly gradual descent and also along the valley from Garrigill to Alston. I reached the youth hostel at Alston at 5pm with feet aching but otherwise O.K.
The hostel was very pleasant and not overcrowded and there were quite a lot of pubs, shops and at least one bank but without a cash machine. In the evening, I called at the Blue Bell, the nearest pub to the hostel, and had a few pints of hand-pulled, along with some of the other walkers.
Day 14 - Thursday 6th June 1991 - Alston to Greenhead
After the fairly strenuous walk of the previous day, I was feeling a bit weary at first. The weather was rather dull as I started off at 9.00am The first stop was to buy another film in Alston as I was liable to finish the third 36-exposure slide film before too long. I thought that another 24 exposure one should be just about right. The walking was very steady over farmland along the valley. The scenery was nothing special and the sky grey, but not unpleasant for walking. The path took a bit of finding in places, as is commonplace when walking through farmland, but it would have been easier with the 'Pennine Way North' book which shows more detail than the 1 inch to the mile map that I was now using.
Gilderdale Burn
At 3pm hazy sun started to come through and there was a bit of climbing to do, but nothing strenuous. Towards the end, the path was very vague in places and didn't agree with my map. I ended up taking a compass bearing and heading over the rough.
The Pennine Way actually crosses Greenhead Golf Course. There were several stiles over the wall into the golf course, but it was the fourth one, which was clearly marked as the Pennine Way. At the other side of the golf course I joined the road into Greenhead for the third of a mile off-route to the youth hostel, but later found that there was a path by the side of the railway, which I could have used. It is no shorter, but avoids the road walk.
Everyone else seemed to have been suffering that day even though it was not a difficult one for walking, so I think it must have been the follow-on from the previous day's walk.
The hostel was very continental with signs in three languages for all the foreign visitors to Hadrian's Wall. There was no choice for dinner - it was fruit juice, fish with veg. and jacket potatoes, then peaches and ice cream. It was very nicely cooked, however. I received a letter from home - at least some of the mail gets through.
I went for a walk around Greenhead, but found that it consisted of little more than a pub, a church, a filling station which doubled as Post Office and a few houses, so I joined the others in the pub.
Day 15 - Friday 7th June 1991 - Greenhead to Bellingham
Distance: 22 miles - 3100 ft ascent
Accommodation - Bellingham YHA - No meals, but shops and pubs and bank in town - No resident warden
Walltown Crags, Hadrian's Wall
Milecastle 42
Set off at 8.50am with a bitter north wind and overcast sky. The going was hard by Hadrian's Wall, as there were lots of climbs up and down over steep crags. However, the walk was very interesting with lots of well-preserved sections of wall and fine scenery, which compensated for the hard going. I had lunch at Peel Crags at 12.00 and the weather started to brighten up from the north. I could actually see the Cheviots marking journey's end. Off again at 12.20 to Hotbank where the route appeared to be signposted with yellow arrows to the left through a farm gate. This route lead to nowhere and the correct way was to continue up the hill over Hotbank Crags before turning left, as shown on the map. Through the farm the track turned back on itself and I ended up heading across the rough to crags overlooking Greenlee Lough and had to climb over walls and fences to meet up with the way a mile or two further on. It was actually my own fault for mistaking what was just a normal footpath sign for a Pennine Way sign - the latter being marked by an acorn symbol. However, as the Pennine Way is not waymarked over much of its length, one gets used to following normal footpath signs and it is essential to keep checking the map to make sure where the route actually goes rather than just following what seems to be the best marked path.
Milecastle 39 from Peel Crags
Peel Crags and Crag Lough
After leaving Hadrian's Wall the way was much easier going through the forest. I had about 11.5 miles more to go at 2.15pm, when I met Keith, Kevin and John in the forest where they had stopped to do more running repairs to the multitude of blisters on Kevin's feet. Later, whilst passing Horneystead, a remote farmhouse, they shouted across to me and invited me to join them for tea and scones etc. They had ordered them from a quaint old lady of about 80 who had lived there for 50 years. She brought it all in a rather unsavoury assortment of pots and mugs with some rather dubious homemade jam for the one who had ordered scones. The whole lot cost £1.70, which was to be put in the tin full of money on the tray.
The afternoon turned beautifully sunny and the walk, though long, was pleasant, without much trouble from the feet. I arrived at Bellingham at 7pm and decided to drop some things at the youth hostel, which has no meals service, before shopping and getting a pub meal. However, I walked about half a mile up the wrong road out of Bellingham before I realised, so by the time I got back into town I decided I had better do my shopping before the Co-op closed at 8pm. I met Kevin in the shop and he told me that the others were in the Rose and Crown, so I joined them and had a very good steak pie, chips and veg for £3.50 plus good Ruddles bitter. The Rose and Crown stopped serving meals at about 8.30pm, but one of the other pubs served them until later.
I then found the correct road to the youth hostel, which was a wooden hut packed tightly with bunk beds. There was no resident warden, but she lived down the hill and came up from time to time to book people in. She was a little bit perturbed at those of us who arrived rather late as she had been up and down the hill a few times to see if we had arrived, although we were not to know that she was not resident there. It was a bit of a nuisance having to cater for packed lunches and breakfast because of having to buy thing in larger quantities than required. For people who were walking in a group it was easier because they could share things between them. I agreed to share a few things with some of the others and this helped. Also, in hostels such as this there are often things such as bread and milk left by others on a shelf for anyone else to make use of. I carried quite a lot of extra sandwiches having heard that the shop in Byrness had closed down and not knowing whether there would be anywhere else in Byrness to buy things.
Day 16 - Saturday 8th June 1991 - Bellingham to Byrness
Distance: 15 miles - 1750 ft ascent
Accommodation - Byrness YHA - No meals in hostel and no shop, but pub and cafe
Byrness and Byrness Hill
After shopping, packing up, writing a card etc., I got off to a late start at 10am. It was a sunny morning and pleasantly warm for a change. The going was very easy but I was sweating for about the first time so far, as there was no longer the icy cold northerly wind. Stopped for lunch at Deer Play at 11.45 where it started to cloud over and there was a bit more wind. There was nothing exciting in the way of scenery, but it was pleasant walking country and most of the paths were easy going, although a few bits looked as though they could be awkward in the wet. The last several miles were along good forestry roads, which went in and out of the forested areas, which meant that it was not as tedious as it might have been. I felt a bit weary after the long walk of the previous day and I was glad of the gentle walk.
After 90% of the Pennine Way I just started to get a blister on the sole of my right foot. It was not too bad and I decided to look at it later. It gave no more trouble for the rest of the walk and must have been caused either by something in my boot or a crease in my sock.
The Hostel at Byrness is two Council Houses side by side. It was a bit tatty compared with most, but was not crowded and I had a room to myself, as the others wanted to set off early to reach Kirk Yetholm in one day. The pub and cafe at the filling station were about three-quarters of a mile away and the shop near the hostel had closed. In the pub I had chicken and chips for £3.25. The cafe also sold meals, including breakfast, provided you didn't want it too early, and it was possible to buy a few other food items from there.
Day 17 - Sunday 9th June 1991 - Byrness to Uswayford
Distance: 14 miles on PW + 1.5 miles to B&B - 2650 ft ascent
Accommodation - Uswayford Farm - B&B, evening meal and packed lunch £18 - miles from any other civilisation
Set off at 8.55am with fine weather, but this soon turned to heavy showers with patches of bright sunshine. The going was very wet as there had been a lot of overnight rain, but the scenery was magnificent and it was very enjoyable walking despite the downpours. The Roman camps at Chew Green were rather disappointing as there was nothing much to see and there is now a permissible detour signposted to miss them out. At the first mountain refuge hut I met up with Bernard who was 69 and completing the Pennine Way in 23 days. In cutting down on weight, he seemed to have decided to leave his false teeth at home!
Refuge Hut and Lamb Hill
Uswayford Farm
We saw messages in the visitors' book from Mike and Edna from 10am (setting off at 6am) and Keith, Kevin and John from 10.35am (setting off at 7am). They were all travelling light; Mike and Edna having posted some things home from Bellingham and the others having left most of their gear at Byrness to be collected when they were picked up by car on the way back.
Just off Windy Gyle we found a pair of glasses in a case, and in the case were some passport photographs of Mike, so I took them hoping to find his address from Kirk Yetholm youth hostel so I could post them on to him. I walked with Bernard for the rest of the day as he was staying at Uswayford and he seemed to appreciate the company. He went slowly uphill, but otherwise did very well. It was not surprising, though, when I discovered that he spent a lot of his time working outside on the foothills of Kinder Scout. He started out as a wheelwright and also turned his hand to dry stone walling and other such things.
The B&B at Uswayford was fine and had two large bedrooms, each with 5 beds - a bit like dormitories. I had a nice relaxing soak in a hot bath. There was no payphone, as I had guessed, so Jean rang there instead. When asked if I were there, the farmer, who was quite a joker, replied "His body is, but his legs are still walking". I also heard from some friends that he likes a practical joke - his favourite trick is to intercept walkers when they are looking for the farm. He then tells them that they are in the wrong valley and points to a large hill with a near vertical slope telling them they will have to go over the top. On one occasion, it has nearly led to a punch-up when an exhausted walker with no sense of humour took exception to it.
The farm is so remote that they have to drive 21 miles to get to the nearest shop. Although it is a mile and a half off-route and several hundred feet lower down it makes a good stopping off place, especially as the weather can often turn very bad and the going underfoot is quite difficult and boggy. They have a room for hanging wet things and will dry things in a tumble drier for a small charge. The evening meal was good and we then watched television for part of the evening - something I had not done since leaving home - although I can't say I missed it.
Day 18 - Monday 10th June 1991 - Uswayford to Kirk Yetholm
Distance: 11.5 miles on PW (omitting Cheviot summit) + 1.5 miles from B&B - 2170 ft on PW + 550 ft from B&B
Accommodation - Kirk Yetholm YHA - No meals, but evening meals in pub - Scottish YHA now provide cutlery, tea towels etc., so no need to take any.
Started off at 9.10am after a good breakfast. The weather was windy but fairly bright and gradually improved as the day went on. There was a lot of surface water about from the previous rain so I decided against going to the summit of Cheviot, as it would have been diabolical. There is also no view to be gained from the summit. The going for the few miles towards Cheviot was difficult enough with all the "bog hopping" that was necessary and we were glad of the duckboards over some of the worst bits on Cairn Hill. The second mountain refuge hut again had notes in the visitors' book. Keith, Kevin and John reached there at 2.45pm, which was pretty good going. The weather cleared up nicely and the rest of the day was beautiful with a leisurely stroll down to Kirk Yetholm, arriving at 5pm. The final walk from Byrness was a fine ending to the Pennine Way with mile after mile of magnificent scenery, especially as there was the time and the weather to enjoy it.
Hen Hole and Cheviot from Second Refuge Hut
The Border Hotel, Kirk Yetholm - End of the Pennine Way
Kirk Yetholm youth hostel is run by the Scottish YHA, so I had been sent a voucher to use there, but somewhere on the way it had been lost. However, the chap who was deputising for the warden was very friendly and let me off paying again. He also hinted that he was not averse to helping walkers celebrate the end of their journey in true Scottish fashion with a wee dram or two. I finished with a meal at the Border Hotel of steak and kidney pie and chips for £3.50 and 5 pints of the local bitter.
Day 19 - Tuesday 11th June 1991 - Kirk Yetholm to Home (Kirk Smeaton)
Travel by Bus, Train and Bus
Found out that there was a bus to Kelso at 7.45am as well as 8.45am so, having woken early, I decided to catch it to see if it would get me to an earlier train. However, this was in vain
as there was no bus from Kelso to Berwick until 8.55am which I could have caught with a later start. There was then about an hour and forty minutes to wait in Berwick for the Doncaster train, so I took the opportunity to post the glasses to Mike in Southport and then took a stroll down by the beach until the train was due. The Inter-City train whisked rapidly along to Doncaster, arriving at 2pm and I was then able to catch the 2.30 bus to Kirk Smeaton arriving at 3.15, to be greeted by Jean and a big "Welcome Home" on the front of the house.
The cost of the journey home was £1.20 + £2.40 in bus fares to Berwick, £29 train fare and £1 bus fare from Doncaster to home.
Afterthoughts about the Walk
Arrival at Kirk Yetholm brought no sense of elation, mainly because it had been so enjoyable for most of the way and, with such beautiful weather and scenery to finish with, there was a touch of sadness that it had all come to an end. Perhaps those who do the final stage in one day have a great feeling of relief as they reach the end and, therefore, feel a much greater sense of achievement, but whether it is worth spoiling the enjoyment of the walk in order to do so is debatable.
Mileage and Ascent
The first thing that becomes apparent when looking at mileage covered along the Pennine Way is that no two books agree. The reason for this is that some measure only the line on the map whereas some try to take into account some of the meandering that is necessary over boggy areas. The true mileage covered is certainly more than the shortest line on the map of 252 miles. This is especially so when taking account the extra distance to overnight accommodation. A few hostels are right on the Pennine Way, the majority are within about half a mile or so, but a few are as much as four miles away. When this is taken into account, another 30 miles or so could be added to the walk if staying at Haworth and Stainforth youth hostels and not using the bus. Optional detours such as the Bowes Loop further increase the distance, as do mistakes in map reading and detours for sightseeing. Further walks in the evening, if only to go to the pub, can add on quite a few more miles, so when all this is added together I am sure that my total mileage was well in excess of 300 miles.
It is also interesting to note that the number of footsteps taken is over half a million!
In additional to the horizontal mileage the walk also involves about 33,000 ft of climbing, which is as much as Mount Everest and Snowdon added together. However, there are very few steep climbs; the steepest being Pen-y-ghent followed by some of the crags by Hadrian's Wall. Most of the route follows green roads, pack horse routes, bridleways and footpaths which mostly take more gradual ascents, so the amount of climbing involved does not appear to be as much as it is.
It is often said that no two people walk the same Pennine Way. Bearing in mind the fact that in many places the route is vague and in other places it is easy to lose the way for short distances, particularly around farmland, this is probably true for anyone who does not spend all day taking compass bearings. However, the spirit of the thing is to go from one end to the other taking approximately the marked route; any mistakes are likely to increase mileage rather than reduce it, so only the most pedantic retrace their steps in order to tread the exact route.
One could be forgiven for thinking that whoever designed the multitude of different stiles and gates along the way thought that the Pennine Way was supposed to be an obstacle course rather than a walk. There seem to be all sorts of ingenious designs and devices intended to cause maximum difficulty and/or injury to walkers, and particularly to those carrying rucksacks. It is no wonder that people leave gates open when you see the difficulty involved with the majority of them. It is a pleasant surprise to find a gate which actually opens and closes properly.
The overriding thing with a walk taking 18 days or thereabouts is that, apart from the one or two days with walks of over 20 miles, there is more than enough time available for each day's walk. As there is little point in getting to the night's accommodation too early each day, it is better to go at a very leisurely pace taking plenty of time to admire the scenery and have rests. This way it is far easier on the feet and it enables the walk to be enjoyable rather than being an endurance test.
Weight of Rucksack and Equipment
Even though I thought I had cut down my pack to the bare minimum (it weighed 18 lbs. at the end of the day and about 24 lbs. with a full supply of food and drink at the start of the day), there was nothing that I felt I was short of. In fact there were a few items I need not have taken, such as the pair of walking trousers which I wore for a couple of hours, and which I could easily have managed without. As the Scottish YHA now provide every bit as much equipment as the English YHA, there is no need to take a tea towel or cutlery etc. as is implied in the YHA book.
Although most long distance walkers attempt to keep their pack weight down to a minimum, there are different views on what constitutes a minimum. One chap Dave, in his early twenties, recounted how he had cut everything down to the bare essentials, then put his rucksack on the bathroom scales and found that it weighed three and a half stone! He then proceeded to be completely ruthless and went through his pack again throwing out everything that was not absolutely essential. It then weighed three stone - he hauled it onto his shoulders, gave a slight groan at the weight, and pronounced that that was about right. I was quite intrigued as to what he had in there until it all became apparent later in the walk. In Middleton-in-Teesdale he went into a cafe with his rucksack and was asked if he would mind leaving it outside. At this he became quite indignant and retorted "I'm not leaving that outside - don't you realise I've got twelve designer T-shirts in there worth £30 each." He also had several pairs of jeans - so much for the bare-essentials!
It is worth checking before the start whether walking socks (especially any thin inner socks) have sewn seams over the tops of the toes. These can be a cause of rubbing and can cause blisters. It is not so bad if the seams lie across the toenails, but if they lie further back there is more possibility of them causing problems. I also found that the choice of one of my T-shirts was not ideal for walking, as it had no collar. When walking with a camera and a map holder around my neck there was nothing to keep the straps from rubbing on my neck. Because of this, I changed to using different shirts for walking and that particular T-shirt was not worn again for the rest of the way.
Sending things by post may seem a good idea, but parcels need to be posted a long time in advance to be sure of reaching out-of-the-way places. It is best not to post anything that is vital in case it does not arrive. Bearing in mind that most of the hostels have good drying facilities it is just as well to take a minimum of clothing, particularly things which wash and dry easily, and rely on regular washing of them on the way.
Enjoyment of Walk and Fitness
The level of enjoyment, or otherwise, on the walk depends almost equally on the weather, the scenery and the state of feet, legs etc. If the weather is fine and the scenery interesting then the miles melt away even if the feet are aching a bit, but if the weather is bad and the scenery dull the miles seem to drag and aches and pains are far more apparent.
I have some doubts as to the best form of training for a walk like the Pennine Way. Too much training can mean that you are suffering from fatigue right from the start, rather than having it start to come on as the walk progresses. The feet do not always benefit from training, in fact I attribute a lot of the problems with my ankle to training, particularly by walking too briskly which puts much more strain on the feet and ankles than the more leisurely pace of the actual walk. My ankle was getting worse during training, but gradually improved along the Pennine Way. In addition, my feet started to ache during training so that when I set off I did not feel in the peak of condition and would have probably felt better for having more rest in the week or two before the walk. However, some level of training is obviously necessary and beneficial. It is definitely worth doing some walking with a full pack to adjust to carrying the extra weight. It is also a great advantage to have achieved a reasonable level of fitness and to have hardened the skin on the feet. However, I feel that too much training can do more harm than good and is best restricted to a few longish walks at intervals rather than too much daily walking.
Most of the problems that I had with pains in my shoulders from carrying the rucksack could have been averted by the use of a more modern one with a waistband, which relieves much of the load from the shoulders. The old-fashioned one I was using required all the weight to be taken on the shoulders. Sometimes it is false economy to use old equipment, although I didn't realise what a difference it could make at the time. However, on the walk itself, I didn't suffer too much, as there was generally enough time to have rests when it became uncomfortable.
For me there was a gradual build up of fatigue and soreness of the feet throughout the walk, although a good night's rest generally set me up again for the next day's walking. At the end I expected that, after a couple of days' rest, I would feel fighting fit but, in fact, I felt tired and my feet were still aching somewhat for two or three weeks afterwards.
It is difficult to say whether there is a need for rest days to be planned in any schedule, as it depends so much on each individual, the state of any aches, pains and injuries, and whether there is anything to do in the chosen places. With a schedule that is fully booked in advance it is difficult to know most of these factors so it is quite probable that, whatever decision is taken, there will be some misgivings. The only other way to arrive at a schedule that is most suited to the feelings at the time is to book day by day along the way. Some people were doing this with the aid of the YHA book and a book of B&B addresses and telephone numbers. To minimise the risks they booked two nights ahead, which meant that there was more chance of getting in and, if any last minute changes had to be made, there were only one or two places to cancel. This seemed to work quite well provided that they didn't mind staying in a few B&Bs where hostels were full.
Most people lose weight on the way with the possible exception of some that stay in B&B accommodation, where the size of meals is generally enormous. The amount of weight loss varies from a few pounds to as much as one and a half stones, in the case of one of the people I met. At the end of the walk the body is geared up to expecting large quantities of food, so it is very easy to over-eat in the following week or two and end up putting back on all the weight that has been lost. I made a conscious effort not to do this, but it was difficult to avoid completely, so I put a few pounds back on again within a month.
Accommodation and Facilities
The YHA provide, in general, a very good service for the walker, providing you are not expecting a 4 star hotel. The main criticism is that some of the dormitories are overcrowded, leaving very little room for rucksacks and equipment. The meals are not cordon bleu, but are generally filling, which is the main requirement after a day's walk. Packed lunches are not very substantial and may need a few extras to supplement them, as there seems to be a constant need for food along the way.
In the early stages of the walk, in particular, there are a number of hostels requiring a considerable detour from the route. It is somewhat frustrating to see on the map that you have done say 60 miles when, in fact you have walked over 80 miles. This would not be so noticeable later on but can be disheartening in the early stages. One way that some of this can be avoided is to use two nights of B&B accommodation instead of three nights of YHA accommodation. Instead of staying at Mankinholes it is an easy walk down to B&B at Hebden Bridge. From there it is possible to walk to Lothersdale and then to Malham. The mileage each day is not increased very much and the cost is actually less because of the saving of a day's accommodation cost.
Money, or the lack of it, can present a few problems along the way. Very few places have banks, and even in those that do there is a distinct lack of "hole in the wall" machines. Bernard, the 69 year old had never needed to obtain cash anywhere other than in his local town - he was known by everyone around, so his cheques would always be accepted without a banker's card. When he decided to walk the Pennine Way he went to see the bank manager for advice on how best to obtain cash en route. The manager convinced him that the answer to all his cash problems was a cash card, which would get him cash ANYWHERE. Unfortunately, he didn't take the trouble to find out just how many cash machines, or even banks there are along the Pennine Way and Bernard was left with a distinct cash problem.
Hostels will sometimes cash small cheques, but this cannot be relied upon. The best way to avoid having to carry too much cash from the start is to pay for as many thing as possible in advance, such as by using the Pennine Way Bureau to book and pay for all the hostels and hostel meals. This then leaves the B&B accommodation, which could also be pre-paid if required, and the rest is then only for drinks and a few bar meals where hostels have no meals service.
Other Walkers
It might be expected that the majority of Pennine Way walkers would be under 30 or so, but the average of the people I met up with was over 40 (though the younger ones were more likely to be camping, which could explain not meeting up with many of them). The older walkers tend to spend longer on the walk, partly because of the physical exertion required, but more so from the fact that they want to enjoy the scenery along the way. The younger ones tend to do the walk as a challenge and are more concerned about clocking up miles along the dotted line than admiring the landscape.
One of the pleasant things about a venture such as walking the Pennine Way is the people who you meet up with on the way who are mostly very friendly. A great camaraderie builds up along the way as one meets up with many of the same people over and over again, and everyone is interested in how others are getting on. One instance of the good-heartedness that prevails was experienced by Bernard at Langdon Beck. At the time, Bernard was suffering from a shortage of cash, as he had obviously missed all the Barclay's cash dispensers that are liberally scattered across the moors, and he was awaiting a visit from his nephew who was going to meet up with him. Without any questions a chap at Langdon Beck offered to lend Bernard £50. He also asked him how he intended to get back to Hayfield, where he lived, after the walk. Bernard said that he would find his way by public transport, but the chap insisted that Bernard should give him a ring when he had finished and he would drive up and take Bernard all the way back home. This was not just an idle promise as he kept on ringing hostels to check on Bernard's progress and insisted on carrying out his promise when Bernard finally arrived at Kirk Yetholm.
Bernard had had a previous attempt at the Pennine Way a year or two previously when a friend of his, who was about 20 years younger than him, persuaded him to accompany him, as he was walking to raise money for charity. They got as far as Malham, when the friend had a problem with his leg and couldn't manage the next day's walk, so he told Bernard to go ahead and he would get to the next night's stop by bus. This went on for a couple of days until Bernard said to him that he couldn't carry on all the way to Kirk Yetholm like that. His friend replied that there was over two thousand pounds in sponsorship money at stake and that so long as he had a fully stamped up youth hostel card it would be alright. Eventually Bernard persuaded him that it just wasn't on to do that and they dropped out. This time Bernard went on his own, as he wanted to complete the walk and didn't want to take a chance on anyone else letting him down again.
Amongst others who were on the walk, was a young artist who was sketching as he went along as well as taking photographs so that he could then do his paintings from them when he got back. He was unemployed and the last we saw of him was near High Cup as he was taking a detour from Dufton to Appleby (about three miles off-route) to sign on and claim his unemployment benefit.
Another group, Kevin, Keith and John worked for British Rail and had the route mapped out by way of all the pubs on or near the way. They even went to the trouble of carrying packs of beer to places such as Baldersdale where there was no pub to be found. John had done the walk before, so was well versed on the whereabouts of wayside inns. Kevin was the one who suffered badly with his feet. Despite having done a lot of walking to try to break in his boots, and standing in baths of warm water with them on, he still ended up with blister after blister. He carried all the latest in blister treatments plus a plentiful supply of Neurofen to kill the pain. Every few miles he had to stop to treat his blisters and took double the recommended quantity of Neurofen. This must have taken a lot of the pleasure out of the walk for him, but he still pressed on to the end.
Of the people I met on the way, the only one I know of who dropped out was Roger, at Gargrave, although it is possible that others I met in passing may not have made it. Several people suffered minor injuries to feet, ankles or knees but still managed to carry on despite of them. The difference with Roger was in his mind. He started off with an over ambitious schedule, found he couldn't keep it up even on the first day and from then on he became more and more disillusioned with the whole thing. He wasn't sure if he could take enough extra leave to finish the walk by changing to a less exacting schedule and he was suffering with blisters. Once the seeds were sown it didn't take long for him to head for home. By all accounts, most people who are going to drop out do so within the first four or five days. After that, it generally takes something fairly serious to cause people to abandon the walk, as in the case of Mike and Edna, on one of their many walks when Edna broke her ankle after falling on the slippery rocks at Falcon Clints in Teesdale. There was one other time when they abandoned the walk after getting as far as Greenhead. They had battled along day after day through pouring rain and it just got to the point where they had had enough. Having done the walk a number of times before, they didn't have anything to prove so, as they had ceased to enjoy it, they called it a day and headed home.
Costs (1991 prices)
Note in 2023: Prices have more than doubled since 1991, some more than others
The cost of my walk was made up as follows:
Item
£
15 nights YHA accommodation including 11 with full meals service
166.30
3 nights B&B including 2 with full meals
47.50
4 bar meals
15.10
Food from shops and hostels (approximate)
15.00
Return Fares
33.60
Total
277.50
In addition to this money was spent on drinks and other incidentals, which must have been in the region of £50 and that was with a very modest level of drinking. Phone calls, postcards and postage added about £25 to the bill. Extra equipment bought prior to the walk cost well over £100, although a lot of this had additional use afterwards, and slide film for the camera cost about £26. This brings the total to over £475, which could have bought a lot more luxury in a package holiday, but I doubt whether it would have given as much personal satisfaction.
Photography and Technology
Over the years that I have been doing long distance walks, camera technology, Internet technology and display technology have developed by giant leaps from 35mm colour slides that had to be scanned to produce low quality digital images for the website up to the present day with high quality digital photography, almost unlimited memory and super fast broadband,
The article in the 'Other Items' section chronacles all of this throughout my walks.
