Pennine Way 25 Auchope Rigg to Kirk Yetholm

The final day

Ray had indeed come up with another cunning plan and his landlady had assisted with a phone call to check that we could ascend to the Pennine Way via Sourhope Farm, just an extra half mile to deal with. It was a relatively easy way to begin with apart from the last steep stretch up Auchope Rigg. After a few moments for everyone to catch up we set of for the Schil, the last peak of the Pennine Way.

We had to climb over a barbed wire fence to gain access to the summit but it was worth it for the splendid views while we ate our lunch. It was a very cold wind on the summit and today there were a few clouds in the sky. In the distance we could see a patchwork of fields and woods and beyond them hills in the distance.





There was a choice of route near the end, the high route and the low route. Very little difference in length but one went up and one went down. I chose the low route led by Rita. She had set us off on this journey many months ago and now she was bringing us home despite her dodgy knees!
The only casualty we had en route was a bumped head a mile from the end on a road!

At last after a rather cruel hill we arrived at the Border Hotel in Kirk Yetholm and celebrated with cups of tea and coffee or pints of beer according to taste. Book signed, certificates collected, official photos taken on many cameras by David Bailey, sorry I meant Eamon Smith, and we set off for home with quiet satisfaction that we had achieved another goal and shared the highs and lows of a splendid walk along the backbone of England.




Unfortunately Eamon is leaving JAK travel so this was his last trip with us but I think he has caught the walking bug and hopefully he'll be joining us on a walk now and then, a whole walk Eamon not just a short section!

As usual I would like to thank all those willing volunteers that organise these trips, plan the routes and lead the walks. Without you none of this would be possible. Many thanks for all your hard work. Thanks also to Peter for taking many of the photos and dashing backwards and forwards to get the best views. I certainly haven't got the energy for walking as well as taking photos and the quality of the blog has gone up since he joined us half way through. Also thanks to Jean Moxon who also supplied some photos and Colin who did the narrative for one section.

'To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping'

Pennine Way 24 Windy Rigg to Auchope Rigg

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day again without a cloud in the sky. Still quite windy on the tops but the ground was really dry and the peat bogs were as dry as a bone....brilliant!

The 'A' party went back up the track they had descended yesterday and walked all the way back to Kirk Yetholm. The 'B' party split into two groups, those who wanted to climb to the summit of the Cheviot went ahead and I joined this group. I wasn't sure I wanted an extra climb but I'm glad I did as it was very easy.

First of all we had to gain all the height we had lost yesterday and then set off for Windy Gyle where we had half our lunch.

A large part of today's walk was on stone flags or duckboards as the alternative would normally have been peat bogs. The weather had been very dry for a couple of months so we didn't have any trouble with peat bogs at all. We had splendid views all day walking amongst the bilberry bushes, cloudberries and cotton grass waving in the breeze. Cloudberry was a new one on me and I forgot to take a photo but if you follow the link you can see what they look like. I wonder if they would go well with vodka........!!

On the way to the summit we had a view of the North Sea in the distance but the walk was a bit of an anti-climax as it was mostly on duckboards. A brief stop at the trig point that Peter ascended to fly the Union Jack someone had left behind and then back down the same track to continue on our way to the cairns we could see in the distance.

The views around Hen Hole were very spectacular but there should have been a waterfall down there. If you have 6 minutes to spare put your coat, hat and gloves on and follow this link to see what it looks like in a bad winter.

I'm glad it wasn't like that for us but it just shows what a difference the weather makes to your walk.

As we arrived at the refuge hut Eamon arrived on the scene having walked up to meet us. He had been warned by the farmer, who had a gun, that we weren't really welcome on his land during the lambing season but on this occasion he would let us go through, so we left the Pennine Way and made our way down to the coach. The first group passed through the farmyard without any problem but the farmer got rather nasty with the last of the group and said he didn't want us back tomorrow. Hmmm now what should we do, Ray had to put on his thinking cap and come up with another cunning plan!

Back at the hostel the wine was flowing and everyone was having a jolly time including the warden and his friend. Some had already completed the Pennine Way and arranged to do part of St Cuthbert's Way the following day.

Today's walk for the 'B' walkers had been 10 miles and and 2400 ft climbing with 2.5 miles and 400 ft extra if you went up the Cheviot. Not quite as tiring as yesterday and the group were in a celebratory mood.