Pennine Way 15 Middleton in Teesdale to Langdon Beck

Today's walk was a very peaceful one beside the River Tees for most of the day. The weather was kind to us again and the sun came out later in the day. A short walk but a very beautiful one with the main attractions being the waterfalls of Low Force and High Force. I will let the pictures of the river in all its moods tell their own tale.

High Force is the highest unbroken fall of water in England at 70 ft (21 mtrs).

Pennine Way 14 Pasture End to Middleton in Teesdale

At last our luck with the weather ran out and although it was the middle of August it felt more like the start of autumn and the promise of a better afternoon never arrived until we were on the bus home. I didn't take many photos today but if you click on this link you can see many more.

A fairly short walk today and because of the lack of sunshine the views of the reservoirs and Hannah Hauxwell's house were not particularly inspiring, The beautiful meadows of wild flowers that surround her house were long gone unfortunately but we were rewarded with the first heather of the season on Bowes Moor.












We stopped for a lunch break in the shelter of the wall at Baldersdale and this spot marked the half way point of the Pennine Way....only 128 miles to go!!


Its amazing how the weather affects the mood of the group and although it wasn't raining very hard and it wasn't particularly cold the mood was rather low key today and it didn't really improve until we reached the end of the walk and the cafe at Middleton in Teesdale that was just about to close until we all trooped in and took over!

So not as picturesque as Swaledale but we have reached the river Tees and are looking forward to a riverside walk with plenty of waterfalls to come.

Pennine Way 13 Thwaite to Pasture End

The more observant of you might have noticed that Pennine Way 12 is missing. No we haven't missed a section out, we started where we finished last time, it's just the numbering in the booklet that went a bit wrong. Perhaps if it had been called correctly number 12 we may not have had so many accidents! Jackie only managed a few yards down the road before falling heavily on her elbow and had to hijack a passing landrover to get her to civilisation and LGI to be stitched up. Later on Janet tripped on some duckboards and hit her face and Derek toppled over a couple of times as well. Plenty for Stuart to enter in the accident book!!





We set off in good weather again after passing through a heavy shower whilst still on the coach and it remained dry for the rest of the day. There was a bit of a climb as we left Thwaite behind us and made our way up Kisdon Hill.
It wasn't long before the magnificent views of Swaledale opened up before us and we had an early lunch to make the most of the fabulous scenery.

The path became a bit rocky as we progressed towards Keld and dropped down to cross the river which had plenty of water in it. If we had been doing this walk a couple of days earlier we would have had a very wet day to contend with.

By this time we were running a bit behind schedule and there was no time to linger near the waterfalls, that would have to wait for another day. A last look at the tiny hamlet of Keld, which is an old Norse word meaning well or spring, and then a fine stretch of path across Stonesdale Moor with Tan Hill beckoning in the distance.

All the photographs today were taken by Peter Newby, with or without his shoes on!

After a short stop at Tan Hill to regroup and have some refreshment we set off across 'the sheep swallowing wastes of Sleightholme Moor' as described in my book! It was certainly boggy although considering the amount of rain that had fallen it could have been much worse. It did slow our progress and we were a bit late for the coach but nobody seemed to mind too much as it had been quite a long hard walk for the 'B' party.

As we crossed the moor we left beautiful Yorkshire behind us and crossed the border into County Durham. The walk ended shortly after crossing the River Greta by the natural stone bridge known as God's Bridge. A fine end to a fine walk.

Pennine Way 11 Hawes to Thwaite

A real treat today, a much shorter walk from Wensleydale to Swaledale, two of my favourite places. The weather was fine and warm again, a bit hazy in the distance and some whispy cloud on the top of Great Shunner Fell.

This was a very pleasant walk starting off from Hawes and passing through meadows to the village of Hardraw.Then a steady 5 mile climb all the way to the summit of Great Shunner Fell at 2340 ft. This is the highest point so far on the Pennine Way.

We had plenty of time to do the walk and had a couple of stops on the way up to the top. You can tell how warm it was because even Derek took his jacket off and we don't see that too often!

Once we left the summit all we could hear was the sound of skylarks above us as we made our way down hill with fabulous views of Swaledale and the village of Thwaite nestling amongst the fields of wild flowers. The only bit I didn't like was the rather rough and stony lane towards the end of the walk that was rather hard on the feet but the thought of cups of tea in Thwaite kept me going.

Apparently a 'thwaite' is a piece of land cleared of woodland for habitation.

Many of us visited the Kearton Guest House tea rooms, while others found a shady spot in which to relax.

William then treated us to a rather scary ride back to Hawes via the Buttertubs Pass. It was very spectacular but a bit unnerving if you were sitting on the lefthand side of the bus!

Pennine Way 10 Horton to Hawes

Yet another day of glorious weather as we turned our backs on Ribblesdale and the famous three peaks of Pen-y-Ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside and headed across the watershed into Wensleydale. Most of the route today followed old packhorse trails and was well sign posted. My book said that 'even a lame packhorse with a coal sack over its head would have no problems'!














We seemed to have plenty of time to stop and stare and take in the splendid views.






Some of us took a slight detour to look at Calf Holes where the water falls into a sink hole before making our way to Ling Gill Bridge to eat our lunch and ponder or paddle as the mood dictated!


















After lunch we climbed up to Cam End where the Dalesway meets the Pennine Way halfway between Horton and Hawes. At this point we realised we'd only done half the walk and picked up the pace a bit but most of the rest of the walk was downhill. It was good to see Ray back out again after his operation, taking a bit of gentle exercise!

By now the views had changed character as we approached Wensleydale and the village of Hawes. The meadows were a brilliant yellow colour and were full of millions of meadow buttercups. Apparently, according to an article in the Daily Mail, it is a good year for buttercups due to last year's torrential downpours and a warm spring. We are so lucky to have seen them at their very best as Hawes looked very inviting surrounded with a warm yellow glow.
Plenty of time for drinks, cups of tea, or fish and chips in my case before catching the coach home. Some of these photos, (the best ones probably!) were taken by Peter Newby who was reliving a previous experience of walking the whole Pennine Way in 15 days in 1999.

Pennine Way 9 Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale

We started off in fine weather but with a poor forecast threatening to spoil the day. A steep climb up the steps at the left of the cove took us up on to the clints and grykes of the limestone pavement and it took quite some time for us all to make our cautious way across them. Thankfully the clints were dry and we all made it safely across without mishap.

Between Malham Cove and Malham Tarn there is a narrow enclosed dry valley known as Watlowes where the green turf is interspersed with outcrops of limestone, quite different from anything we had seen so far on our journey.

On past the tarn and the field study centre we soon emerged into open countryside again and Stuart announced an early lunch stop in the shelter of a wall as there was a cold wind blowing.

After lunch we made steady progress as the path took us gradually upwards to Fountains Fell . We had a second shorter stop just before we reached our highest point and this was very well timed as the weather turned showery as we left and dark clouds were amassing behind us.

As we descended the other side we got our first view of Pen-y-Ghent in the distance looking very formidable with clouds drifting across the summit now and then. It took us quite a long time to reach the beginning of the steep ascent and by this time the wind was strong and the rain was threatening to become more persistent so only six hardy souls decided to climb up to the summit. The rest of us, me included, were tempted by the thought of mugs of hot tea and toasted teacakes in the Pen-y-Ghent cafe and took the downhill option via Bracken-Bottom! Well we'd been up there many times before hadn't we and didn't feel the need to do it again in the rain.

Thanks to Jean Moxon for the photos of Pen-y-Ghent and the summit group. The rain did set in before they finished and the descent was a bit slippy so they didn't get time for any refreshment before we left. The 'A' party had finished quite early and spent some time in the pub where they picked up some extra passengers to drop off in Skipton, all good for the bank balance!

Pennine Way 8 Thornton in Craven to Malham

I missed this walk as I was enjoying a holiday in Cornwall so many thanks to Colin Gregg for the following narrative and Jean Moxon who supplied the photos.

A short coach journey enabled us to make an early 10.15 start. Thornton in Craven greeted us with an overcast sky and a very cold westerly wind encouraging the group led by Rita to make a swift departure. Heading North out of the village via Cam Lane we soon entered beautiful rolling pasture lands contrasting with the nearby high moorland areas.

After a short time we reached the Leeds & Liverpool canal at East Marton passing under the famous No 161 double arch bridge which carries the A59 (T) over the canal. The nearby canal basin contains a number of interesting vessels.

By now the sun began to make an appearance through breaks in the cloud creating a distinct improvement in the temperature and this proved to be a continuing alternation throughout the day. The group continued to snake its way across more undulating fields and through occasional large clumps of trees while the air was filled with the bleating of very many spring lambs.

After crossing the Skipton/Settle railway line we soon found ourselves in Gargrave for a welcome comfort stop. Departing Gargrave in a northerly direction we encountered more rolling pasture land albeit at a much higher elevation and vast sprawling fields. On Eshton Moor in the vicinity of Haw Crag we halted for lunch giving us panoramic views of the surrounding fells, eastwards Rylstone and Flasby Fells along with Sharp Haw and northerly glimpses of the Craven fault.











Having enjoyed a well earned rest and lunch we gradually descended into the valley to follow the course of the infant River Aire for the few miles stroll to Malham. A light shower dampened our approach to the very early finish, some of the group taking advantage of the extra time to visit Janet's Foss.

Saturday 12 February 2011

I did this walk today on my own without getting lost! John dropped me off in Thornton in Craven at 9.20 a.m. and I got to Malham at 13.40 p.m.

It was similar weather to that experienced by the group, a grey start improving throughout the day with sunny periods and no rain thankfully, but plenty of mud as it had rained hard the previous day. The infant River Aire had plenty of water in it!

Thanks to Peter for lending me his strip map of the Pennine Way with helpful notes on it. There was just one point where I was puzzling which way to proceed across a field when a friendly farmer popped up and set me off in the right direction. Apparently I was heading for a post on the horizon but I'm afraid my eyesight is not that good! Anyway I did find the post and all was straight forward after that.

Thanks to John who provided transport there and back and was willing to find me if I got lost.