Pennine Way 23 Byrness to Windy Rigg

Our last weekend staying at the SYHA in Kirk Yetholm to complete the Pennine Way and we couldn't have had better weather.......well perhaps it could have been a bit less windy but that's being very picky!

35 of us and Eamon took the smaller coach to Kirk Yetholm and Kelso. I stayed in the hostel in a jolly group of 18. As it was a Scottish hostel it was all self catering so it required a bit of forward planning in the food department. Its quite amazing how the group sorts itself out into early risers and later risers in the morning. I always seem to have my breakfast early with Harry and Stuart and Peter and then get out of the way and have a peaceful hour or so before its time to set off.

We travelled up on Friday evening after a day watching (or trying to avoid!) the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton. I wasn't going to watch but got drawn into it and actually really enjoyed it.

The walk we had left to do was 27 miles with very few places to leave the Pennine Way but Ray had devised a cunning plan to enable the 'B' walkers to do it in three sections and the 'A' walkers to do it in two sections. It required several more miles and much more climbing than the 'B' walkers would normally do but we're made of sturdy stuff and it had to be done to complete the walk.


Eamon dropped us off at Byrness and we set off up a steep track through a wood and out on to Byrness Hill. The sun shone as it did all weekend and spirits were high as we were all looking forward to finishing. We made our way steadily upwards and stopped for lunch with splendid views of forests and hills.

A large part of this walk was beside the border fence between Scotland and England and we kept crossing from one to the other.

The 'A' party went ahead after lunch and then the 'B' party split into two for a while in the area of the Roman Camps at Chew Green. All of us had to descend to Cocklawfoot to catch the bus and the 'B' party left the Pennine Way at Windy Rigg and made our way downhill. The 'A' party and those who had gone ahead walked a bit further and took a very pleasant track down the other side of the valley and we all met up at the same time and on time to leave at 6.00 pm.

It had been a very tiring day 14 miles and 2800 ft of climbing and there were some sore feet and legs in the group.

We all had a good meal, some lucky people got a piece of rhubarb and apple pie and custard at the hostel! Most were in bed fairly early to get ready for another hard day tomorrow.

Pennine Way 22 Bellingham to Byrness

Today we awoke to beautiful sunshine but still a chilly wind. Those of us staying at the hostel who were ready really early managed to sneak on to the coach and have a ride to Haltwhistle to pick up the B&B folk. Haltwhistle is the centre of Britain which comes as a bit of a surprise really and although it is quite a small place it is on the main line from Carlisle to Newcastle which one member of the group took advantage of and went for some retail therapy in Newcastle!
















The main group were dropped off in Bellingham and were soon climbing out of the North Tyne valley and up on to the moors.




I think most of us agreed that one of the worst parts of the Pennine Way was a steep climb between the edge of Redesdale Forest and a broken down stone wall. You could balance on the wall and risk spraining an ankle or get your boots wet in the bog! However the marshy ground at the edge of the forest was filled with beautiful bright green mosses.




At last we entered the vast expanse of Keilder Forest which stretched out in front of us but the track was stony and hard to walk on so we were very pleased to reach the end of it. After a
quick game of 'Pooh Sticks' at Blakehopeburnhaugh bridge we walked alongside the River Rede the last 2 miles to Byrness arriving just 10 minutes before the coach was due to depart.

It had been a hard weekend's walking for the 'B' party, getting on for 40 miles in total and plenty of ups and downs to contend with. It will be next year now before we can complete the task and we'll all be another year older by then, but I'm sure we'll tackle it with energy and good humour. Watch out Kirk Yetholm here we come!

Thanks again to Peter for his valiant efforts at getting from the back to the front of the group and taking lots of photos, with and without boots on, and almost minus a sock!!

Pennine Way 21 Housesteads to Bellingham

We thought we were in for an easier walk today, 11 miles and all day to do it in, no problems. All I can say is that these must have been Roman miles as in English miles it was much nearer to 14 than 11. Fortunately the weather was dry but still cold and overcast.
We were dropped off on the road and made our way to Rapishaw Gap where the Pennine Way leaves Hadrian's Wall and turns north to the forests and distant views of the Cheviots, our journey's end....but not just yet!

Today we had marshy areas, forest, fields and moors and plenty of uphill, or so it seemed to me. The group split into two after lunch as some were ready to move on before others. A lone Pennine Way walker caught up with us with 6 miles left to go and put us to shame as he had walked all the way from Greenhead with a 12 kilo pack on his back and he was 70 years old. Mind you he was nearly done for but he stayed with us to the end and had plenty to talk about as he had married a Bradford girl many years ago.




I was in the breakaway group and Margaret had a map that went most of the way to Bellingham so apart from one or two places where the path wasn't too well marked we didn't have any problems finding the way.







One last climb up to the radio mast on Shitlington Crag and then at last Bellingham could be seen in the distance and thoughts of a nice cup of tea kept us going till the end.

Pennine Way 20 Greenhead to Housesteads

We set off from Bradford at 9.00 am and after quite a long journey we started our walk about 12.15. The weather was cold and overcast with rain in the air but this cleared away as the afternoon wore on. It certainly didn't feel like Spring but I heard my first cuckoo of the year just before lunch which was a welcome sound.

After turning left...or was it right....at Thirlwall Castle we made our way to the visitor centre and lunch before setting off along Hadrian's Wall. Only 10 miles today but a very strenuous 10 miles along the best preserved part of the wall with frequent ups and downs rather like walking on a coastal path. A few who had done this part before opted to shorten the walk and drop down to Once Brewed. The rest of us carried on a mile or so beyond the point where the Pennine Way branched off to the left and finished at Housesteads where William was waiting patiently with the coach to take us to the hostel or on to Haltwhistle. We arrived at the hostel just as dinner was about to be served.















Once Brewed YHA in the sunshine........looks good, better than I remember it!!

Pennine Way 19 Knarsdale to Greenhead

Sunday dawned bright but a bit cooler and breezier as we went by coach back to the viaduct.



A short climb uphill and then we made our way along the Maiden Way which is an old Roman Road.















The books had led us to believe that this was a boring bit of the Pennine Way and we would see nothing but bog all day long. Well yes we did go through some boggy places and one or two people did get water in their boots but there was at least one person who kept his boots dry all day long! Barefoot hiking might catch on.











The walking seemed easier today and we had plenty of time for tea stops and lunch but the views weren't quite as good as yesterday so I haven't as many photos.

We picked our way carefully over Blenkinsop Common up to the highest point Black Hill where we got our first sighting of the Cheviots in the not too far distance. Journey's end doesn't seem too far away but we've a few hard days walking yet before we get there.

The 'A' party had a run in with some cows protecting their calves but thankfully they didn't bother with the 'B' party and we passed them by without a problem.





After a brief stop at a ruined barn we made our way towards the A69 and civilisation. Our first sight of civilisation was a deep gorge filled with rubbish and old cookers and washing machines that had been illegally dumped! Rather a depressing sight after all the beautiful countryside we had walked through.



As we approached Greenhead alongside the golf course we came to the Vallum, a defensive ditch which runs south of Hadrian's Wall. Our walk today finished at Greenhead in the tea room or the pub.
Next time we will be on Hadrian's Wall and if you want to find out more about the history of the wall and have a few minutes to spare follow this link and Neil Oliver will tell you all you need to know!

Thanks to Peter for his photographic contributions to the blog. I did manage to get a few of my own in this time!

Pennine Way 18 Garrigill to Knarsdale

After the coldest winter for many years we were all looking forward to resuming our trek along the Pennine Way starting with a lovely weekend away staying in Alston.

This is the YHA directly on the Pennine Way. A very comfortable hostel with a nice friendly atmosphere and red squirrels playing in the trees right outside the windows. The hostel is privately owned by a lovely couple Val and David, and the food was of a very high standard. One to visit again I'm sure. Although the facilities may not be as good as staying in a B&B, the shared experience of the group staying in the hostel adds greatly to the enjoyment of the occasion and I can highly recommend it especially if you are on your own.

I had a quick look around Alston before the walk started on Saturday morning. It is England's highest market town with many 18th century buildings and cobbled streets.






















Our walk started in Garrigill and followed a pleasant track alongside the South Tyne river.





The weather was fine but a bit cold in the breeze and out of the sun. After passsing through Alston we made our way uphill and down dale to Slaggyford which didn't really live up to it's name.

The scenery was beautiful but I think we were all feeling a bit weary by the time we arrived at the viaduct at Burnstones Only a short hop from there and William was waiting for us conveniently parked outside the Kirkstyle Inn at Knarsdale where the 'A' party had been filling in time waiting for us to arrive!

As an extra bonus to our Pennine Way adventure we had managed to hit on the only weekend when there was to be a celebration of the Romans leaving Hadrian's Wall 1600 years ago! Beacons were lit at 200 metre intervals all along the wall from Wallsend to Carlisle. We were advised by Val at the YHA of a suitable viewing point where we could park the coach and William volunteered to take us up there before dinner.

We were quite a way from the wall but it was possible to see several of the beacons and I did manage to capture this on camera but the quality of the photo isn't brilliant.




Back at the hostel we had time for a quick shower before a splendid meal of homemade chicken pie and sticky toffee pudding. Some went down to the town for a drink but many of us were too contented to bother and were looking forward to another good walk the following day.

Just a little reminder to those who may not have visited the blog before, if you click on the green highlighted words this will take you to further pictures or information about the places we have visited and if you click on 'beacons' you can see a short clip on Youtube showing an aerial view of the beacons.

Pennine Way 17 Dufton to Garrigill

Today's walk promised to be a hard one as it covered the highest point on the Pennine Way, was 16 miles long and involved around 3000ft of climbing. The 'B' party had the option of taking a mini bus covering the first 4 miles and the bulk of the climb. I decided with some of the 'B' party to join the 'A' party for this walk and hope that we could keep up!

We set of at a brisk place in almost fine weather, just a passing shower and a bit of mist around. It wasn't long before the usual 'A' party members were well ahead of the 'B' s that had joined them but at least the leaders Malcolm and Steve were kind to us and gave us encouragement to carry on.


We made our way steadily upwards passing numerous cairns to Knock Fell (2604ft) and then to the radar station where we stopped for lunch with views of Cow Green reservoir in the distance.




After lunch the final push to Little Dun Fell (2761 ft) and the shelter on the summit of Cross Fell (2930 ft). Yes it was quite a hard slog for me but the sense of achievement made it worthwhile.

After a moment to draw breath, touch the trig point and admire the view, off we set again down hill thankfully with wonderful views all around us. A short visit to Greg's Hut, a mountain bothy that would have been a haven in bad weather but fortunately not needed by us on this occasion!

The rest of the walk sounds easy, all down hill, a miner's track to follow, easy-peasy! However the miner's path, known as the Corpse Road, goes on for seven long miles down to Garrigill and for the most part is a rough stony surface that punishes the soles of your feet and ankles. Thankfully the weather was still good, the views were splendid and we chatted to each other along the way to help pass the time. The people at the front of the 'A' party only just caught the 'B' party before they reached the end of the walk.

At last the sleepy village of Garrigill came into view and a chance to sit for a while on the village green and reflect on a good weekend's walking and 29 more miles of the Pennine Way under our belts!

On the coach at last, a very friendly group, shared their remaining food and drink as William drove us safely home again. No more Pennine Way walks now until next March, so hopefully all the winter weather will have gone by the time we return to Garrigill in 2010.
Thanks to Peter who took all today's photos. I didn't have the energy for photos and climbing hills!