Pennine Way Day Nine - Keld to Middleton in Teesdale

Distance: 21.5 miles
Ascent: 850m
Weather: overcast, light breeze
Lapwings, curlews, plovers, strange humming flappy birds, weasel, more bunnies than you can shake a stick at, voles, Americans. Sheep surprised by a bird, stampeded bunny.

Discarded footwear update: one white Nike.

Anyone who has read any of this blog before will know that we like a bog. Everyone loves a bog. However, today was taking things to the extreme.

Just assume, unless otherwise stated, that we are in a bog.

Leaving Keld, we stopped for a look at the Catrake Force waterfall and then headed up the track (heard an odd bird sound, a bit like the percussion instruments you play at primary school) around Black Moor onto Stonesdale Moor towards Tan Hill. We called in at the Tan Hill Inn for a coffee (not a bog) and then set off, to the quacking of ducks, down to Sleightholme Moor. The way was not clear for a while to start with, but became more obvious the further along Frumming Beck we got. Just passed Washfold Rigg we joined a track (not bog) which went down to Sleightholme Farm where we left it, at The Bog, next to Bog Scar, and over to God's Bridge where we had lunch on the massive limestone rock (not a bog) that crosses the River Greta.

Under the A66 there is an underpass (not a bog) and beside it there is a lot of rubbish.

We went north over to Ravock Castle, Knott Hills, Race Yate, passing what are marked on the map as Bields. We looked Bield up, and it means a shelter. There is a shelter at the footbridge at Peatbrigg Hill but that isn't marked on the map.

It is beautiful and not a bog around Hannah's Meadow, which is a nature reserve at the farm where Hannah Hauxwell used to live. We saw a weasel. It was obliging enough to let me take a photo. 

We had a sit down at a picnic spot near Grassholme Reservoir and then crossed the fields, which became drier and grassy - nice to walk on at the end of a long day - over Wythes Hill and down into Middleton in Teesdale. We met some playful cows, saw a gazillion bunnies (one that looked surprised to find itself being chased by herd of playful cows) and figured out that the noise we'd heard first thing, and were now hearing again into the evening, was coming from a bird in flight. It turned out to be a snipe, the noise is made when it vibrated it's wings in descent.

We also heard what I thought might have been a toad, but now we think was probably a woodcock.

We are staying at The Teesdale Hotel and have washed an enormous amount of mud out of my trousers and eaten an enormous amount of food.

Pennine Way Day Eight - Hawes to Keld

Distance: 13.5 miles
Ascent: 750m
Weather: cloudy, bit wet above 600m
Highest flower: intrepid poppy at 710m

The first point of interest of the day was a visit to Hawdraw waterfall. Unsurprisingly, given the amount of rain there's been lately, water it was very impressive - much more so than when we visited in 2011 on our North of England Way walk when there was just a dribble.

We then set off proper, on the track up Bluebell Hill up the side of Wensleydale. The path heads up a wide ridge, over Hearn Top, Black Hill Moss and up to Great Shunner Fell, getting wetter and windier the higher we got into the clag and then better again as we dropped down the other side into the next valley. On Black Hill Moss we saw some fine examples of bogs and deer grass, and also fossilised trees which look like tyre tracks. We thought that the fossils would be tricky to spot, as there were quite a few actual tyre tracks on the route lower on the hill, but they were quite easily distinguishable.

We had lunch at the shelter on Great Shunner Fell and the clouds began to lift, soon there were views into Swaledale, over Thwaite and Mucker.

In Thwaite we called in at a coffee shop for cream teas (first of our holiday!) where Rob had a play with a boot cover dispenser and I just took my shoes off and left them by the door.

Just north of Thwaite is a place on the map called Dirty Piece. We didn't go there.

The Pennine Way goes out of the village up a little path - which Rob commented had something wrong with it, but normality resumed soon enough when water began gushing down it - that leads around into Swaledale. The grassy path levels out and gives spectacular views over the dale, which is stunningly beautiful. We met pheasants, swaledale sheep and lambs, bunnies (in a bunny castle)  and saw masses of primroses, bluebells, saxifrage, forget-me-not, and other flowers.

We turned off the Way into Keld by some waterfalls and walked through the village, which is very pretty and even has an old fashioned red telephone box, that apparently works.

We are staying at The Keld Lodge and have been very well fed indeed. We also bumped into the same German chap whom we met on Offa's Dyke two years ago. Small world.

Pennine Way Day Seven - Horton to Hawes

Distance: 13.5 miles
Ascent: 550m
Weather: wind and rain
Unidentified brown mammals: 1

Yesterday's walk was quite zigzagged, and the end of the day was almost southbound. Today was pretty much a straight path north north west towards Hawes.

It rained and the wind blew. The paths were good on the whole, a bit muddy at times. Again we are in an area of pot holes and caves, with lots of Shake Holes and places with the word Hole in their name. We also visited Dismal Hill and Rottenstone Hill.

Half way through the day, the Pennine Way joins the Dales Way, along the High Cam Road, which is the highest Roman Road in England. There were fossils in the rocks shaped like nuts and bolts and some interesting geology, mostly involving holes in the ground.

We had a short lunch break and after something to eat, and getting wrapped up warmer (had fun getting into my KitKat with mittens on, in a gale) felt much better.

We came down across the fields into Hawes, where we are staying at The Bulls Head Hotel. We had dinner at Crockett's Restaurant which was very nice, with a bottle of wine, and were very sensible and went back to the room for a hot chocolate rather than going to the pub.

Pennine Way Day Six - Malham to Horton in Ribblesdale

Distance: 14.5 miles
Ascent: 850m
Weather: sunny, breezy

Green Woodpeckers: 2
Heard peregrines and also some mysterious squeaking in the rocks
Bunnies, possibly a rat
Wheatear
Short eared owl.
Discarded footwear so far: one flip flop on Kinder Scout, one flip flop on Standedge, two insoles at the bottom of Pen-y-Ghent.

The Pennine Way out of Malham is a well used tourist path that leads to Malham Cove. The gates tell of a peregrine viewing point, but the stone steps lead steeply up around the cove before we got to it. As we neared the top of the steps we could hear them and thought that we might have seen one, or possibly a budgie, but it turned out to be a woodpecker.

The limestone pavement across the top of the escarpment is very impressive,  and quite slippy, the stones of one of the stiles were polished till they shone.

We walked over the stone edge a while and then the Way leads around the back of the cove, north along Ing Scar. There was a nipply hill, many earthworks,  lots of things written in italics on the map. In amongst the areas of shake holes and pot holes. It's very holey round here.

From the gully, the land opens up into grassy uplands with slippy limestone rocks. We crossed a narrow lane and walked around the grassy banks of Malham Tarn, and in the woods on the far side we saw a short eared owl sitting in a tree. A chap from the outdoors centre had heard reports of an owl and was out looking for it. Apparently it had been seen further away and must have moved. We never touched it. Honest.

The way turns off the lane through a gate (adorned with skull - nice)  where we passed a group of chaps taking a break,  and along a grassy path over the hill up to Fountains Fell. Some old farm buildings with lots of flies and swallows. We stopped for first lunch by some rocks about half way up the hill. I saw something that might have been a rat.

At the top of Fountains Fell there are lots of mine shafts, and lots of holes everywhere. Some of them had sheep in them, one had a blonde lady. We crossed a wall and came down to a lane and walked along that for a while,  with fine views of Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent ahead. We had second lunch on some rocks near the cattle grid,  and were passed by the group of walkers from earlier.

The path climbs up gently along a ridge and then rises steeply up Pen-y-Ghent, a bit of a scramble and then an easy path to the top. We passed the stragglers before the route had even got steep, and the others at the top.

A wide gravel path leads down, clear across the heather, then became a stony track through farms into Horton In Ribblesdale. We are staying at The Crown Hotel, and have seen lots of walkers in various states of knackedness / limping. Most people seem to be doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks.

A chap at the bar has been saying he'd ridden up from London today and it had rained all the way to Skipton,  so we've been lucky.

Pennine Way Day Five - Haworth to Malham

Distance: 23.5 miles
Ascent: 975m
Weather: warm and sunny
Things on Sheep: one bucket, two birds hitching a ride
Swimming cows: 1
Sit downs: just the one very short one

Cow pat / rock dualities: one (ew)

Feet: hot and a bit dirty (ew)

Herons, bunnies, peacock, little lambs, bullfinch, field fares, dive bombing lapwings, fly-by squawking curlews, gulls, oyster catchers, little goats, herded some geese, got herded along with some sheep.

Had a comfortable night's sleep at The Old Silent Inn, untroubled by ghosts. In the morning, we noticed a certificate on the wall which said the place is officially haunted, according to that The Paranormal Association of Britain or some such.

We were later than planned setting off, due to breakfast being late. Our very convivial host was no where to be seen anyway, and we were not convinced that his being busy with the farm was entirely the reason.

Ickornshaw Moor was boggy, but really pretty. The wonders of sunshine. Although you'd expect somewhere called The Sea to be a bit wet...

Walked through Ickornshaw village, where many of the stone house seemed to have fallen down and the people taken up residence in huts. The residents also seemed to be mostly geese, chickens and goats.

The country turned from south Pennine moorland to hilly farmland of the dales. More cow fields and country lanes. We had a brief sit on a bench and had some lunch, and met a couple of Dutch walkers having a sit down right in front of a gate who are also doing the Pennine Way, although they are doing it properly and camping. Poor buggers. Just after we left them, we went through a small muddy field with some cows, the cows were a bit frisky and seemed nervous about which way to go. Some went up the hillside to go crashing through the trees at the top of the field, but one seemed a bit indecisive and hung around at the back of the group, until it panicked and rushed off through the reeds, and then had to practically swim to get out. There was a bit of mooing and much splashing, it made it out ok, thankfully.

We went a short distance along the Leeds and Liverpool canal,  stopping to pay a small fortune for ice creams and some more water.

The last part of the day,  about 7 miles after Gargrave was along a pretty riverbank. We saw lots of curlews and ducks. The landscape becomes noticeably rockier and then we were into Malham. They are having a strange safari event at the moment,  including a huge model of giraffes in horse drawn carts.

We are staying at The Buck Inn, which has good beer and fine Yorkshire puddings.

Pennine Way Day Four - Hebden Bridge to Haworth

Distance: 13 miles
Ascent: 600m
Weather: dry and sunny start and finish, but mostly wet.

So today we were out on the wild and windy moors, but thankfully there was no rolling or falling in green. And no Kate Bush impressions either, as there was to be none of that, apparently.

Getting down to Hebden Bridge and back along the canal (saw a Muscovy Duck) seemed a lot easier this morning with gravity on our side.

We then crossed the road and headed up the other side of the valley, up a very steep little cobbled path. There are paths in all directions here and we had to make a choice between the official route and the Wainwright route. We went with the official. A muddy, overgrown little path takes you by an odd water spout thing, then to a tree lined lane and then up on to farm land and fields.

The path crosses a pretty dell with bluebells signposted Hebble Hole (although that doesn't seem to be marked on the map) with a stone footbridge that looks very old and worn indeed, and is even a listed building.

Out on the tops there were lots of curlews and lapwings chirping, especially when we stopped for lunch on a wall, watching the black clouds and impending rain approach over the hills. A hasty pack up was called for and we walked in the rain for a long time after.

The Way goes down a wide tarmac lane with signs forbidding mountain biking, around a couple of reservoirs, one of which was nearly completely empty despite the weather, then up Dean Stones Edge over the rolling moorland (between Round Hill and Dick Delf Hill) to Top Withins. There were quite a few visitors to the ruins out in the rain.

The sun came out as we approached Ponden Reservoir, where we turned off down a lane to get to The Old Silent Inn.

Pennine Way Day Three - Standedge to Hebden Bridge

Distance: 18 miles
Ascent: 600m
Weather: misty, then rain, wind and rain, blue sky and sunshine (a bit)

It was misty but dry as we started this morning,  over the A62 and over Standedge Edge. There was a family with a couple of very energetic little boys running around arms flapping. Dad had a huge flask.

A hat change was called for, it was pretty windy. The rain started as we got to the trig point on White Hill and continued to get heavier during the day. The paths near here are very familiar to us and we'd thought that it would be strange to do a long distance path so close to home. Mostly it was just wet. The renovation of the path up to Blackstone Edge has been done and it is now very different, seems like a completely different footpath.

We passed the Aigen Stone and walked down the little path across the heather (which is the Pennine Way but most people seem to go the other way down the Roman Road) down to the White House Inn (coming upon a horde of walkers who seemed to emerge from a hole in the ground) and took shelter from the weather inside with a big pot of tea and some lunch.

After lunch, the rain was noticeably harder and the wind noticeably stronger. It was fairly unpleasant walking passed the reservoirs on the straight track. The track becomes smaller and then crosses the boggy ground as a stone flagged path, which gurgled and tipped occasionally.

The guide book mentions Stoodley Pike being visible but never seeming to get any closer, we didn't really have that problem today, as the mist was so low we couldn't see it until we were quite close. The rain stopped and the clouds began to clear, and a stone seat conveniently appeared so we stopped for a sit down and some tea and biscuits.

We didn't go up Stoodley Pike as it was pitch dark inside and not straight, according to Rob. It has already fallen down once before so you can't be too careful (although that was in 1850-something.)

The skies were clearing as we came down off the moors, and it was much warmer. We are staying in Hebden Bridge,  so left the Pennine Way and walked along the canal to town. There were lots of ducklings and goslings and we got hissed at quite a lot.

Hebden Bridge is very, very hilly. We chose to stay at the Hare and Hounds in one of the villages just (just!) up out of town.

Ed. I can't believe that I forgot to mention this, but the weirdest thing we saw today (and possibly ever) was a group of chaps coming down off the moors as we left the White House Inn wearing not much but white robes (possibly bedsheets) in a torrential rain storm. Not sure if it was for a religious thing or for a bet....