Memories from Sean and Nigel's Pennine Way walk in 1986
Many, many years ago, in a peat bog many miles away Sean and Ratboy walked
the Pennine Way.
270 miles of moor and bog was too great a challenge to ignore and so on
Sunday 20th July, 1986, our heroes set off from Edale with only one aim - to
spend at least 3 weeks doing nothing but walking!
| Route |
Mileage |
Camping Info |
Price |
Comments |
| Edale - Crowden |
15.3 |
Camp
Site |
£1.30 |
Over Kinder and
Bleaklow - decent weather. No pub! |
| Crowden - Whitehouse |
17.5 |
Old
Quarry |
Free |
Standedge and more good
weather. V good pub. |
| Whitehouse - Ponden |
18.7 |
Camp
Site |
50p |
Top Withins and gentle
moors. Mike Peach retires due to injury. Decent pub but with strange
customers. |
| Ponden - Gargrave |
15.6 |
Camp
Site |
£1.50 |
Easy day over pleasant
moors. Decent weather continues. |
| Gargrave - Malham |
9.4 |
Farm
Site |
75p |
Excellent weather and
an idyllic walk next to the River Aire. Good pub. |
| Malham - Horton |
14.4 |
Camp
Site |
75p |
Fountains Fell and
Pen-y-ghent, the first big hills. Great pub. |
| Horton - Hawes |
14.7 |
Camp
Site |
£1 |
Easy day over the green
road to Hawes. V good pubs. |
| Rest Day |
|
Camp
Site |
£1 |
Time to wash a few
clothes. |
| Hawes - Tan Hill |
17.5 |
Field |
Free |
Weather begins to
deteriorate. Excellent night in Tan Hill pub. |
| Tan Hill - Middleton |
17.5 |
Camp
Site |
£1.25 |
Poor weather clears
towards lunchtime. Easy going. Multiple pubs. |
| Middleton - Dufton |
20.9 |
Farm
Site |
75p |
Weather deteriorates
quickly after a pleasant start. Final 10 miles over remote moorland
in dreadful conditions. Stag Inn was a life saver. |
| Rest Day |
|
Farm
Site |
75p |
Time to dry everything
in either the barn or the Stag Inn. |
| Dufton - Alston |
20.6 |
Camp
Site |
Runner |
Cross Fell in good
weather and then more rain. Multiple pubs. |
| Alston - Greenhead |
18.7 |
Camp
Site |
£1 |
Decent weather and an
easy route. Reasonable pub. |
| Greenhead - Once Brewed |
8.2 |
Farm
Site |
65p |
Short day enjoyed on
Hadrians Wall. Good weather. Reasonable pub. |
| Once Brewed -
Bellingham |
15.6 |
Farm
Site |
£1 |
More wall and then into
the great forests of Kielder. Good weather. Multiple pubs. |
| Rest Day |
|
Farm
Site |
£1 |
More washing. Prepare
for the final push. |
| Bellingham - Byrness |
16.9 |
Camp
Site |
£1.50 |
Easy day through
forests. Weather deteriorating. |
| Byrness - Kirk Yetholm |
30.7 |
Camp
Site |
£1.50 |
Abysmal weather,
dreadful peat bogs and high winds. |
Average mileage - 17 miles per day. We created a short log of the
distances and camp sites which I've still got to this day.
A young Ratboy sorting out his gear at Crowden. Torside Clough is in the
background.
Him again on the top of Malham Cove. Note the use of extremely light
hi-tech jumpers.
Hardraw Force - just outside Hawes. Its amazing what you can do after 8
pints of Theakstons XB.
Tan Hill, the highest pub in the country. Ratboy and me erected our tent
in the pouring rain whilst fellow walkers laughed at us from the warmth of
the pub. Luckily for them the rain got heavier and darkness set in - oh how
we laughed as they erected their tents in torchlight.
Oh how we all felt pissed off when, next morning, we found that the pub let
walkers sleep in the bar!
Dufton - the night after the storm.
The walk from Middleton to Dufton had been a shocker due to the heavy
rain and mist. We were that wet that we walked through streams, rivers and
bogs just to shorten the route.
We then met a middle aged walker who was lost on High Cup Nick so we helped
him descend from the thickening clag. To thank us
for helping him off the moor he invited us into a tea shop for tea and a
cake but, after we'd had our fill, he refused to pay. If I ever see him
again he'll be buried up to his neck back at High Cup Nick. As would be
expected, everything was wet - rucsacs, tent, rucsac contents and boots.
Cross Fell, the highest of the Pennines (2930ft) from Knock Old Man. The
early warning station on Great Dunn Fell in the middle distance.
A rest day was required in order to get our belongings back
to
a state where they were wearable but the wait was worth it as the ascent
over the Pennine's highest peaks was enjoyed in lovely warming sunshine.
This was the best part of the walk.
Dave the mad hippie Geordie at Bellingham. We walked most of the way
with Dave and his fellow walkers and intended to have a good drink together
at Kirk Yetholm. Unfortunately it was not to be.
Ratboy on the Cheviots. Taken after the Lamb Hill bog fall.
We intended to split the final 30 mile Cheviot stretch by camping with
fellow walkers at the Hen Hole. The weather however was so poor that the
going underfoot was shockingly wet and in many places dangerous. Ratboy
nearly disappeared in a peat bog as the slime reached above his waist.
We decided to carry onto Kirk Yetholm due to the conditions and never saw
Geordie Dave and co again. They must have suffered from the shockingly wet
going and camped at the Hen Hole. Geordie Dave didn't like uphill sections so the
Cheviots must have been a nightmare for him.
The Hen Hole.
This was meant to be our stopping point on the final stretch. The final 30
mile walk in terrible conditions took us just under 11 hours. The extra mile
was due to a navigational error on Windy Gyle - the conditions were shite
mind.
Job done! - the day after the 30 miler.
Clean clothes and ready for home. It had been a pretty quiet night in Kirk Yetholm due to us not finishing the walk with the other group. Many walkers
had retired earlier on the way and a few had walked at a slower pace and
were a couple of days behind. One day, we may do it again: 2016 will be the
30th anniversary of the walk - anybody on for it?
