Looking towards Penyghent
No sign declared ‘ Welcome to Kirk Yetholm ’, no skylark sang , nobody greeted us as we entered the village towards which we had been heading for the past three weeks . It was a beautiful June day . As we approached the village green and Border Inn , bunting appeared for the local literature festival . Separately , an in�latable arch had been erected to welcome Spine Challenge competitors who had departed Edale three days and seven hours earlier . Meanwhile , my co-trekker Trish , and my partner Angharad who was sporting a custommade T-shirt with the words ‘ Pennine Way Support Unit ’, had read the runes . They were talking animatedly about garden hostas and their attraction for slugs .
Between the inn entrance and its plaque declaring the end of the Pennine Way , a seated middle-aged couple smiled . Inside , we received our certi�icates and free half pints that are donated by the Tyne Brewery . The original fund , courtesy of Wainwright in 1968 , was exhausted many years ago .
The �irst two Spine competitors had already completed , a man and a woman . The man had taken less than three days , �inishing around the time we were having breakfast , while the woman had passed us below The Cheviot . By chance , we were staying at the same B & B , and next morning we congratulated them on their achievement of completing the Pennine Way ’ s 268 miles ( for that is what The Spine is ) in a fraction of the time it had taken us . “ Yes , but we missed a lot ,” one replied , “ You don ’ t hear the birds , see the �lowers or admire the scenery .” The other concurred . Then , alluding to our mature years , they added that we should be equally proud of our achievement .
You hike your own hike .
* * *
The idea of Trish – a family friend - and I doing the Pennine Way was born during Covid where we formed a hiking bubble . Drinking coffee on Blackstone Edge in the South Pennines one day , she said she would like to walk it while her age would allow 1 . I had done it once before with another friend in 2013 but , as with all hiking
Revisiting the
Pennine Way
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and
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Gordon Wilson walks a familiar route …
experiences that make a deep impression , I was feeling the urge to get to know it more intimately . Alas , much had happened to my body since 2013 , including injuries and other medical issues . Nevertheless , I offered to go with her . Angharad agreed to repeat her previous role of support unit .
Thus , at 0930 on Jubilee Thursday ( 2 June 2022 ) we stepped off the train at Edale , and the trek began .
We had planned to make it enjoyable . Practically , this meant staying at inns and B & Bs , having baggage carried , and taking an easier course if weather conditions dictated . On this last , we varied the acorned route on four occasions . Thus , on Day 4 we took a locally known path below Blackstone Edge rather than over it in �ierce wind and heavy rain . In similar conditions on Day 8 we descended the shorter Three Peaks path from just below the summit of Penyghent to Horton ( having previously climbed it countless times ). On Day 10 between Hawes and Keld , with 60mph gusts forecast for Great Shunner Fell , we staggered over Buttertubs Pass instead and heard later that two people had been swept off their feet on the Fell . Finally , on Day 18 , in Kielder Forest , we were of�icially diverted , adding three miles to the route which was blocked in places by a tangle of uprooted trees from winter storms .
We also intended to gain the full experience or , as an early 20th century campaigner for access to the Pennine moors , Bert Ward , once put it – “ the trinity of legs , eyes and mind ” 2 .
In other words , we wanted to :
◆ Give ourselves time to admire the varied landscape and revel in the highlights which , for us , were : Malham Cove , Penyghent ( very impressive with storm clouds drifting around its summit rocks ), High Force , High Cup Nick , Cross Fell , Hadrian ’ s Wall , the Cheviot border ridge .
◆ Listen to the constant birdsong . Where there ’ s a moor there are usually curlews circling overhead , attempting to escort one off the premises . But they are not the only ones . We also enjoyed skylarks ,
4 outdoor focus / summer 2023