Pennine Way 2000 : Day 5 : Lothersdale to Malham

Now That's the Way to Travel

Poor Austin.

The omens are not good - Alex's blister remedies seem to have welded themselves to his feet, and for his part Austin is complaining about the pain almost before we start walking (P1).  For breakfast we are reduced to dry roasted peanuts, and only the prospect of getting something more filling a few miles down the road encourages us to make a start.

It is therefore all the more disappointing to arrive in Thornton-in-Craven to find that the anticipated (and marked on the map) Post Office has closed, and is commemorated only as 'The Old Post Office B & B' (P2).  We take a brief break to gather our spirits anyway (P3).  From now on at least we pass some pleasant scenery, as the route leads along the towpath of the Leeds & Liverpool canal.  Before long we reach East Marton (P4), and only by doping me with Ibuprofen do my companions get me past the pub there.

Former Post Office.

Their argument, that there's another one two miles on, does make sense with hindsight.  First we pass a canal boat (P5), and are very struck by the way that the people on it move at the same speed as us, but crucially don't seem to put in much in the way of painful physical effort.  The way then cuts through some fields (P6) to the village of Gargrave, and of course its pub (P7).

We briefly revisit the canal (P8) before striking north towards Malham - the route is basically along a valley, but this being the Pennine Way we must climb up and down the side, apparently in order to see a house with an 'unusual badger weather vane' (P9).  We are very glad to finally reach Malham (P10), if slightly less happy to learn that the campsite is another half mile on, uphill.  We can at least take some satisfaction in the fact that we were now a full day ahead of the itinerary given in our guide.

He's not a happy bunny.

On the towpath.

That looks fun...

Not lost at all, honest.

Can we just stay here?

Hmm, maybe we should have a canal holiday some time?

Badger badger badger badger.

Another night, another pub.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pennine Way 2000 : Day 4 : Hebden Bridge to Lothersdale

A Bit Better I Suppose

No idea what this building actually was...

Day four and we were still going, although tired after the trials of the previous night.  Today we are walking through Bronte country, as evidenced by the Japanese tourists wandering about - there are even signposts written in Japanese.  We pass the ruins of Withins, the inspiration for Wuthering Heights, and eventually make our way to Ponden, which our guide suggests as a place to stop on the fourth day - but then it also suggests that we take nineteen days to do the Way, rather than fifteen.

While we expect to get further, nonetheless it has been a long walk and it is with great relief that we find a guesthouse at which the friendly landlady provides us with tea and sandwiches.  Other than that there isn't much to Ponden, and the fact that the nearest pub is in Lothersdale is sufficient incentive to push on.  We do pass Ponden Hall, another Bronte shrine and in fact the residence of a friend of one of my workmates.

Making use of the self-timer.

Unfortunately I totally fail to recognise it from the photo he showed me, and end up getting a picture of somewhere else entirely (P1).  Fortified by our lunchbreak we set off at a good pace, overtaking the family that are doing the walk to the same schedule, more or less, as ourselves.  They pass us again when we stop for coffee, at which point I go a bit beserk with the camera (P2, P3 & P4).  From there we make good time to Lothersdale and find that the campsite is basically somebody's back garden.  Still it's perfectly adequate, and handy for the pub (P5).

Totally needed three pictures at this spot.

Well, I probably needed a break at least.

Yay pubs.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pennine Way 2000 : Day 3 : Standedge to Hebden Bridge

Follow me - it's a Short Cut

Nice views up here.

At least we don't have to go to work as we normally would on a Monday - in fact that is one of the good things about the walk, in that what we are doing is so out of normal experience that we are already starting to forget our lives back home.  Today at least the walk seems a little easier - we had been told that after the first two days things would improve, and it does seem to be true as after a brief climb out of Standedge we walk along the high moors (P1 & P2), the way is flat, and the going is actually pleasant.

I have rearranged the itinerary so that for the first week we won't do more than 16 miles in a day, using up our spare day in the process, so we don't have to worry too much about tomorrow.  The morning passes easily enough and we have a pleasant lunch break at the White House Inn (P3).

Are we having fun yet?

Some entertainment is provided by a moronic sheep that almost walks into a car, and nearly becomes the freshest, though by no means the only dead sheep that we see.  The value of a decent meal the day before becomes clear as we keep up a decent pace throughout the afternoon, until we get to within a mile of our destination.  Then it happens, the dread words 'short cut' are spoken, and poor fools that we are, we listen. 

There will be many pub photos.

It seems so simple, looking at the map there is a path leading straight over a bridge to the town, rather than the detour to avoid it that the way takes.  So we leave the way and plunge down a slope through some woods, quickly coming to a river - which we can't cross.  After seeming hours of struggling through dense woodland and leaping over crevasses, we finally reach a bridge (P4) and stagger into the town utterly spent.  But all is not yet over - after a fine mixed grill we have to walk on to a campsite, the local one having closed.  The next one turns out to be several miles away, and it is nearly midnight before we reach it...

Such hard work getting here.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pennine Way 2000 : Day 2 : Crowden to Standedge

The Pain Barrier

Reality dawns on us with bits of our bodies that we didn't even know we have hurting.  It would be bad enough just lying in bed, but we have to walk, in fact we have to walk up a slope that our guide describes as 'gruelling' - a word that we soon begin to dread, even more than 'exhilarating', which also seems to be a euphemism for 'very steep'.

Black Hill.

The slope seems to go on forever, and our spirits aren't improved when we are overtaken by lunatics actually running up it.  By the time we get to the top, less than two miles into the day, we are already exhausted. Pressing on we reach the summit of Black Hill (P1), at which Austin demonstrates the peaty quality of the soil by sinking in up to his waist.

For some reason I calculate the distance for the day at 22 miles, as opposed to the 18 it actually is, and Austin makes it plain that he isn't up for walking that far... after a full and frank exchange of views, I hope that he feels a bit stronger when we reach lunch, still at least 6 miles away.  But as the day wears on I too start to feel the strain, and as the route becomes a series of scrambles up and down ravines, I start to realise that I really should have eaten more the day before.  With a mile to go until our 'lunch stop', I concede that Austin was right, as I barely have the strength to carry on.

Pub!

Somehow we make it, despite a bad moment when the pub marked on the map is closed.  Thankfully some friendly locals are able to point us to the Great Western (P2), where I take the opportunity to lighten my load a little.  It's strange how so many things that seemed vital when I first packed my bag are now surplus to requirements...  While we do spend a pleasant afternoon in the pub, we have to face the fact that we have only walked 11 miles, and after only two days are well behind schedule.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pennine Way 2000 : Day 1 : Edale to Crowden

The Old Nags Head.

First of all an editorial note.  I'm posting this series of blog entries in September 2021, however the trip described, along the Pennine Way through northern England and into Scotland, took place over 20 years ago.  I did write a short description of each day's events, already using the 'mostly in the present' style typical of this blog, and most of the text in these posts will be as I wrote back then, perhaps with the odd typo removed.   Originally I had the photos hosted on a web server running in my flat, and the pages each had all the photos for that day on them.  I'm going to try to duplicate that, so these posts will have a lot of photos, for this reason they will be smaller than usual.  Again as usual there will be a link to the larger photos at the bottom of each page.

Two already looking doubtful.

While I am editorialising... I'm going to edit the post date so these show as way back in 2000 (did Blogger even exist then?).  So this will probably show as my earliest post.  In fact however my first blog post is here.

In late august 2000, four young (well, youngish) men set out on an epic journey. With no idea of how unfit we were for the task in hand, Alex Tylee-Birdsall, Austin Jones, Chris Bragg and I set out to walk the Pennine way in two weeks, carrying our tents and camping every night. This is our story...

We Must be Mad

And one more for luck...

The 'holiday' begins with a train journey from Sheffield to Edale, during which we peer out at the rain pouring down and tell each other that it will stop before we arrive.  It doesn't.  Pulling on our waterproofs we set out, passing the official start at the Old Nags Head (P1, P2 & P3) after half a mile or so.

Another mile or so out into the open fields, and Chris is already feeling the strain - we manage to persuade him to continue.  The rest aren't much happier, although we do meet some friendly sheep (P4 & P5).

Well he is Welsh.

Before long we reach Jacob's Ladder, and it sinks in that this isn't going to be quite as easy as we thought... we are doing little better than 1 mile an hour, and the Ladder seems very steep.  From here the way leads on through some increasingly lifeless terrain (P6), and on over open moorland.

It becomes more and more clear that Chris isn't going to make it, and a little after lunch he decides he can go no further.  We unload some of the food on him and he makes his way back to Sheffield by bus and taxi.  The remaining three manage a better pace at first, but after the ascent of Bleaklow fatigue starts to set in.  I manage to stave off physical collapse only by eating some of the sugar we brought for Austin's tea.  We finally roll into Crowden at around 7.30, where we find that the disposable barbeque we brought is a little past its sell-by date.  Alex has the good sense to fry some steaks for himself, but I am so exhausted that I turn in having only eaten some mars bars and a few chips.

Maybe we could use them as pack animals?

Bleak up here.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.