And so to the last day of walking. We had done 19 days of walking, and this was scheduled to be our last. As we had breakfast at the ‘old house’, the debate was about the weather. The forecast was for some light rain from around 11, that would last till late afternoon. We packed waterproof’s in our back packs, but started off hopeful we wouldn’t encounter too much of the ‘light rain’ that had been forecast.

We walked up onto the road, and back down to the Pennine way, then up out of the valley, away from Torside. It was a climb, but not too bad. Then as we we skirted the hills, the first drizzle arrived. So, raincoats on, but it didn’t seem to last too long. The route wasn’t flat and easy, so it took us some time to make progress. We went across Bleaklow Head, and come down ‘Devil’s Dike’. At this point we started to get stronger drizzle, so Tricia changed into her waterproof trousers as well. We crossed the A57, ‘snake road’ and shortly after the rain became stronger, so waterproof trousers for me as well…. Which was just as well, as the rain became very heavy, and wind was up… The Pennine Way was not going to let us go without  giving us a reminder of how hard it could be. Driving rain.

It was more than the waterproof clothing could cope with :-(. We were wet, cold, and some way off finishing. The path was pretty good along ‘glad hill’, then ‘mill hill’, but as we came towards Kinder, the terrain became very rocky, and the climb steep. We were up in the clouds, the wind was stronger. We stopped for a while behind a rock to get some food out, and then ploughed on, eventually reaching Kinder Downfall. The view was white… Just cloud / mist. We had at least seen the views when we were back here in May, but it was disappointing nonetheless. We crossed, and then continued along the way, often checking the gps to make sure we were on track. The rain stopped around 3pm, just as we were coming to Kinderlow, Edale rocks, and then Jacob’s Ladder.  A couple of ‘views’ showing what it was like. The first is Kinder Downfall…

We came slowly down Jacob’s Ladder and then the next few miles across fields, and finally the narrow path that lead down to the traditional start of the Pennine Way, and our finish. Shattered. We were pleased to have finished, but the last day was something of a damp squib. We had a couple of photo’s taken, and then went onto Ollerbrook where we were staying…. A very welcome tea, and baths. We went back into Edale, and ate at the Nag’s Head. Both yawning :-).

Walking is an underestimated form of keeping you fit. I certainly feel fitter, and have likely lost a few pounds… Bit of an extreme way of doing it though 🙂

Taxi was picking us up at 9am in order to drop us back on the Pennine Way, so we had a little rush around to get breakfasted and packed and out on time. The morning was breezy, but OK for walking when set off. A gentle start as we eased back into it. It was reasonably easy walking as we went past some reservoirs, one with a nice little sandy area – Tricia pointed out I had had a beach holiday after all …. Hmmmm.

We passed Wessenden reservoir, and across Wessenden Moor, before walking up to meet the A635. We stopped for a break, then continued along the side of the road, where Tricia spotted a mole. Not often you see one of those!

We crossed ‘dean clough’ on some stepping stones. A walker we had encountered a few days before said that this had been almost impossible to get over two days previous, so we were grateful that the water had subsided somewhat. We then carried on, gradually climbing ‘Black Hill’… This was along a slabbed area so the walking was good. Pictures here are of Mr Mole in the grass, and Tricia going down to ‘dean clough’.

The best part of the day, and one of the best parts of the walk took place along ‘Blackchew Head’… The path was along the edge of a drop so we needed to be careful, but the views were fantastic. I enjoyed the afternoon walk as much as any we had done to date. At the end we came down off the peak, and headed for Torside reservoir. We walked along the reservoir, before crossing and walking about 600m along the road to out stop for the night ‘The Old House’, a B&B and Tea Rooms. We were given tea and coffee on arrival :-), and sat on the decking enjoying the views and resting the feet. I was a little foot sore at the end of the day, and glad to get my feet up. We had done around 15 miles. First two pics here are from ‘Blackchew head’. Then Torside reservoir, the B&B and view.

In the evening we were driven to a nearby village and ate at the pub. It had been a good day, no rain, and some fantastic views… Just one day’s walking to go.

Our fussy landlady provided some amusement at breakfast… Seems she was able to to tell you anything about anything, but incapable of listening :-). We were on the road shortly after 9, and walked the best part of a mile down to the Pennine Way.

First task was to climb up to Stoodley Pike. We are familiar with the pike, as it stands above where Tricia’s sister Lesley used to live. I was expecting a sharp climb, but we were on the other side of the pike, and it was a reasonably gentle climb.

We then moved on, running along the top, then came down across the moor to a series of reservoirs. This meant we were walking on a level, on good path so we made good progress. We stopped for lunch at a road side pub, using their beer garden to sit in :-).

After our break we were up onto Blackstone Edge. Took a bit of time to get into the climb after being sat for a period… And I was feeling heavy legged today. I had thought that I would be walking fit by now, but successive days walking and no rest days doesn’t seem to have helped. From the top of Blackstone Edge you could see for miles… From there it was a gradual descent down the the M62, which we crossed on a footbridge. From there on to the moors, going across part of Saddleworth Moor before finally arriving in Standedge (pronounced ‘Stanige’). We had walked about 15 miles… It felt more like 20 for some reason. A taxi picked us up and took us into Marsden where we are staying the night. Taxi will take us back out to Standedge tomorrow morning.

Only 29 miles to go now…..

Well today, was very different from yesterday. Our lovely landlady had baked our boots dry, and dried our socks and waterproof stuff, so that helped. The weather was clear, and the forecast was for it to stay that way.

As the B&B was right on the Pennine Way, we were right into the walk. Today we were in Bronte country. We walked up out of Ponden and up onto the moor… The ground was a little wet, but soon we found ourselves walking on flagstones that had been laid, and so progress was good. We reached ‘top withens’ farm, the building that is supposed to feature in Wuthering Heights. Inside the building was a reference to the Pennine Way, and a chart showing the key places… It was good to see we were near the end :-).

Not only was the walking underfoot good, it was warmer as well. In fact we were both in short sleeves. We covered the first six miles in just over a few hours. We found a farm shop referred to as ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ in our PWay handbook. But the directions were a little confusing… Nice little shop though. We had some fun with the two ladies working there… Mainly at my expense.. We picked up some lunch items then had a break.

With only 10 miles on the schedule for today, we had a relaxed walk towards Hebden Bridge, which we got to around 3pm. Had great views of the local sewage works…. And we thought of our good friend Clive :-). Nice to have had a day when we didn’t get rained on! Coming into Hebden, the scenery is dominated by ‘Stoodley Pike’, and we were reminded we would have to walk up there tomorrow.

We booked into our B&B. The landlady being rather fussy… But no issue, we just hid in our room. Tomorrow the schedule says we should be walking 17.5 miles, but looking at the map we don’t think it is further than 15… I guess we will see.

14.5 miles was the set walk for today, plus the mile to get back to the Pennine Way… And the forecast was not good.

But first, one of those odd little episodes. Just after 5:30am, Tricia and I both awoke thinking we could hear an alarm. In the fogginess of just waking we were not sure where the alarm was coming from … Not from our phones. We were both kneeling down listening to our cases at one point thinking that it was something from within. But no… Eventually we realised it was coming from a different room. We let it go for a while, but it was one of those alarms that would gradually get louder if it wasn’t switched off… And we started to get concerned about the person in the room. So I knocked on the door and went in…. The lady owner emerged from under the blankets muttered something about an alarm, and switched it off. I retired and went back to bed, I nodded off till 7am. It seems the lady owner had to get up to go to work. All I can say is she must have been a deep sleeper! When we did get breakfast someone else cooked it. Tricia and I decided not to say anything…

Out of the B&B and into the rain. And it rained on us all the time we were walking pretty much. The odd gap between rainfall when the clouds took a deep breath before pouring down on us again. The moors we went across today were covered in mist, and the walking path absolutely sodden. Nothing to look at, and being soaked through doesn’t make a good combination. We took refuge in a dilipadeted barn to have a drink and a banana. About 1:45pm, it stopped raining for 5 minutes, long enough to have some lunch. At that point we worked out that we were only about 3 miles from Ponden… This spurred us on. We had both shipped water into our boots. At some points the path were flooded, the streams that you would normally step stone across were over full, and grass areas were just marshy… Inevitably you end up getting wet feet. Braving the weather..

Eventually we came down into Ponden, and around the reservoir to our B&B. Nice lodgings. Our boots are presently drying on the landlady’s aga. :-).

Breakfast was not till 8:30 am, so we had a easy start to the day. We only ad 10 miles today, so a late start was no issue. We left after 10, and the weather was somewhat overcast. We had covered the first 6 miles by lunchtime, when we arrived in Gargrave.

A lovely town, it had a signpost saying we only had 70 miles to go to Edale :-). The end is in sight! This was day 15 of walking, 5 to do.

The weather was pretty good today, a few showers, but it was warm. First time since the first day we were both in t-shirts.  The walk was mainly across fields, not too many hills today, just as well as we cold feel the previous day’s excursion in our legs. We arrived in Thornton and left the Pennine way to walk to Earby, where the B&B is. A nice cup of tea whilst watching Andy Murray win the third set and Wimbledon 🙂

Oh boy… Neither of us had slept that well. We were staying in a pub in Horton, and the room was too hot… So we had the window open, and we were woken by drunken Herbert’s causing noise, and also it seemed every day in the building couldn’t close, it had to be slammed shut.

We had breakfast, and could see the horrible weather outside :-(. We left around 10am, the rain had eased off a little, and we set off on the 3.5 miles up Pen-Y-Ghent. The climb wasn’t too bad, but the mist meant we couldn’t see much in front of us,  and when we got to the top we had no view, other than the mist.

We started our descent, which was a bit steep in places, as the wind and rain started again. The rain was hammering down on us. We worked along paths surrounded by what we thought would be lovely scenery if only we could see it. The ground was soggy, and our boots got very soggy in turn. We soldiered on, but our spirits were low, we knew the day would just be a soggy trudge.

At some point mid afternoon, the rain eased off, and finally reached Malham Tarn… A lovely lake area. We then worked our way to Malham cove… The mist had cleared so we could appreciate the fantastic stone, such as the ‘limestone pavement’. Tricia had wanted to see this for a while so she enjoyed it, and at least we got something out of the day.

We walked into Malham, and into our lovely B&B (River House)… Boots into the boiler room to dry off, and then a flop down and a cup of tea. We were both tired after a hard day walking into a headwind most of the day. Only 14.5 miles, but it was quite enough thank you. We ate in the pub next door, which featured an award winning pie… Which Tricia had, and commended. I just had the chicken.

A FaceTime conversation with Ellie in the evening to catch up. Only 10 miles tomorrow. Good.

A day of two halves. We awoke to sun… And we were immediately hopeful that the forecasted rain had passed by. But within a few minutes the clouds were over, and a drizzle started. After breakfast it became apparent the bad weather was in, and so waterproof clothing was donned.

We set out via the chemist for some more blister plasters (for me), and then followed the Pennine way sign out of town… Which was only partial. It would point one way, and when you followed you would arrive at a t-junction with no clarity on where to go next. Took some time of consulting with the map book, and the gps / map on the iPhone to get out of Hawes.

We climbed out of Hawes, and the rain came down. Then as we got higher, the wind started … Tricia was walking ahead of me and I saw her blown off balance a few times. The path was initially not good either, soggy ground, and before you knew it we we had wet boots, as well. It was not a pleasant experience… The tops of the hills were covered in mist.

In these conditions there is only one thing to do. Keep plodding on. The rough track at least eventually become an old drover road/route, and soon the quality underfoot improved, which meant that we able to at least pick up the pace. We stopped for a break just after 11… Water and a banana, and ploughed on.

The rain started to ease, and about 1:30pm we stopped for lunch at ‘Ling Gill’ bridge, once used as a packhorse bridge, renovated in the 1700’s. With the weather being clearer and warmer I was able to dispense with the rain coat. We got to Horton in Ribblestrode about 4pm, not bad after 14 miles and a late start.

Tricia took particular interest as we were now in the Yorkshire Three Peaks territory. Tricia is doing the three peaks in September. Tomorrow we do Pen Y Ghent, on of the three peaks. Can’t say I am looking forward to it… particularly as the weather forecast is pants.

Foot update: The horrible blisters on the back of my left foot that were causing me a lot of discomfort seem to be healing. Hoorah. My big right toe is now a mess though :-(.

The downside of having your bedroom next door to the ‘drying room’, which is boiling hot, is that the bedroom itself gets very hot. No wonder I was dreaming about walking across the Sahara last night.

Quite unlike the Sahara is the Pennine Way. It was drizzling outside when we woke. We were ready to go just after 9am, the drizzle had pretty much relented. It was a steady climb out of Keld, mainly on a narrow rocky footpath, which slowed us down. We both regretted not wearing waterproof trousers, the narrow path had fern alongside, all wet from the earlier rain…. My walking trousers got a soaking. Here I am with wet trousers and a view of the Swaledale valley.

It took forever (it seemed) to get to Thwaite (must be in North Yorks if you are in a place called Thwaite). Out the other side, and the weather was sunny and warm. Raincoats off.

We then started what was a long and gradual climb, over 3.5 miles, to reach Great Shunner Fell. Hard work… It felt as if we had been walking uphill all day. My legs were on a go slow today, and felt sapped of energy. We lunched at a shelter on the top, when we got cold, so coats back on, and then started the gradual descent down the other side. We arrived in a little village called Hardraw around 3pm…. Found a nice tea shop and sat outside with our refreshments. We then strolled the last 1.5 miles to Hawes. Hawes is a nice place, we walked around the small town, and then checked in. Our 12 miles for the day done. Here is Tricia, first of all about three quarters of the way up Great Shunner, and then at the top.

We were extravagant this evening, and visited the local fish and chip cafe for our evening meal. Gluten free batter for me…. It was pretty good :-).

Again, another prompt start to the day… We were both worked by the alarm at 7am. After breakfast (scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for me – could get used to that), and packing, and redressing my left foot, we were off. The lovely lady who ran the Fox & Hounds, driving us back to the Pennine Way.

We gently got into our stride, and after 3.5 mile arrived at the crossing under the A69, which is thought of as half way point.

HALF WAY 🙂

Shortly after we stopped for a break, before pressing on. We wanted to get to the Tan Hill Inn… This is the highest public house in the country. We were about 3 miles from it, and we thought it would take about an hour. Wrong… The final 2 miles were a quagmire, so it took a lot of patience trying to walk around the boggy bits without sinking in. I fell over twice. The footing just wasn’t where I expected it to be. There was much cursing, muttering, and dare I say, swearing at each fall. Tricia of course stayed on her feet. Much more assured :-).

Here I am at one of the many grouse shooting holes we saw on the moor.

We arrived at the Tan Hill Inn just before 2pm. Pint of cider for Tricia, Orange Juice and Lemonade for me. Around 2:45 we moved on, 4.5 miles left to do. It was drizzling, so waterproof coats on, and we marched ahead. We made very good time, getting to Keld around 4pm. A lovely little village, the views looking into it were fantastic. As we came down we saw a lovely waterfall. Into the village itself we stopped for an ice cream. Here is Tricia and a cheeky chaffinch, and some of the waterfall.

We booked in at the hotel… Nice room. AND, they have a drying room. So we took advantage to wash out a few t-shirts, and they will dry nicely overnight. As will the boots, and we can get some extra dubbin into them in the morning so they are well protected. We shared a bottle of Prosecco in the evening, to celebrate making half way.