New Walks in Central Nottinghamshire ... and Beyond

Start: Bellingham Finish: Cheviot Camp Distance: 20 miles . Total Distance Walked: 240 miles The first part of this stage I recall little of. It was through fields, moorland and another section of quite dull walking through conifer forests. The last bit of forest ended at the small village of Byrness, the last settlement before the end of the Pennine Way. We reached Byrness in the late afternoon and had a meal at the cafe there. Many walkers spend the night at Byrness and have a marathon slog of miles to finish the Way. My father had decided that this would be too much for us to do in one day so after eating we set off up out of Byrness into the Cheviot Hills. The first mile or two took us up through the last bit of woodland before we came out into the bare hills. We did another two miles and set up camp, as we had done on the first night of our walk, in wild hill country. Our camp was just next to a fence by a sign indicating MoD land. We listened to the radio and ...

Start: Once Brewed Finish: Bellingham Distance: 17 miles Total Distance Walked: 220 miles We left the busy campsite at Once Brewed, but as we did so said a final farewell to "Skinless" who we had met regularly since Day 6 of the walk. He had sustained an injury and had decided to rest for a day. We were soon at Hadrian's Wall and followed it on an undulating course for two miles. We had managed to stay on course nearly all the way but for a short distance here we took the wrong route. We found ourselves reaching a marshy area with tall reeds next to a small lake, Crag Lough, under a steep cliff close to the wall and realised we needed to retrace our steps to get up to the top of the hill. We left the Wall without making the short diversion to Housesteads fort as we needed to push on. I had started to feel a bit of pain in my hamstring and when I mentioned it my Dad said if it got worse we would stop the walk. As we had now done more than 200 miles I was ...

Start: Slaggyford Finish: Once Brewed Distance: 19 miles Total Distance Walked: 203 miles This was another of the less memorable stages of the walk. Most of it was through fields and moorland with little of note until the last few miles when we reached Hadrian's Wall. My main memories of this stage come from our overnight stopover. We were staying at a campsite at Once Brewed, about half a mile from the Wall. As it was again the weekend the campsite was busy. We went to the pub for our evening meal. While we were there a posh gentleman was trying to keep his unruly children, Charles and Henry, under control. These boys were a little younger than my sister and I, possibly nine and seven years old, and were behaving as boys of that age sometimes do. They were messing about and being a bit noisy which caused the pub's landlord to tell them off saying that by rights they shouldn't be in the pub. They calmed down a bit before leaving a little later. The camp...

Start: Garrigill Finish: Slaggyford Distance: 10 miles Total Distance Walked: 184 miles We had breakfast at the Post Office B and B in Garrigill where the lady who ran it told us about her guests the previous day. They were foreign and weren't sure exactly what the black pudding they had enjoyed in their breakfast was. She had thanked them but hadn't felt able to explain to them. After two hard days walking we had an easier one in prospect. The morning mostly consisted of a gentle stroll close to the river South Tyne which here was a pleasant country watercourse. After four miles we reached Alston, the highest market town in England, which was one of the bigger places we had been to on the Pennine Way. We bumped into our old companion "Skinless" again and adjourned to a pub on the high street. It was a nice day and we sat outside for lunch. It was so nice there that we decided to stay there for a couple of hours, my sister and I drinking juices ...

Start:  Dufton Finish: Garrigill Distance: 16 miles Total Distance Walked: 174 miles If the previous day had been notable for its length, this one would be so for its altitude.  The Pennine Way reaches its highest point, Cross Fell, on this stage.  We left the campsite and were soon climbing out of Dufton on a good track between dry stone walls and fields.  The path rose quickly but it didn't seem too testing on the firm track and I didn't feel stiff after the long day's walk to Dufton. We left the fields and entered the more exposed slopes on Knock Fell and Great Dun Fell.  The top of Great Dun fell is easy to spot all the way up as there is a large weather and radar station close to the summit.  This has recorded some of the strongest winds ever noted in England.  The area is the only one in the country to have its own named wind, The Helm, which occurs here alone. The weather was favourable for us and from the top of Great Dun Fell we could see our ...

  Start:  Middleton-in-Teesdale Finish: Dufton Distance: 21 miles Total Distance Walked: 158 miles If the previous stage had been unmemorable this one was probably the finest of the entire walk.  It was the one we had been thinking about for days in the knowledge that it would be long and challenging.  Indeed it was, but it was also a lovely walk, mostly along the River Tees, with some fascinating sights on the way. We left Middleton and almost immediately were by the river walking upstream.  The first miles were pleasant but it was only after four miles that we reached the first notable feature, Low Force.  This is a group of small waterfalls which together make quite impressive rapids.  However, they are just the warm-up act for their big brother High Force, a mile along the Tees.  We could hear High Force from well downstream, the roar becoming louder until we could see the high cascade of the most impressive waterfall in England. A few days ea...

Stage Eleven Start: Tan Hill Finish:  Middleton-in-Teesdale Distance: 17 miles Total Distance Walked: 137 miles It says something about the relatively mundane nature of the walking on this stage that I can recall very little about it without the aid of a diary, which I had by this time neglected to keep.  Therefore this post is quite short. The first part of the day was walking across the heather of Sleightholme Moor.  It was fairly flat and uninteresting but fortunately the weather was as obliging as it had been on the rest of the Way and there were few difficulties.  Apparently this part of the walk can be unpleasant in wet conditions but having coped with the moors at the start of the Pennine Way when we hadn't been "walk-fit" these seemed easy enough on springy turf. The afternoon was a little more interesting in fields but I can't remember much about it.  We stayed in Middleton-in-Teesdale at a B & B following four nights under canvass....