Miles walked: today 12.9 cumulative miles: 718.9 miles

There was drizzle outside when I woke up, it was dry by the time I started walking. The cloud lifted quickly and everything except the top of Wernside was visible. The sun even peeped out during the afternoon. Another great day’s walking in the Dales, mainly on tracks.

I was escorted up an easy track out of Horton by two friendly dogs and their owner. As I gained height there were good views back to Horton, Ingleborough (scarred by its quarries) and Pen-y-Ghent, now clear of cloud.

After an hour or so I passed the most dramatic pot hole I have yet seen. I heard it before I saw it, the noise from the waterfall disappearing into its depths. The peat stained water had the colour of a good single malt. Apparently this cave is popular with cavers

A short distance further on, the path passes alongside Ling Gill. This is a gorge of special interest as it is too steep for animals to enter so it a rare place where the natural woodland has persisted. One of the plants that grows here is called melancholy nettle. Melancholy nettle? Sound like it should be in Discworld. (Terry Pratchett fans will understand). Does it weep? Maybe periodically it throws itself into the gorge. Perhaps St John’s Wort grows nearby to cheer it up. (St John’s Wort contains chemicals similar to some antidepressants and is a herbal remedy for depression).

I could see glimpses of the gorge between the trees. There are warning signs for would be adventurers to be careful because of the steep ground but I followed Wainwright’s advice and admired the gorge from outside the fence.

A little further on I crossed the beck.

The PW now continued up to Cam Fell joining a Roman Road. This was a very enjoyable walk with views back to the Ribbleshead viaduct. This was built in the 1860s. It carries the Settle to Carlisle railway. Underneath the viaduct there are the remains of the shanty towns the engineers lived in. 100 men died during the construction of the viaduct.

The path then ran parallel to the Snaizeholme valley before descending into Hawes.

I had a good view of my next hill: Great Shunner Fell

The slightly boggy path now dropped down to Gaudy Lane. I have no idea how this got its name, it looked normally coloured to me. There was a Gaudy House as well. It wasn’t. It was white. I was able to watch a farmer and sheepdog round up his flock. The path then dropped through Gayle to emerge by the church in Hawes, unusual in that it has a tower and spire.

Hawes is a lovely village, based around one street. It is the home of Wensleydale cheese, much beloved by Wallace and Grommit. The traditional cheese is made by a single creamery that almost went out of business in the 1930s. It was rescued by Kit Calvert only to be at risk of closure again in the 1960s, eventually being taken over by Dairy Crest. Threatened with closure again, it has been bought out by the management. While Wensleydale cheese can be made anywhere Yorkshire, the name Wensleydale cheese is protected and has to come from the creamery. I am sure Wallace only buys the genuine article.

Kit Calvert gets a mention in the song “The Gypsy” by Mr Fox, a folk band from the early 70s. This is relevalent here as it tells the story of a unrequited lover who follows his gypsy girlfriend through the Pennines to try to win her back: “I stopped an old man I’d met once before/ Kit Calvert the maker of Wensleydale Cheese/ and when I asked him if he’d seen the gypsies/ the words that he spoke helped to put me at ease.” The protagonist does catch up with her in Keld (see Day 48) but after one last night together she decides to go on with the gypsies to Scotland.

Hawes also has the distinction of being on the route of Le Depart at the start of Le Tour du France in 2014.

Tomorrow is a day off to catch up with the blog, to do some washing and maybe to eat some cheese. Pass the crackers, Grommit.

Miles walked: today 15.3 cumulative 706

I think I am about halfway to John O’Groats. The road distance is about 870 miles but most walkers do 1100-1400 miles and I started at Lizard which added 50 miles.

Today was overcast again and I knew I would be walking in mist for much of the day. I walked through the village, really quiet at this time in the morning. Malham Cove lies a short distance north of the village and is amazing.

The cove is a 260 feet high limestone cliff over which, millennia ago, there was a huge waterfall nearly 1000 feet wide. Now the water has sunk into the limestone plateau above the cliff and only a small stream emerges from its base. There is a plaque at the base quoting Thomas West from 1779 “the stone is very white and from ledges hang various shrubs….” Today, the stone is discoloured, perhaps a casualty of air pollution over the last 250 years. Trivia corner: Harry and Hermione come here in the penultimate Harry Potter film.

The PW climbs steeply to the left of the cove. At the top you walk across an impressive limestone pavement where water has cut deep clefts, called clynts, in the rock in which vegetation manages to grow. I met an osteopathy student called Rose and, rarely on this walk, had company for a mile or so up a dry valley to Watersinks. Here a stream disappears into the ground. It used to be thought that this emerged at the base of the Cove, but dye tests have shown it passes underground beneath Malham to emerge as the river Aire at Aire Head.

We continued to Malham tarn. This is a glacial tarn that lies on an outcrop of slate and so does not drain away through the limestone. It was enlarged by the Duke of Ribblesdale who built an embankment and sluice gate. He also built Malham Tarn House, a rather grand hunting lodge that is now a field study centre.

At this point Rose continued on her day walk back to Malham. I walked through the wood around the House, where there were some wood sculptures and up on to Fountains Fell. Here I was joined by my second companion of the day, a man from Shropshire. I reverted to my usual name dysnomia (hey, I’ve discovered a word that describes my inability to remember people’s names). He had planned to come to Manchester with his wife to see the cricket, instead they had a couple of days in Manchester and then came up to the Dales and he is now walking the Pennine Way. We walked for a while before I slowed down and he went on ahead.

Wainwright enthuses about walking in the Dales and I agree with him. The ground feels springy underfoot (his description but it’s true). I love the dry stone walls, small fields, some with barns, the sheep, the views. Even today in the mist I liked Fountains Fell. The path dropped to a road. I walked past a barn where sheep were undergoing their annual haircut and then started the climb up Pen-y-ghent. I thought back to the late 1970s when I did this walk with a friend, Leslie. We thought we would do part of the Pennine Way using B&B. We managed to find somewhere to stay in Malham but there was nowhere in Horton. We made a desperate phone call to a couple of friends who were coming up to the Dales and they managed to find a tent and two sleeping bags for us.

On that occasion, there were clear views from the top but today there was only mist. I remember steep scree near the top but the route has been tamed (for which I was grateful) and there were steps. The view from the top was not good:

On the way down I passed a family in shirtsleeves and street shoes who had walked up from Horton. They asked me if there was a circular route. I did not think they were equipped for the (easy) scramble down the way I has come up and imagined them getting lost on the moor if they missed the turn back to Horton. I advised them to descend by the same route. Good advice as it rained heavily on the way down. Walking programmes abound on TV now, but I think the producers have a responsibility to advise the public to equip themselves properly when on the hills in upland Britain. A few days ago, I saw two women with children under 10 on Bleaklow looking for the crashed aircraft site without a map and not knowing where they were.

The descent to Horton is easy. Of interest, you pass a few potholes, some small and also the impressive Hunt pot. Don’t go in them readers, there may be a sudden drop. And don’t drop a stone to see how deep they are. It might land on someone’s head. If you do want to go in a pothole, Wainwright’s original book “Walks in Limestone Country” list a few that are safe to go in with just a torch, Yordas Cave, near Ingleton, being particularly impressive.

I entered Horton opposite what used to be the Three Peaks cafe but is now a tourist information centre. The owner of the cafe has retired. I remember doing the three peaks walk. We registered there in the morning and at the end we were welcomed back with a pint mug of strong tea. Our names were duly recorded in a book. There is an annual race, the record for the 23 mile course being under 3 hours. It took us about 10. In the Crown there is an honours board listing all the race winners. Interestingly, the times by the winners have increased over the last few years. A few walkers and I reminisced about school cross country runs and how we used to cheat by climbing fences and taking short cuts.

Mileage: Today 19 miles Cumulative 690.7 Belligerent rams 1

A long day. My original plan was to take three days to get from Hebden Bridge to Malham. However, the Silent Inn has not yet re-opened after lockdown and it is not feasible for Earby hostel to accept bookings from single travellers.

It was overcast with mist over the tops when I left the campsite. My first task was to cross the ridge into Lothersdale. On the way I arrived at a field containing three rams (no horns). One came to the gate to challenge me with an aggressive bleat, well more like a growl. I looked for a detour but none was available so I entered the field. He bottled out and ran off.

From Lothersdale I climbed up to Pinshaw Beacon. On the way I was passed by a fell runner (twice! I am a slow walker). As I entered the moorland I was again walking in heather but the mist was down so there were no views. According to the runner, from the top you can see the Lakeland mountains to the North-west and Malham Cove ahead. Not today.

Near the top the map indicates Robert Wilson’s grave. Apparently there is a stone about 200m from the path in the heather. I had a long way to go so I didn’t look for it. Pinshaw Beacon was one of the chain set up across the land to warn of a Napoleonic Invasion. Mr Wilson was a beacon watcher. During severe weather he and his colleagues were stranded at the beacon and running out of food and he volunteered to get supplies. He got lost in the storm and the stone is said to mark where his body was found.

I now descended down towards Thornton in Craven. I was not finding the walk particularly interesting, because of the mist and my hamstring was beginning to hurt again. Most End to Enders get bad days and if you have been following me all the way you know I have had days like this before. My mood improved when I reached a canal which I followed for about a mile. There was a narrowboat selling cake. A Sprite and a slice of lemon drizzle cake gave me some energy for the next few miles.

After the canal I crossed a field where three riders were trying to train their horses to do cross country jumps. The horses were not keen, maybe they didn’t like an audience.

The walk continued across farmland to Gargrave where I stocked up on supplies for the next two days. I then crossed Eshton Moor to descend into the Aire valley. I was tired but my mood picked up as I followed the river. I like the sound of a moorland river bubbling over rocks and the valley was very peaceful this evening. It made up for the lack of views earlier.

Now it was easy walking, following the river Aire upstream to Malham. Just before the village I detoured off the Way to pass Aire Head, the source of the river. There are multiple springs entering a marshy area with a variety of waterplants.

Malham is a lovely village and is a tourist honeypot. There are great daywalks round here. Janet’s Foss is a pretty waterfall over tufa (fossilised moss) and it is said that there is a fairy that lives in a cave behind the waterfall. I have never seen her. Nearby is Goredale scar where you can watch rock athletes in action and an impressive waterfall with an entertaining scramble up on to the moor for us mortals. The other attraction is Malham Cove, more of which tomorrow

I went to the Buck (recommended) and took my revenge on the ram who challanged me earlier by enjoying glazed lamb shank. I find these less popular cuts of meat are often more tasty than the more traditional (and expensive) chops or roast, although they take a bit more cooking. Lamb breast is great too, especially rolled with a stuffing. And if we are going to kill an animal to eat then we should use all of it, although I must admit I am not a fan of offal.

I am beginning to get used to pubs in the post COVID era. One way systems, hand gel, table service etc. I fear for their viability though. The pub would normally be packed at this time of year, and they take most of their profit during the summer. Today we were all sitting, socially distanced. The servers told me that footfall is down by over 50%. Also, their costs are up as they need more staff to serve at table than if everyone orders at the bar.

Distance: Today 17.1 miles Cumulative 671.7

I spent Wednesday evening very despondent that the adventure was over. Then Angela pointed out that my Rules are that I must walk the route end to end starting each leg from where the last one ended. She said I never specified it has to be done in order. So, I can walk the bit I missed from the A635 as a day walk from Marsden and a separate day walk from Marsden to Hebden Bridge, using rail access to and from the walk, to fill the gap. With my Old Git (i.e. Senior) rail card I have done a lot of walks in the Peak and South Pennines courtesy of Northern Rail and their colleagues. Some of the stations have a rather infrequent service but careful planning means that you can do linear rather than circular walks. It is also more environmentally friendly as the car is left at home. National Rail could do better though, the trains are diesel (I think). The lines need electrification; surely this would be a more cost effective project than HR2?

I woke up late on Thursday morning. My first job was to go through the rucksack and throw out everything that was non-essential (except for my iPad). This reduced the weight by 5-10 pounds. I then went out and bought food for the next two days, which replaced some of the weight saved, but the rucksack was lighter and more comfortable. I then took the train to a Hebden Bridge. This is a lovely small town in Calderdale and it has an alternative feel to it. I can recommend the Smithery B & B (but remember, I almost never have a cooked breakfast). The owner is a semiprofessional photographer and there are amazing prints decorating the house. My room overlooked the canal and park with the hills beyond.

Enough preamble. I set off early the following morning. I passed an old packhorse bridge in the town centre

Hebden Bridge does not lie on the Pennine Way although it is a logical stopping point. There are several routes available to rejoin the PW. One is to walk up the woods of Hardcastle Crag. I did this walk just after lockdown and can wholeheartedly recommend it. To try somewhere new, I chose an old packhorse route up Colden Clough. This passed up through light woodlands which was pleasant and I rejoined the PW at an old clapper bridge

The Way then climbed up to the moor. Last time I was here, there were good views but today it was cloudy. I had my first break at the confluence of two streams.

As I continued across the moor I met two other PW walkers, a girl, probably late teens, who had car support from her mum and a man, slightly older, who was heading to the same campsite as me.

The sun made a few attempts to break through the cloud. I passed a few small reservoirs. These are dotted all over the moors in the South Pennines and I would have walked past several more yesterday. I understand they were built to keep the canals supplied with water. The path eventually passesd a ruined farmhouse at Top Withens

This is not remarkable in itself, being mainly held together by concrete but a couple of things are worth remarking on. Firstly, there once was one Withens farm. When the farmer died he left the farm, as was common then, to his 3 sons so two new farmhouses were built. Middle and Bottom Withens have long been destroyed. The problem with this arrangement was that the new, smaller farms became economically non viable and the new farmers often had to work in quarries or their wives took up weaving to bolster their income

The more famous but disputed fact about Top Withens is that it is said to be the farmhouse in Wuthering Heights. I am no fan of Victorian romantic literature so I have never read it, but apparently it has no resemblance to the farmhouse in the book. The Brontë sisters enjoyed walking on the moors and it may be the location that inspired the book rather than the building

I sat in front of the ruin, which isn’t particularly interesting, eating a sandwich and waiting for Kate Bush to dance across the moor to embrace me. It didn’t happen. The site is so popular with Japanese fans of English Literature that the footpath signs are bi-lingual

Finally, before leaving the site, it was sobering to remember that 6 of the 7 Brontë children died of TB. My generation (at least in Europe) have been lucky that infectious disease has not been a problem until now. HIV was probably the worst pandemic before 2020, although there were other scares such as bird flu.

I descended down into the Haworth valley and had one more moor to cross before descending to Icknorshaw and my campsite, aptly named Squirrel Wood (the translation of the Nordic Icknorshaw). This was a lovely small campsite. It has 6 lodges and a small field set aside, mainly, for PW walkers. I met the owner who was shepherding his ducks back to the pond. I was not looking forward to my reconstituted camping food but my spirits perked up when he showed me the bar and said his wife did food

He brews his own beer which he was going to call “Squirrels P@#s but he didn’t think it would be conducive to sales. Lovely lasagne with a fresh salad. Great beer, thanks Ade. Would have had more but it is a real hassle to get out of a sleeping bag in the middle of the night to pee. Also really good company in the (socially distanced) bar.

A couple told me about Slow Ways, a project to create a network of routes between cities, towns and villages using existing rights of way. At the time of typing they are looking for volunteers to review or surey the routes. If you want to get involved the web site is https://beta.slowways.org

Miles walked: today 6.8 cumulative 654.6

Today started OK. Angela dropped me off in Crowden and I headed up the Way towards Laddow Rocks, popular with climbers. The weather was clear but by 9am it was getting hot and hazy. As you can see the valley is rather nice, especially with the heather coming into flower.

As the path steepened I realised my rucksack was too heavy, it was too hot and I was thirsty. Fortunately the path crossed several streams so I was able to top up my water bottles regularly. However progress was really slow. I was not too concerned at this point as I am usually slow on steep gradients.

The path climbs to the left of the rocks and then traverses the edge, which you can see is fairly flat. By this time I knew I was in trouble. I could only walk for about 15 minutes without resting and, I found out later, the temperature had risen to 30 deg C. I finally reached the top of Black Hill at about 4pm, after 7.5 hours walking. I came up here for a training walk after lockdown and it took about 2.5 hours.

The top of Black Hill is boring! It is a flat and aptly named peat bog about 1km across so the views are not great, particularly in the heat haze. Before the slabs, it used to be one of the worst parts of the Pennine Way, particularly in wet weather. By the way, where do the slabs come from? Some have been worked so I presume they have been recycled from derelict buildings. Some have the shape and size of gravestones. I hope if you turn them over it doesn’t say “here lieth John Smith” on the back. (I found out later that many of them are reclaimed stone from old mills).

There was another trig point that isn’t at the top of the hill (see Day 27, start of Cotswold Way). I can imagine the conversation: Workman 1: “Come on it is only another 200 yards.” Workman 2: “I don’t care, I’ve carried this B@#£&r all the way up from the b@#£&y valley and it’s going right here!” Workman 1: “But you haven’t even set it straight.”

Holme Moss mast, seen in the distance, is the VHF radio and was the TV transmitter for the North-West of England and parts of Yorkshire. It was erected in 1951. It reached a large area, the TV signal could be received in Ireland and radio broadcasts reached Scotland and the South of England. When I was a teenager I was interested in amateur radio. I connected a long wire to the external arial socket of a transistor radio (young readers, ask your parents) and managed to pick up some of the northern BBC local radio stations, presumably from the signal coming from Holme Moss. The TV transmitter became obsolete with the switch to UHF in the 80s but the mast is still used for analogue and digital radio.

I dropped down to Dean Clough. I needed to refill my water bottles and I was pleased I had a filter system as there were sheep around the stream uphill. So far I have not had any ill effects so it must work. I felt a bit better after some food but I was still 6 miles from Marsden. I admitted defeat and rang Angela to come and get me.

Is this the end of Lejog? I think I was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. I have shed 5-10lbs weight from the rucksack so hopefully it will be easier. I have had a day off and feel much more confident. I am now in Hebden Bridge planning an early start tomorrow. I would have liked to re-start from where I left off but all my accommodation is pre-booked. Hopefully I will repeat these missing days in September .

Lessons learned

1 Buying lightweight gear doesn’t make the rucksack lighter if you fill it with unnecessary stuff

2 If you bother to read other walkers’ blogs and books and they say to keep the pack weight down LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY!!!

3 A good support crew (I.e Angela) is essential. Maybe she will follow me by car when she retires, then I won’t need to carry anything.

Distance walked:today 18 miles, cumulative 647.8 miles.

The first day of the Pennine Way is said to be the hardest. It was certainly the hardest walk I have done for a long time. The drama started before I left home. Neither the B&B nor the campsite in Crowden have reopened. Angela kindly stepped into the breach and has agreed to pick me up this evening and will drop me off at the same point tomorrow. This meant I only had to carry a daysack. My main rucksack now has camping kit and food in it and I am seriously concerned I will be unable to complete the walk.

The day started well enough, I took the train to Edale and walked up through the village to the Old Nags Head, the official start of the Pennine Way

The walk started easily enough. Through the gate with the route painted on it and along field paths along the Edale valley. The day was sunny and hot but the views were spoiled by the haze which persisted all day. I was reminded of the Misty Mountain song from Tolkien’s “The Hobbit: “Far over the misty mountains cold/ to dungeons deep and caverns old”

I hope I don’t get kidnapped by goblins or meet Smaug at the end of the walk.

The walk started in earnest after a few miles when I had to climb Jacobs Ladder. I had always thought this alluded to the biblical Jacob and his dream of angels ascending and descending the ladder to heaven, with a bit of imagination, you could imagine the path ascending far above the earth. In his book, Robyn Richards relates a story that a pony handler called Jacob used to send his pack horses up the zig zags while he ascended straight up the hill so he could smoke his pipe on top while waiting for the ponies. This story also appears on the Old Nags Head web site. The path is an old packhorse route to Stockport so the story may well be true

This path eventually arrives on the Kinder plateau. This used to the the bad weather alternative start to the Pennine Way. The main route went up Grindsbrook and then crossed the centre of Kinder. You had to haul yourself over peat hags, separated by deep channels, often wet, called groughs . I remember the Pennine Way guide of the time had a picture of a man walking along a grough with the caption “Peat Grough on Kinder”; the potential pun always made me snigger.

An excellent day’s walk is to climb Grindsbrook, there is an entertaining but easy scramble near the top, you can then walk west along the Edge Path where there are spectacular views and some amazingly shaped weathered rock formations. You can then return back to Edale via Jacobs Ladder

I then headed North along the western edge of Kinder . There are views of Kinder Reservoir and Mermaids pool.

Kinder reservoir and quarry is important to any lover of upland England (I think different laws have always applied in Scotland). In 1932 a young activist called Benny Rothman led a mass trespass from here on to Kinder. This was the first step in a long campaign to secure the right to walk in upland England, which was previously illegal. Ramblers were frequently beaten by gamekeepers and sustained serious injury. There is a plaque in the car park commemorating this. Benny sounds quite a character, a life long campaigner for worker’s rights and other important causes. He has obituaries in both the Guardian and Independent, well worth a read. I don’t think the Pennine Way or the Right to Roam would exist without him.

The Mass trespass also inspired Ewan MacColl to write the “Manchester Rambler” and I hummed the chorus while continuing along the Edge to reach the downfall

Oh: I’m a rambler, I’m a rambler from Manchester Way/ I get all me pleasure the hard moorland way/ I may be a wage slave on Monday/ but I am a free man on Sunday

Mermaids pool is said to be inhabited by a mermaid who appears at sunrise on Easter Sunday. She is said to have the power to grant immortality. Legend says the pool is connected by an underground passage to the Atlantic as the water is slightly salty.

The path continues along the edge to Kinder Downfall:

The Kinder downfall was not very spectacular today but an atmospheric place none the less. The best time to see the waterfall is early spring during a snow melt. If the wind is up it becomes an up fall as water is blown back up on to the plateau. It also freezes in a hard winter but I have never seen the icefall.

Mermaids pool is said to be inhabited by a mermaid who appears at sunrise on Easter Sunday. She is said to have the power to grant immortality. Legend says the pool is connected by an underground passage to the Atlantic as the water is slightly salty.

I continued over Sandy Heyes (Pete Grough’s best mate?) and left Kinder for the short climb up Mill Hill. At the top I stopped for lunch and met a couple from Edale out for a day walk who are planning do do the Pennine Way later in the year. They will walk North to South so, in effect, they are walking home. Fine plan!

I then met my first other End to Ender. He started in Scotland last year and is now completing the walk ( so he is a JogLer). We exchanged some route ideas. I have (typically for me!) forgotten all their names.

The Way then crosses Bleaklow before dropping into the Woodhead Pass where I was picked up. There are fine views from the edges of Kinder Scout and Bleaklow but the interior is just a large bog with little to commend it. On Bleaklow, there are several crashed aircraft sites, one of which, near Little Shelf Stones is a protected grave with a memorial and debris from the aircraft is still present.

A final comment about bogs. Much of the Pennine Way has had flagstones laid to help preserve the peat, which is a fragile but important habitat for a variety of birds, plants and insects.

Some purists say that this makes the walk too easy. However, I remember being up here in the 80s and 90s and some of the paths were a morass of bare peat bog, 100 yards across. As you can see, the flags have allowed the vegetation to recover. And, at my age, I need all the help I can get.

There was no possibility of starting this year’s walk in May because of the lockdown. With the easing of restrictions I am going to attempt the Pennine Way, although the weather forecast for the next few weeks looks a bit changeable. Of course, it wouldn’t be the Pennine Way if it didn’t rain. I will then, hopefully, complete the Scottish segment of the walk next May and June which will, at least, reduce the number of midges for the first few weeks.

I have managed to keep fairly fit. Prior to lockdown I had joined a gym and Conor (my PT) prepared a set of exercises that I could do at home. Amazing what you can do with a sofa, stairs and 2kg bags of pasta. Once lockdown eased I was able to cycle and walk so hopefully I will be OK . My hamstring has never fully settled down though. Ibuprofen gel will be important!

Most of the places where I was going to stay have re-opened. I will mainly stay in pubs and the B and B that I had planned to stay in earlier in the year but will have to camp some nights.

COVID raises two issues. Firstly, for the last few weeks I have taken care to minimise my risks of carrying the virus to others by strict social distancing and avoiding indoor spaces where there could be a lot of people. It does mean my hair is approaching student length. I may ask Angela to cut it, if so I promise to publish the picture.

Secondly, most of the places I pass through are sparsely populated so the risk of cross infection should be small. The biggest problem could be a sudden change to lockdown rules

To minimise weight I have been shopping. I used Outside and Alpkit in Hathersage, check them out, two great independent shops. I did click and collect from Outside. My old sleeping bag weighed over 1kg so I bought a Rab Mythic which weighs 400g. This feels impossibly light. So, when I got home I got in it and had to get out within 10min because I was too hot. It should be fine in the tent. I have an ultra lightweight thermarest mat, and a MRS stove and titanium cookware. With social distancing I have cut back considerably on spare clothing . Anyone close enough to smell me shouldn’t be there!

My old cagoule was no longer waterproof so I bought new one from Alpkit. I decided to walk along Stanage edge while I was over that way. There was persistent drizzle in the valley but I thought this was a good opportunity to try the jacket. On top of the ridge it was windy and very wet. I got slightly sweaty on the climb up to the ridge but from then on I was perfectly dry. (Jackets are always a compromise between cost and breathability and I didn’t want to spend several hundred pounds on a high end one, this is a good compromise). An excellent bit of kit.

I have been up here several times before and the views are normally superb, but not today. There are a over 100 man made troughs on the ridge

These were carved out in the early 20th century to provide drinking water for grouse. They are numbered, but not in any order. The two grooves are to help rainwater drain into the trough.

To minimise map weight I have bought the A to Z Penine Way strip map booklets. These have 4cm to 1 km OS maps of the route and weigh almost nothing. Most of the camping will be in the Northern half of the walk so updates to the blog may get patchy when I lose WiFi.

This will be very different to the Southern half Lejog. I will swap cliff walks, interesting villages and pub lunches for open, windswept moorland, a heavier rucksack and packed lunches.

So, welcome back to the blog for a truncated Stage 4: Edale to Jedburgh.

Distance walked: today 20.7 miles cumulative 629.8 miles

Lucy, my daughter, recommended me a book entitled Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit. This is a book about walking and includes some anthropology as well as the history and philosophy of walking. I have been reading it in the evenings and it is good if a little heavy going. For instance, she suggests that modern day treks are the non-religious equivalent of pilgrimages as the goals are spiritual rather than physical. A thought provoking book.

This was another wet day. I left Hartington at 8:30. I took the most direct route to Edale. I climbed out of the valley with a group doing the 6 dale challenge. This is about 26 miles long and they had already been walking for two hours. The route climbs along a ridge giving a typical view of the Peak District

The other group soon turned off

My route continued to climb towards Pilsbury. I then followed the High Peak Trail, an old railway line, to Pomeroy before returning to field paths and lanes, passing to the east of Chelmorton, (a pretty village with a nice pub, the Church Inn). It was too early in the day to drop in for a pint so I continued on eventually descending into Chee Dale

The rain stopped temporarily and so I had a rest and a sandwich. The rain didn’t stay away long. I descended into Chee Dale and turned east to enter Monks Dale. This was horrible. It was pouring with rain and the dale is mostly a boulder field. The rocks were slippery and there were several fallen trees across the path so progress was slow. I then snapped one of my walking poles between two rocks. (I do not recommend carbon fibre poles). I began to worry I might miss the last afternoon train and have to wait till 20:45 for the next one..

Peter Dale was more grassy but was very boggy and is used to graze cows. Progress was faster but I emerged at the road covered up to the knees in cow poo. I now got my first view of Kinder Scout and the start of the Pennine Way, where I will pick up my trail next year.

The magnificent hill of Mam Tor came into view

This should be a mountain, it looks like one but it is less than 2000 feet tall. The top is an old hill fort. There are excellent day walks to the top from Castleton or Edale. For the less energetic, there is a car park not far from the top. On a windy day it is a good spot to watch hang gliders. But if you have a picnic there beware of the sheep, once, I sat down and before I knew it a ewe had her head in my rucksack looking for food.

I now made a fast descent to Edale and got the train with minutes to spare. I do feel sorry for the people sitting near me, I exuded a rather farmyard smell.

It was good to get home. A quick shower and I was clean enough to enjoy a Third Eye curry. The log is now up to date. I will add a bibliography over the winter (I didnt, although this is still an aim) but now it is time to plan next year’s campaign. My big question at the moment is whether to do the Pennine Way or to branch north West to the Dales Way. The next decision is whether to go west along the West Highland Way or head through the Lairig Ghru and the Cairngorms.

Distance walked: today 17.3 miles cumulative 612.1

It is (wrongly) stated the Eskimos have 40 words for snow. Douglas Adams in “So Long and Thanks for all the Fish” creates a lorry driver who has classified 231 types of rain and I must have experienced most of them this week.

It started out dry but dull and I followed the road to Lower Ellastone. The Peak District Hills now looked quite close.

I left the road and joined the Limestone Way. I headed across fields to the top of a ridge. There were some views east towards Ashbourne and I could see the cooling towers of the power station near Nottingham in the distance. However the cloud came in and the rain soon followed. In better weather I think this would have been a really nice walk but today it was a case of getting along as quickly as possible.

By the time I dropped down to Dovedale the rain was really heavy and there was nowhere to shelter. As I was about to enter the dale it was outlined by a rainbow for a few seconds. Dovedale is one of the most famous beauty spots in the Peak District and even in today’s atrocious weather there were several people out. Two were walking across the stepping stones which fortunately were not too slippery.

I set of up the dale. Even in this weather it is beautiful.

Ilam Rock

There are several caves along the dale

At the junction of Dovedale and Milldale there is a small hamlet where I was able to get a coffee.Finally, the rain stopped. After another few miles the valley splits and I continued to follow the river Dove into Wolfscote Dale. The path enters a wood and leaves the river to cross fields towards Hartington. As I emerged from the wood a rainbow appeared

The sun came out for the last couple of miles. Although I was born in London I have spent most if my life (from my mid twenties) in the North-west and when I saw the small fields, sheep and dry stone walls I felt I was home

I arrived in Hartington. This is a pretty but touristy village in the heart of the Peak District. I stayed in the youth hostel here when I was 17. That was my first walking trip in the north of England. The following year I went to the Lakes for the first time and my love affair with upland Britain had begun.

Distance walked: today 15.8 miles cumulative 594.8 miles

I’ve found the last few days very tiring which is why I have got behind with the blog. I think this is a combination of the increased distances and the worsening weather. It seems a long time since I was stopping in pubs for a cooling pint at lunchtimes.

Last nights’s B & B joined the “best” group. It was a two floor apartment which is sometimes let out as a B and B and sometimes as a self catering apartment. The owners, Bob and Sue, were really nice and there was a DVD collection of some of my favourite shows. I could have stayed and watched Wallender (the original, Swedish version of course, although the Kenneth Branagh remake is also good) rather than gone walking in the rain. There were a few stuffed animal heads and birds in the living room that may put off vegetarians but I assumed these were old.

There has been a village at Abbots Bromley since 952 and it is recorded in the Domesday book. In the centre of the village is the Butter Cross, so named as butter used to be traded under it. It is claimed to originate from the 14th century but the current structure probably dates from the 18th century.

There has been a church here since the origin of the village, although it has been rebuilt a couple of times. Inside the church several sets of reindeer horns are displayed. These have been carbon dated to come from the 11th century. Some say that reindeer were not present in Britain at that time and they must have been imported. Each year they are taken out of the church and are used in the performance of the Horn Dance. The dance is said to have been first performed in 1226. The dancers are six men wearing deer antlers (the deer men), a Fool, a Hobby horse, a Bowman, Maid Marian and a melodian player. They still dance at various places around the village on Wakes Monday in September.

Mary Queen of Scots stayed in Abbots Bromley on her way to Tutbury castle.

The weather was dull with showers and I continued along the Staffordshire Way across farmland to Uttoxeter. The walk was not particularly interesting. As I arrived in Uttoxeter I could see the Peak District on the horizon.

I took the opportunity to send some used maps and clothes back home and to buy some food for the next few lunches. Leaving Uttoxeter proved problematic as a shopping park has been built by the station and I could not find the start of my path. Eventually I found my way back to the route. There were sculptures on some of the roundabouts The path led to the A50 where it crosses the river Dove. I was worried the path under the motorway would be flooded but in fact I passed through with dry feet. The Staffordshire Way followed the line of the Dove valley but now there was a subtle difference in the landscape with sheep and cattle farming replacing arable fields. The fields were smaller and dry stone walls started to appear. I felt I was back in the Peak District. The path passed through a shooting club. There was clay pigeon shoot in progress. Two turkeys crossed the path. I hope they manage to leave the area soon otherwise they will become a target as Christmas approaches.

River Dove south of Rocester

Rocester is the site of an old Roman fort, although little remains today. It’s current claim to fame is that the JCB World Centre is located there.

I took the road out of town past the JCB complex to my B and B in Quixhill. I was planning to eat in a nearby pub but this closed last week. A great pity as it had a reputation for good food. Fortunately I was aware of this and I bought some sandwiches in Uttoxeter.