A Walkers Tale

Today I am once again heading back out to complete another section of the Pennine Way - and here I will be doing the last of the sections I planned to do in the "wrong" direction (ie from North to South), as I make my way across Northumberland National Park.

Today we are back on the Pennine Way , and having walked an excellent segment of this trail between Bowes and Hawes on the previous day, we are today continuing on to Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

Today I am back ticking off sections of the Pennine Way , and am taking on a fairly long stretch of the trail, between Bowes and Hawes - with the plan being to continue on to Horton-in-Ribblesdale on the following day (an easier day of walking)

On the surface, accessing the northern end of the Pennine Way looks to be a fairly complex endeavor - but whilst planning a walk along Hadrian's Wall , I realised that the combination of train and then bus makes access to (and beyond) the wall possible for a day walk. And so today, the plan is to use one of the train-bus links to get up to Bellingham (via Hexham) - and then walk the Pennine Way towards Hadrian's Wall - before finishing up at Bardon Mill.

I had not planned to be walking today - and instead had planned to be having some rest - but with a bad front of weather coming in next week, it seems best to be out sooner rather than later. And so today I have brought forward my plans to tick off another section of the Pennine Way - walking from Bowes to Middleton-in-Teesdale - which for me is a fairly local affair. Here I am making use of the regular bus service that runs between Darlington and Barnard Castle - and from Barnard Castle I can get a bus out to Bowes, and then a bus back from Middleton-in-Teesdale fairly easily.

Today the plan is to walk the Pennine Way from Marsden to Hebden Bridge, having walked from Edale to Marsden on the previous day.  I stayed overnight in Huddersfield, and so it is a short train journey back to Marsden - before I set off up Peel Street (it should probably be called the High Street), where I am able to stop off at a local bakery to fuel up for the day. From here I head back through town, up the long series of steps to the path above Butterley Reservoir, and start following this reservoir round until it comes to a halt - and after that it is time to walk past Blakeley Reservoir.

Today the plan is to walk the southern end of the Pennine Way from Edale up to Marsden, and then on the following day I plan to continue on to Hebden Bridge. This is my second visit to Edale, having previously decided to start the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail at Edale - and so I'm already well aware that I will at the very least get a great start to the day's walking.

Today the plan is to walk between Middleton-in-Teesdale and Appleby-in-Westmorland, with this walk from Middleton to Dufton (just outside of Appleby) being both part of the Pennine Way , and the most western end of the Teesdale Way .

This walk follows the Pennine Way , but with about half of the walk being the same route as Hadrian's Wall . This takes in the very best section of Hadrian's Wall to walk - albeit with it also being the hilliest bit.

Earlier in the year I was walking a section of the Pennine Way  between  Gargrave to Horton-in-Ribblesdale  that took me into Ribblesdale for the first time. Having really enjoyed that walk, today I am back in the area, to do a bit of a composite walk, starting from Dent train station. From here I will walk the Dales Way to the edge of Dent village, and then swap to the Dales High Way  round to Ribblehead Viaduct.

This is the second of two days walking the Pennine Way , having walked from Hebden Bridge to Gargrave on the previous day. Today the plan is to walk from Gargrave (where I have stayed overnight), up to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Making an early start on the way out of Gargrave, I head up through town, and then head up on a minor road, heading up north, passing several dog walkers on the way.

The Pennine Way is the oldest, and one of the more challenging, National Trails - but prior to this walk I had only walked two short stretches - one short section at Hawes, and another where the Pennine Way joins up with Hadrian's Wall above Haltwhistle.