Author: Tom

Day 70: Half way between Porlock and Lynton (Wild Camp) to Combe Martin 

? 34.35 km

?1425m

We had a pretty poor night’s sleep with the sloped spot. It had rained through the night and was still raining when we woke.  Just after we ‘got up’ (sat up is more appropriate in a tent!) it stopped and by the time we packed up the tent it was almost completely dry.

The SWCP continued along the coastal path through woodland and in the end we didn’t really see a camp spot for another couple of hours so our sloped pitch didn’t seem as bad an option.  We passed a couple of quite remote houses around Gurney Wood, one with fun wild boar heads on pillars at what I presume was an old driveway entrance.

By the time we got to Lynmouth about 1030, the weather had brightened up, enough for a morning ice cream stop, although dark clouds loomed.

The route out of Lynmouth was steep, zig zagging up the same steep slope as the Cliff Railway, which we crossed a few times on the way.  At the top we continued on tarmac and gravel paths to the popular Valley of Rocks.  At this point we decided to apply some suncream which of course meant it rained a few minutes later as we followed the Lee Abbey toll road, but only a short shower.

This part of the coast path through the Exmoor National Park is really beautiful in a dramatic way, the cliffs are steep and high, the woods seem tropical (especially when it’s humid) and when the woods give way to views, they are incredible.  The coastal path has some long ascents and descents which took us past Woody Bay, then Hunters Valley which I know parts of from one of my favourite trail races, the CTS Exmoor Marathon.

We eventually caught a glimpse of Combe Martin, climbed Great Hangman, passed Little Hangman, and started our decent.  It was busy and we walked half a mile in to the town to our accomodation, The Pack o’ Cards pub.  Our last night of luxury before the end of our journey walking the length of the UK.  It was our second wedding anniversary after all!

We showered and washed a few things then had dinner.  It was decent pub grub, a bit over priced but they were kind enough to make us a packed lunch instead of the included breakfast that we didn’t have time to wait for as they didn’t start serving it until 0830.

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Day 71: Combe Martin to Croyde

? 34.68 km

?1255m

We got up at 0600, aiming to be out for 0700.  We were just about to leave a bit later than planned at 0715, when it started to heave it down outside so we paused and waited for the shower to pass, about 10 minutes.

Showers were to be the order of the day but we did get about 30 minutes into today’s walk before it rained and we had to get waterproofed up.  This was fine when it was raining as a combination of the cool winds that accompanied the rain and the rain itself on jackets helped keep temperatures down.  When the rain stopped things soon got pretty hot and sticky inside waterproofs.  As a result we spent a lot of the day taking waterproofs on and off.  On the plus side we could see the clouds and rain heading towards us from out at sea so were always ready when it came, although some over eagerness might have meant we put waterproofs on but the rain missed us on a couple of occasions.

The paths were a lot busier today as we were passing through more busy towns.  First, Ilfracombe, where we stopped off for food at Lidl and then on to Woolacombe.  In between we went up and down, up and down, lots of short steep ascents and descents compared to the previous day’s longer ascents.  In between showers, the sun shone and there were more amazing views, some cool rock formations along the coast, and some seals hanging out between Bull Point and Morte Point.

We walked a nice path in a valley of sorts between sand dunes, covered in ferns, behind Woolacombe Sand.  After passing Putsborough Sands we walked around Baggy Point headland and headed in to Croyde which was heaving .  The lifeguards had just finished for the day so there was a max exodus of swimmers, surfers and body boarders leaving the beach as we walked on to it, and then half way across turned inland alongside a stream to find our campsite for the evening.

It was 1830 so we got the tent up whilst boiling some water for our noodles.  A short shower caused a panic as we piled our belongings into the tent, but we did eat outside with the sun shining on us which was nice.

Day 72: Croyde to Yelland (8km past Barnstaple)

? 32.85 km

?174m

Neither of us had the best nights sleep due to heavy rain showers accompanied by gusting winds.  Apparently there were also some party goes making a lot of noise around midnight but I didn’t really register them I was so whacked.

It was the coldest start to a day we’ve had for a while as we walked back on to Croyde Beach and headed back on to the coastal path towards Saunton Sands, passing the mid-construction Grand Designs building on the way.  After using the facilities at Saunton Sands we followed a path  behind the huge sand dunes and through Braunton Nature Reserve before turning inland to continue along the estuary to Braunton.

After Braunton things took a rather tarmac turn for the worst.  The views weren’t great either and we shared the path with a lot of cyclists.  This continued for around 8km to Barnstaple.  The only highlight was meeting another end to ender, Danielle, who was 2 weeks into her adventure headed north.  We chatted for a while before wishing each other luck and continuing on our way.

At Barnstaple we made a trip to Boots, then M&S since it was next to Boots, and then Asda for a couple of things that M&S couldn’t provide us with (instant noodle dinners!).

Unfortunately the drudgery of a tarmac path and zillions of cyclists continued out of Barnstaple for another 8km which would take us to our campsite for the night.  On the plus side, Katie’s friend Em had parked up at our campsite and endured the walk almost as far as Barnstaple to meet us and walked back with us to Yelland.

We just got the tent pitched before the first big shower of the day and grabbed a shower before Em drove us in search of some pub grub in Fremington just down the road.  It was nice to have another friend meet us and hang out.

Day 64: Chepstow to Bristol

? 22.10 km

?215m

After a sweltering sweaty night in the hostel we did what we needed to in the room and then finished getting ready outside where it was cooler.  We had an exciting day today, the first of which was our friend Frankie joining us for today’s walk to Bristol.

The 3 amigos set off walking through Chepstow and crossed the M48 Severn Bridge as we walked back into England for the final time on the trip.  The rest of the morning passed quickly as we walked through farmland and caught up with Frankie who we hadn’t seen for well over a year.  Before we knew it we were at The Fox in Easter Compton, our intended lunch stop, and sat outside for an hour until they opened at 1200!

We had lunch (a cider and ham, egg and chips for me) and then continued the farmland walking until the outskirts of Bristol near Blaise Castle where we found another pub and awaited our lift…

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The next excitement for the day was staying with friends of Katie’s in Bristol and not only that, Megan picked us up from the pub which saved us a slow bus journey.  Back at Megan and Deano’s, we caught up, had an ice cream, showered and put a wash on.  Megan cooked up a storm and we had a lovely chilled evening.

Day 65: Bristol to Yatton

? 30.77 km

?507m

After breakfast, Megan drove us back to where we left off yesterday and she and Deano joined us for the first part of the day up to Blaise Castle through the estate grounds and along  Kingsweston Hill.  Where we re-entered suburbia near the M5 bridge that we needed to cross, Megan turned back but Deano loves walking over the M5 bridge so much that she stayed with us for the experience and then peeled off to walk along the riverbank back to Bristol.

Things improved a bit after we had crossed the bridge and left Easton-in-Gordano but still not the best of the walking we’ve done.  We mostly followed footpaths through farmers fields along some of the Gordano Circuit route.  Unfortunately we had to walk pretty close to the M5 later, first beneath it, at what presumably was a pretty village of Clapton in Gordano before the arrival of the M5, then later over it again.

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Around lunchtime we took a slight detour to Tickenham Village Hall and met up with Simon, a family friend I hadn’t seen for around 10 years.  It was great to catch-up, albeit briefly, and from here we walked through Tickenham to rejoin the route.  Upon rejoining the route we found the footpath to be extremely overgrown with brambles and nettles so we opted to continue a little further on the road and take an alternative route for about half a km. 

The rest of the afternoon’s walking continued through fields alongside an irrigation ditch and through fields of sweetcorn, eventually popping out on the road into Yatton where we were just in time for the cancelled 1520 train to Bristol so had to have a pint at the Railway Pub next door.  Even better, they had Beavertown Neck Oil, one of my favourites for a hot day!

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We got back to Bristol and showered, did a quick wash of the clothes we had been profusely sweating in all day with temperatures up at 33⁰C, and then headed out to dinner at The Olive Shed.  Jack and Alex also joined and we had a fun evening.

Day 66: Yatton to Cheddar

? 25.24 km

?552m

We got the 0723 to Yatton and set off on the Strawberry Line trail, which was an old railway line so it was pretty straight and flat.  It was a nice morning, still pretty warm but due to be a few degrees cooler than yesterday and there was more of a breeze too.  We didn’t see any strawberry’s but there were some early blackberry’s and we passed some of the Thatcher’s orchards.

Leaving the Strawberry Line at Sandford, we headed up on to the hills of Sandford, Limcombe and Dolebury, before going up and over Beacon Batch where we stopped for lunch.  We descended and passed through a nature reserve at Swallow Whole and Long Wood.

After Black Rock we climbed to the top of Cheddar Gorge where things got much busier with lots of people having hiked up from town.  We savoured the views and then headed down the steep trail to Cheddar.

I’d been having some toothache so I phoned a dentist in town and much to my surprise they had a slot in the afternoon.  We just had time to check in at our campsite and I grabbed a shower before heading to the dentist.  Good news, no treatment required, possible sensitive gum due to teeth grinding.  Will take some painkillers for a day or two and should settle down.

Katie had found a dinner option, the Cheddar Brewery Tap Room, which sounded right up my street so after getting some supplies at Sainsbury’s we headed there and had pizza, beers/cider and did some planning for the next week’s walking.

Day 58: Questionable caravan site just past Ironbridge to Flounders Folly, Callows Hill wild camp

?  34.31 km

?777m

We woke at 0530 and neither of us wanted to spend any longer than necessary at the caravan site so we were heading back up the hill behind the site to rejoin our route just after 0630.  As a bonus, the site warden who had shown us to our camp spot yesterday evening, and said he would be back to collect our payment, never turned up to do so, so we got a free camp spot which marginally improved the whole experience.

A few km later, after passing though some woodland and navigating our way across some fields, we arrived at the pretty village of Much Wenlock and dropped by the Spar shop to grab a few things.  Katie had a good chat with an old chap at the till who remarked on the size of her bag and was thrilled to hear of our adventure. Outside, we readied ourselves and checked the map to make sure we knew where we were going out of the village.  A vicar was passing, walking his dog, and asked if we were ok and knew where we were going.  I replied that yes were were ok, thanks, to which he replied “I have faith in you” ?.

It was a much cooler morning than we had expected, the starry night sky I had seen when I had a pee in the middle of the night had been replaced by clouds.  We spent the rest of the day, about 30km, walking along Wenlock Edge in a South Westerly direction, with sadly less views than we had perhaps expected and hoped for since there was a woodland all along the edge, and we were in it much of the day.  The walking itself was pleasant enough and the going not too difficult on good footpaths and bridleways.

The route we followed was part of a few long distance routes including the Shropshire Way, the Cross Britain Way and a bridleway, the Jack Mytton Way.  The only real views were to the South East on the occasions we were walking along field boundaries, and when we stopped for lunch by a field.  Despite the many trails sharing the footpaths we saw very few people all day, a solo horse rider and a couple on bikes who had seen us in Much Wenlock whilst they were having breakfast and were heading to Craven Arms.  They were similarly disappointed with the lack of views and had the same excited and interested reaction to hearing about our trip as many people do.  The most common questions from people are “How long will it take you?”, “How far do you walk each day?” and “Are you doing it for charity?”. The answers are about 2.5 months, average is about 26km, and no, we are doing it for fun!

We found a possible camp spot for the night about 8km from the end of the route bit it was a bit too far from Craven Arms, so we continued and headed up Callow Hill where we found a spot by Flounders’ Folly.  It was a bit early to setup camp so we relaxed in the sun which had taken most of the afternoon to make an appearance but was now unobscured as there wasn’t a cloud in sight.  We made some shopping plans for the next day or two (don’t want to get caught out hungry in the middle of a days walking!) and wrote journals before getting dinner on the go.

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We setup the tent around 2000 and enjoyed a glorious evening and amazing sunset.

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Day 59: Flounders Folly, Callows Hill wild camp to Rockbridge Holiday Park

? 41.42 km

?1069m

We knew we had a big one ahead of us today and had come a bit off trail to camp so rather than return and follow the route from the guide book, we improvised to rejoin the route just outside Craven Arms.  It required a bit of road to begin with but was very quiet and not bad walking.

Craven Arms wasn’t the nice little town with a pub in the middle I had envisioned (based on nothing other than the name), it was in fact rather run down and miserable looking.  The One-Stop shop wasn’t what we had been hoping for and the lunch options were poor so we grabbed water and decided to snack until we reached Knighton for a late lunch.

We left Craven Arms following the Shropshire Way as far as Stokesay Castle and left it to head through Stoke Wood, then followed the road for a little through Clungunford before passing Hopton Castle and heading through the woods at Hopton to Titterhill.  Somewhere along the way we started following way markers for the Heart of Wales Trail and followed this most of the way to Knighton.

It had been a glorious sunny day from the beginning and the heat had slowed our progress a little so it wasn’t until around 1500 that we made it to Knighton, around 30km.  We headed to the Co-Op to stock up and get some lunch.  As we were queuing for the checkout the lady in front of us asked if we were doing the Offa’s Dyke Trail and we got chatting.  It turned out that she and her husband were also walking JOGLE. She lived just outside Knighton and was currently having a few days off! Unbelievable!  She offered us the option of camping in her garden and we did consider it as it had already been a long and hot day, but if we did it would have meant a 45km day tomorrow so we stuck to the plan, chatted a bit more and thanked her for her offer.

We sat on a bench in town and sorted food out whilst eating lunch and guzzling cold drinks.  Then it was time to get going again at about 1600 and from here we were joining the Offas Dyke Way which we discovered was well way marked and well trodden so it was easy to follow.  The scenery was incredible this afternoon, walking through farmland mostly with great views of the valleys and rolling hills.  Along the way we met another LEJOG hiker and chatted for a few minutes, unfortunately didn’t catch the young lads name.  That’s 2 other end to end hikers in one day taking our total tally to four!  We met another hiker, Tom, who had been going 2.5 months and started with the South West Coast Path, since then has been just winging it day by day.  It was nice to chat with other hikers again and an enjoyable walk so it didn’t seem to take that long to reach our campsite a couple of km off route.

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We arrived about 1900 and had dinner before setting up the tent.  It was still very warm and the cold drinks I had stashed in my down jacket to keep them cool were soooo good!  By the time we were showered it was pretty much bedtime, we looked after feet and rubbed cream into today’s stinging nettle rashes.

Day 60: Rockbridge Holiday Park to Baskerville Hall Hotel

? 40.73 km

?1163m

We tried to avoid the road we had walked to camp the previous evening and follow a marked right of way which first took us across a field of sweetcorn with no obvious path and then no apparent way through a barbed wire fence.  We back-tracked and sucked up the road, not the best start to the day and it was going to be another long, hot one.

We rejoined the trail and followed the visible dyke for quite a few kms, passing through farmland, mostly sheep and some crops.  Again the path was easily navigated and pretty good underfoot.  It was a blue sky day and the views continued to be fantastic all day.

Around 1100 we reached Kington and had a quick stop to top up on more water, grab a cold fizzy drink and an ice cream from the Spar.  Actually I had two ice creams, the Spar brand magnums were only 75p each!

From here we still had around 24km to go to Hay-on-Wye and there were some really nice trails, all clearly marked and free of overgrown nasty plants that attack you.  The horse flies on the other hand…. damn things!

It was hotter than yesterday and there was less coverage from woods so the afternoon was pretty tough despite good trails.  Don’t get me wrong I’ll take this weather over rain any day.  It was lovely walking and gorgeous views.

Often, particularly when walking through hilly country, you can see your final destination, if it’s a village or town, for some time but Hay-on-Wye didn’t show itself right until the last moment!  I resisted the urge to wallow in the Wye river to cool down and we made it to the village about 1800.  We still had about 40 minutes to walk along the road to our campsite for the evening at the Baskerville Hall Hotel and fancied a cool drink so nipped to the Spar.  We had both been thinking it and decided to see if there was a taxi around that we could get to Baskerville Hall.  As luck would have it, when I phoned the taxi chap, he was sitting just down the road from Spar in the centre of town.  It was the best £5 spent, and we had the tent pitched by 1830. 

The Baskerville Hall has charm by the bucket loads.  It’s a bit jaded I guess and it appears to be run mostly by an old chap and his wife (I presume).  More of a hostel with camping than a hotel per se, it’s a fantastic place.   There was even a swimming pool here and by 1845 we were in the pool, had it all to ourselves.

The pub grub was perfect and very reasonable, we had a couple of drinks and both had lasagne and chips.  I had a STP to follow and we wrote journals etc before returning to the tent to pass out.

Day 48: The Fox House Pub to Bakewell (The Manners Inn Pub)

?  17.94km

?275m

Once we were filled up on breakfast, our hosts Mary and Paul dropped us back at the pub, and we resumed where we left off yesterday, walking through the National Trust estate of Longshaw Lodge.  The trail was made for NT visitors, and flat, so we zoomed along and soon started a short climb up to Froggatt Edge, then Curbar Edge, and finally Baslow Edge .  The views across the valley were great and we stopped a few times for pics on the way.  Otherwise we continued to make good progress on a clear, but rocky, path.

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We passed through Baslow, and entered the Chatsworth House estate finding groomed flat trails once again.  We had made better progress than we thought, and having planned to lunch at Chatsworth, did so at around 1100.  A cracking lunch too – Mary’s honey roast ham in homemade bread.  As we were eating lunch there was a splash in the river followed by some baa’ing.  A lamb had decided to go for a swim and we watched as it did some pretty good sheep paddle and tried to find a spot to get out.  In the end it was clear it needed some help.  Every now and again, it’s ‘baa’ sound gurgled, imagine baa’ing whilst blowing bubbles in water.  We made our way over to the bank and the little lamb was just hanging on to the side, clearly exhausted from its efforts so far.  I clambered down the bank and managed to grab a front leg and the scruff of its neck and haul it half way out the water.  Katie grabbed it’s front legs and we heaved it out on to flat ground.  The lamb didn’t make an effort to help during this, just lay arms and legs out on its belly! It lay still for a couple of minutes before springing up and running off to join it’s buddies and shaking the water from its wool.  Katie gave it a 20m swimming badge and some words of wisdom “use the bridge next time mate” and off we went, onwards to Bakewell.

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We followed a path up the hill opposite Chatsworth House, with good views back to it, the route then took us through a wood to descend down a steep rocky path, passing over the Monsail Trail, past a sheep auction, and in to Bakewell.  It was busy with a capital B so we grabbed what we needed in Co-Op, a pastie and Bakewell pudding from a deli shop and then sat down with a decent coffee.  It had been a much easier day in terms of distance, time and ascent, so we couldn’t check in at the pub we had a room booked in, but we made our way there anyway, booked a table for dinner, and grabbed a drink whilst we did some catching up on journals.

We checked in and cleaned up then returned for dinner.  Katie’s hanging kebab was great as was my beef pie.  A Laguanitas Session IPA and a Little Creatures Pale Ale washed it down well and a white chocolate pannacotta with rhubarb compote finished me off. What a tough day! ?

Day 49: Bakewell (The Manners Inn Pub) to Common End Farm, Swinscoe (a few km past Thorpe)

?  36.25km

?775m

The pub breakfast wasn’t until 0830 so we missed out on a cooked breakfast as we had a big day and wanted to get going early.  Thankfully, the pub were really good and put some cereal, fruit, yoghurt and pastries in a fridge for us so we had that just before we left at 0730.  As Bakewell wasn’t on the end to end route, we followed footpaths to find our way back to the main route at Youlgreave and it was only a few minutes out of Bakewell before we had to put full waterproofs on, which stayed on almost all day.

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From Youlgreave we followed the River Bradford, then through pasture fields and Gratton Dale.  In general it was muddy and shitty, literally, particularly through a couple of farm yards.  It rained on an off, but more on than off.  The best part of the first half of our day was our first crop field, a waving sea of barley, and we also saw a little stoat playing around in the crops.  We reached the village of Biggin and sheltered from a heavier shower whilst eating our lunch in a bus shelter.

The scenery and underfoot conditions improved after leaving Biggin and following footpaths through National Trust areas of Biggin Dale and Dove Dale.  We had been tipped off that we may pass some other northbound end to end hikers today and it was great to meet Tony & Julia who have just re-located to the UK from Hong Kong, and the first thing they are doing here is walking from Lands End to John O’Groats!  Kudos!

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Much to our relief the weather also finally started to improve as we got close to Thorpe, leaving Dove Dale to climb up through Lin Dale and pass through the pretty village.  We still had a few km to go to our campsite at Common End Farm, initially following a good track down into a valley and back up a hill on the other side, then the same down and up, this time across pasture fields, reaching the busy A52.  Relieved to nearly be at camp, and find a pavement, we were soon checked in and pitched in the dry.  I grabbed a shower and as I did there was another rain shower.

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Day 50: Common End Farm, Swinscoe (a few km past Thorpe) to Uttoxeter Services

?  20km

?149m

We got an early start because we needed to get to Uttoxeter services by 1300 to be picked up by our chauffeur Bob (Katie’s Dad).  We set off about 0610 and retraced our steps, continued along the road for a little bit and re-joined the Limestone Way.  We crossed a few fields of long grass and meadow flowers and the grass was so wet it was like wading through water.  And it took a similar amount of effort!  It wasn’t the most fun walking we’ve had so far, but it wasn’t the worst either and we plodded on through the fields and past farms.

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Midway through the days walking we left the Limestone Way for the Staffordshire Way.  Occasionally, wheat and barley fields mixed things up a bit and provided some nice photo opportunities in the gloomy conditions.  The rain was holding off thankfully but we still had full waterproofs on the whole day because of the long, wet grass, which at one point along a river did reach above the waist!  The sun did make a bit of an appearance mid morning but just as Uttoxeter Services were in sight, and we were trying to navigate our way across a field of knee high grass, the skies darkened and the heavens opened, drenching us in the few minutes it lasted.

We reached the services at Uttoxeter and headed to Starbucks in the hope of a seat, but they were drive-thru only.  Plan B was Burger King as we could sit in.  We were over an hour early so I ordered some things, which were as unsatisfying as I hoped they wouldn’t be, and of course our chauffeur then turned up (Jackie had been watching on the tracker and dispatched Bob earlier than planned).

Our chauffeur whisked us back to our country retreat (Katie’s parents house) where we washed all of our gear first, washed clothes, had an epsom salts bath, then later that evening, collected an Indian takeaway, which I’d been looking forward to, and watched the England Vs Denmark semi-final.

We are taking a few days out here to get vaccines (my second, Katie’s first) and just sort a few things out.  We’ll be back on the trail soon and expect to reach Lands End around mid-August.

Day 42: Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Malham 

?  23.60km

?812m

Felt pretty hungry when I woke this morning, so gradually ate breakfast a bit at a time as we packed up.  Only felt able to eat a bit at a time, not huge appetite like normal, despite the hunger.  We got going at 0730 and left Malham for the long ascent to Pen-y-Ghent.  It was already warming up but we had a nice breeze to keep us cool on our way up.  The views back across the dales to where we had walked yesterday were pretty damn good! We passed quite a few people on Yorkshire 3 Peaks days out coming the opposite direction.  After the obligatory selfie at the trig point on top of Pen-y-Ghent, we started the descent which was much steeper than the route we had ascended, and soon left the the 3 Peaks route to continue on the Pennine Way where we hardly saw another soul until much later in the day.

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We crossed the valley and climbed up over Fountains Fell, great views again on either side as the cloud had continued to lift and it was getting warm and sweaty!

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We started to cross paths with other humans again at Malham Tarn, a National Trust area.  The foot traffic reached a crescendo at Malham Cove, with the jeans and trainers gang joining in, and we were just on a mission to get to camp now, both feeling pretty whacked.  Malham Cove was kinda cool, some interesting rock structures and impressive to see, but we didn’t feel like hanging around.

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We pitched and showered, then realised our camp spot had no mobile signal for the football later.  I discovered a spot with better signal on the other side of the field so we picked up the tent and moved house. ? We both felt like something cold to drink and eat as it had been a warm one, and found it just round the corner at Beck Hall in the form of lemonades and ice cream.  It was way over priced but we didn’t care!

Back at the campsite we managed to watch England beat Germany although we were a good 30 seconds behind some D of E lads who were also watching, so we knew when goals went in before we saw them ?.  Had dinner, did the usual routines and zonked! ?

Day 43: Malham to Cowling

?  30.19km

?754m

The sun was shining right on the tent when alarms went off at 0600.  We were packed up and on the move by 0710, things already warming up and a nice day ahead.  I felt much better, my appetite and energy seemed to be back after a short hiatus the past couple of days. 

We followed Malham Beck, then the River Aire for a few km and then across farmland, up hill, down dale, to Gargrave.  We passed a nice eclectic little cafe/sweet shop and stopped. It was 1000, nearly elevenses! ?‍♂️.  We had crumpet/teacake and coffe, got some sweets from the myriad of jars behind the counter, and I took an ice cream to go.

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Back on trail, the glorious weather continued (sure it’s hot but i’m not complaining!) as did the views.  We were entering Cravendale country and there sure were a lot of cows!  It was rolling Yorkshire countryside and we barely noticed the ascent and descent racking up.  There was also a nice section along a canal, much nicer than our prior canal path experiences on the trip.

We crossed Elsack Moor, met two couples on the way, both excited by our journey and wishing us well.  The temptation of the pub in Lothersdale was almost too much but we continued up and down a couple of steep hills including Cowling Hill, and met another fellow hiker who was on the Pennine Way northbound. We chatted for a few minutes and discovered he had also planned to do the PCT this year, but had postponed to next year. Shortly after that we reached Squirrel Wood campsite in Cowling.

It’s a nice quiet campsite, walkers only.  The guy who owns it is a bit of a chatter so I’ve not investigated the ‘Bar’, I think it’s a honey pot trap and I might never get away.   It was getting late so we went halves on a £1, 5 min shower and then sorted dinner. I had a bit of a stretch whilst my gourmet noodles and cous cous ‘cooked’.

Day 44: Cowling to Hebden Bridge (Old Chamber Farm Campsite)

?  28.83km

?798m

We got going by 7, aiming to get to Hebden Bridge around lunch time, get some shopping, then continue 1 km or so to our campsite in the hope of having time to do some clothes washing and drying.  It was a nice morning again and promised to be another warm one.  We climbed out of the dale, on to the moor, and had great views back down with atmospheric haziness in the valley.  The top of Ickornshaw Moor was bleak, flat and brown, such a contrast to the green fields and meadows of the dales.

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Next up Withins Height, sharing some of the way with the Brontë Way, and passing a derelict farmhouse rumoured to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights (apparently! ?‍♂️).

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We skirted Walshaw Dean Reservoirs and then followed Alcombden Water, later Hebden Water, all the way in to the busy town of Hebden Bridge. We’d had good paths much of the day and made good progress until we joined the path at Hebden Water which was narrow, rocky and undulating to begin with.  It settled down and improved, and was a nice walk along the river in a deep gorge with some shade from the woodland lining the river.

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In the end we made Hebden Bridge by around 1415, picked up some food at Co-Op, and sat by the canal to eat a late lunch.  I grabbed an ice cream to go and we started a steep ascent up the hillside south of Hebden Bridge to our campsite for the evening.  The camping field is on quite a slope and they have created some flat ledges for pitches.  It was already very busy and we got the last flat pitch. Unfortunately the washing machine was out of action, it transpired that someone had stolen the plug off the back of it within the last day or so!  It’s by far the best view we’ve had from a campsite, looking back over Hebden Bridge and the hills beyond.  

Day 36: Greenhead to Alston

? 30.54km

?848m

We were looking forward to a relatively easy day, expecting about 26km and 600m ascent.  Not sure where the extra came from, and the conditions underfoot were not easy although at least mostly dry.  There were also a lot of gates and stiles as we passed through a lot of sheep grazing farmland.  All this contributed to a longer day than expected and we both felt it psychologically and physically. 

We couldn’t really complain as we passed a few more participants of The Spine Race who were mostly very chatty and happy to stop for a minute or two to ask what we were up to.  One lady had had 20 mins sleep on the first and second nights, and had been seeing dinosaurs eating houses amongst other hallucinations! ?‍?

In what was a fairly boring day, one of the highlights witnessing a couple of rams getting in a bit of mating season practice on each other.

We had booked a hotel in Alston a couple of weeks back so we were really looking forward to getting there early afternoon, which didn’t happen.  Upon reaching Alston we played bull in a China shop, squeezing through narrow aisles of the Co-Op, grabbed a gas canister from the outdoor store and then made our way to our hotel, the Lowbyer Manor Country House.  It was a lovely hotel, really old school and quirky, in a brilliant way.  I showered and then put my feet up whilst destroying a tub of Ben & Jerry’s and a Punk IPA.

We ate at the Cumberland Inn, both had Cumberland Sausage, and then I had a STP – the sponge was good, nothing special, but the sauce was great plus custard AND ice cream, all added together to make a damn good STP! The Pennine Pale Ale was good too!

Day 37: Alston to Dufton

? 33.17km

?1057m 

I’d completely forgotten before we arrived yesterday that our hotel included breakfast!  We  had planned an early start with a long day ahead, so we were first to breakfast at 0800.  We helped ourselves to cereals, yoghurt, juice, then I had a full cooked breakfast and Katie had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.  We left rather full and we’re grateful that the first ascent of the day didn’t start right away!

To start off we were walking along a river to Garrygill village, very pretty little place. The ascent really started from there, gradually climbing along a decent track up to an old mining area where the track continued but was rockier.  We reached Greg’s Hut, an MBA bothy, and sat outside to eat our lunch.  Before moving on we checked out the bothy, wrote in the log book, and chatted to a father a son doing the PW in 10 days.  They commented that another son/brother had started with them but quit after 3 days.  I got the feeling he wouldn’t be hearing the end of that! ?

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The cloud had covered the tops first thing and had been lifting through morning.  By the time we reached the top of Cross Fell (the highest point of the End to End Trail – we lied previously in a post from Scotland, that was the highest pass on the trail, not the highest point!) it was a glorious day and we were treated to views of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.  We spent some time drinking in the views and getting the obligatory trig point selfie before we crossed the Moreland on Cross Fell and had a series of up hill, down dale, taking in Little Dun Fell, Great Dun Fell and Knock Old Man.

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The descent to Dufton was quite steep in places, reaching farmland and tracks in to Dufton.  It had started raining as we were closing in on the village and we put up tent in the rain and cooked dinner.

The rain didn’t ruin what was a great day, our second biggest so far in terms of ascent, the highest point on the trail, and some epic scenery.

Day 38: Dufton to Kirkby Stephen

? 28.02 km 

?469m 

It rained pretty much all night and was still raining in the morning.  The wind had also really picked up in the night.  Thankfully the campsite was quite sheltered but the wind had blown all sorts of tree debris everywhere by the morning.  Checking the weather, it was due to rain all day and the mountain weather forecast suggested the cloud would cover the tops until the afternoon at least.

Our route today was described by the guidebook as one of the best days of the trail and definitely the best of the Pennine Way.  It would take us past High Cup Nick, which looks pretty cool, and to a height of around 600m.  After taking the cloud cover, wind, rain, and the fact we had no paper maps for this section, we decided to take an alternative route and instead stop in Kirby Stephen tonight, then rejoin our End To End route at Keld tomorrow evening.  It also would mean two slightly shorter days than we had planned, which would hopefully help on the blister front.

We were conveniently able to follow another marked trail, The Pennine Journey, which was mostly easy to follow and took a lower level route through farmland and along the River Eden.  It wasn’t a bad route and although it rained all day, it was only of the significantly wet variety for an hour or so.  The highlights were probably some vivid green meadows and fields, offset against the dark grey moody clouds.  That and a couple of squeaky bum moments passing through small fields full of rams who seemed rather interested in us, grunted a lot and followed us looking aggressive.  We’ve passed other groups of rams on the trip who didn’t appear as interested/grumpy.

Towards the end of the route, the Pennine Journey took a bit of a circuitous route and we opted for a few km of quiet B road as we were rather damp.  We stopped off at Co-op and stocked up on food, then continued through town to our campsite.  Unfortunately the washing machine was broken so we hand washed some socks and hung up damp clothes to dry.  After a shower we found a nice comfy sofa in The Engine Shed, the on site bar.

We checked out a route for tomorrow and did a DIY link up of trails using the OS app to get an 18km off road route to Keld.  It was this or about 15km on a minor B road.  The weather is looking like it will clear up nicely so should be a no brainer!

We had a pizza from the pop up pizza van at the campsite and ate that with our other supplies for dinner in the bar whilst we caught up on some journals and other things.  It turns out that Kirby Stephen is on the Coast to Coast trail route so you never know, might be back here sometime!

Day 30: Just outside West Linton to an Orchard near Innerleithen

? 40.30km

?571m

It was a beautiful morning but we were under house arrest by the midges.  Katie nipped out for a wee first thing and quite a few followed her back in.  We packed up, surrounded, and made haste!  Ironically, after being relieved to leave the tarmac behind on the canals, we opted for an easier start to the day to help Katie’s feet get going (her blisters are pretty bad right now!) and followed the road all the way down in to the pretty little village of West Linton.  I had a takeaway second breakfast of bacon and black pudding roll with brown sauce.  Katie had a cuppa.

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We continued on along the road for a bit, out of West Linton, before the route took us off in to the hills, again following the Cross Borders Drove Road national trail.  After a fun encounter with some interested cows, we passed through fields, forests and valleys on gently undulating, varied terrain.  It was nice walking.  We crossed a river and washed a pair of socks, hanging them on the back of our bags to dry as the good weather continued all day.

We reached Peebles after about 28km of walking at around 1315, visited Tesco first for some food and medical essentials for a couple of days, then went looking for lunch.  We had read about a bakery but they only had sweet things so I took a ginger cream biscuit and a chocolate brownie cronut for later and the search continued.  We found a cafe but it was just closing (at 1400, ?‍♂️), so once again the search resumed and on the third attempt we got seated and ordered.  Chilli chicken flatbread and ginger beer for me, a brie and cranberry toastie and orange San Pel for Katie.  Portions were good, and we had happy tummies.

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We had a choice from Peebles to get to Innerleithen/Traquair.  We could take the trails to Traqauir, continuing to follow the Cross Borders Drove Road, or we could take a tarmac (?) path that stayed low in the valley, following the river Tweed.  In the end we opted for the tarmac.  It was shorter and quicker so it meant less time on feet and more time in camp for Katie to tend to her poor feet.  We found a nice grassy footpath initially along the river and then joined the tarmac.  It wasn’t all bad, the views were nice and it meant I could again walk without the knee brace.

We found an orchard in a field just off the path, and set up camp, just with the inner of the tent initially which was nice.  It was a glorious sunny evening and we had dinner whilst resting weary feet.

Day 31: Orchard near Innerleithen to Melrose

? 40.30km

?571m 

We rejoined the tarmac by the Orchard and walked in to Innerleithen, topping up on liquids at the Co-Op there.  Katie was having a bad time with the blisters this morning.  What was originally a blister on each heel, was now double whammy on one of the heels, one on the inside of a big toe and one on a little toe on the opposite foot.  If I’m honest, they looked horrendous, and I wasn’t sure how she was still going, oh wait, yes, she is one very stubborn mule!  About a week now battling the blisters and the last couple of days seem to have been hell.

We were planning on wild camping this evening which meant not exactly knowing how far we would be going today but it was always going to be at least 35km.  Katie initially declined a hotel option, but after about 30 mins of walking, just as we were turning off the tarmac, on to the trails, Katie decided a hotel room would help her get through the day and also meant we would know how far we had to go.  We could also assess and treat the blisters a bit better, have a decent meal, a beer or two, and the England vs. Scotland football game was on so all good!  We booked one of the last rooms in Melrose (I presume as it was a Friday night) and got going on the trail.

Today, we would be following the Southern Upland Way (which is also for this section the Cross Borders Drove Road that we followed yesterday) which is actually a coast to coast route, around 450km.  We were heading east for the day, following the Scottish national trail thistle in a hexagon waymarker.  We gradually ascended Minch Moor, where I took a quick detour to the top  (567m) to check out the view, whilst Katie continued.  We could see in the distance, the Eildon Hills which were just outside Melrose, our target for the day.

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From then on, we undulated through the day and enjoyed some great views and lovely varied trails.  The landscape has completely changed since leaving the Highlands and today was the best so far since then.  Everywhere you looked there were lumpy bumpy hills, not a flat piece of land anywhere.  The weather was great, big fluffy clouds, patches of sun and (mostly) warm temperatures.  Whilst descending from the Three Brethren, 3 large cairns on top Hareshaw Hill, we chatted briefly with a local couple who said that on any normal year (i.e. without covid), we would have found hundreds of horses and people at the top, drinking whisky, dancing and singing (the people that is).  This was apparently the day of the Selkirk Common Riding, such a shame we were not treated to that spectacle!

We continued though fields of sheep, reaching Gala Hill and traversing round it through a lovely forest.  We descended to join a nice path along the river, then had to walk through some less scenic housing and industrial areas by Tweedbank, before some more nice riverside trails to finish the day.

In Melrose we checked in to the King’s Arms, showered, and did some reading up on blister treatments.  I nipped to Boots before it closed for an assortment of medical supplies, and also some duct tape from the Spar shop.  We had dinner in the pub, the food was decent but the beer selection wasn’t great.  It was getting busy with it being Friday night and the football on.  We opted to retire to our room, and drain Katie’s blisters (cos that’s how we roll on a Friday night).  I dashed to the Co-Op for beers and ciders, and a 1 litre tub of Mackie’s Chocolate Orange and Honeycomb ice cream, which we enjoyed whilst watching the football (which was pretty dull on the whole).

Today marked 1 month on trail, stats as follows;

Per Day

• Max Time: 11:10:00
• Max Distance: 42.02
• Max Ascent: 997
• Avg Time: 06:54:15
• Avg Distance: 24.57
• Avg Ascent: 483.68

Totals

• Total Distance (km): 761.67
• Total Ascent (m): 14994

Km per day

• Zero: 1
• >0, <10: 0
• >=10, <20: 9
• >=20, <30: 11
• >=30, <40: 8
• >=40, <50: 2 
• >=50: 0

Sleeping Arrangements 

• Wild Camp; 14
• Campsite: 9
• Cabin/Pod: 1
• Bothy: 2
• Hostel: 1
• Hotel/Pub: 3
• B&B: 0

Misc.

• Beers: 26
• Sticky Toffee Puddings: 5
• Sunday Roast Dinners: 3

Day 32: Melrose to Jedburgh

? 31.30km

?686m

We took a bit longer getting ready this morning, taking advantage of a shower and getting Katie’s blisters ready for the day’s walking.  Eventually departing the pub at 0830, we didn’t get far before spotting a cafe that looked like it had a decent coffee so we had a brief pause and got one each to go, plus a brownie, cos, why not!

The day started with quite a steep climb up and over between two of the Eilden Hills we had spent much of yesterday heading towards.  Today we were following the St. Cuthbert’s Way for the most part so again, the waymarking was good and easy to follow.  There were a few showers in the morning but the views were still great and we were in some lovely woodland which kept the worst of the water off us.

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We again enjoyed a great mixture of trails and after the initial hills, the route gently undulated through forests and fields, along rivers, past curious cows.  The weather cleared mid morning, remaining mostly cloudy but stayed dry for the best part of the day and the sun made the odd appearance.  We joined an old Roman road, Dere Street for the first time towards the end of the day, which was most visible from the drone shots I took.  These days the trail meanders in between field and through woodland.

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We reached our campsite on the edge of Jedburgh just after 1700.  We needed to stick up on some food and don’t go through town tomorrow morning so I had a quick jog down the road to the Co-Op.  On my return I grabbed a shower, we ate, watched the grand Prix qualifying, then caught up on some journals and photos.

Day 24: Strathfillan Wigwams Campsite to Beinglas Farm Campsite

? 15.94km

?397m

It was raining when my first alarm went off at 0600.  It was raining when my second alarm went off at 0630.  It was raining every 10 minutes that I snoozed the alarm for an hour.  Eventually, at 0730, it wasn’t raining and we decided it was probably time to get moving.  We packed up, used the facilities, and put the tent away whilst it still wasn’t raining.  The forecast was showers all day and sure enough, within a minute of leaving the campsite, I had to put on my waterproof trousers. Soon after, we passed a sign that informed us we were in one of the wettest parts of Britain.

Shortly after leaving camp, we were climbing through some nice forest.  It was probably the nicest hour or so of forest walking we have had on the whole trip and we started passing a few northbound hikers as we exited the forest and descended to Crianlarich.  From there it was pretty straightforward through the valley Of Glen Falloch, following the river Falloch to our campsite at Beinglas Farm.  We followed the road most of the way and the path did a reasonable job of being far enough from it not to see it, but it could be heard.

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We only covered 16km today, so arrived at Beinglas just in time for lunch, a ham and cheese toastie, with a pint of beer.  Taking advantage of a dry spell, we got the tent up then took showers.  We grabbed a seat in the bar around 1700 and got drinks, then dinner around 1800.  We both went for lasagne, which came with salad, coleslaw and garlic bread.  Solid pub grub and big portions.  The choc fudge cake and ice cream fitted snugly on to the pudding shelf.  Back at the tent we watched the first episode of Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm show on Amazon.  We had seen earlier that, unsurprisingly, an ever predictable Guardian write up had given it 1/5, in fact it was actually pretty entertaining.

Just about to get heads down at 2100 and I can smell burgers being cooked on a BBQ, making me hungry again! ?

Day 25: Beinglas Farm Campsite to Millarochy Campsite

? 32.79km

?855m

We had a big day ahead and needed to hit the shop at the campsite before we left so we were waiting at the door ready to go when it opened at 0730.  We both grabbed a roll for lunch, some snacks, and Katie got some more Compeed blister plasters.

Full waterproofs were required, contrary to expectations and off we went, headed for a day of walking along the eastern edge of Loch Lomond.  Sounds easy right, walking along the edge of a Loch? Nice and level, not too much elevation? Wrong!  The trail was undulating in the same why the South West Coast Path undulates – big time!

We warmed up pretty quickly and with the rain stopped, but threatening, we had to de-layer and risk it. Passing some goats with massive horns required holding your nose as they smelt so bad, like gone off goats cheese. Soon, Loch Lomond was revealed for the first time and we started our journey along its edge. We had heard walkers in the pub last night saying how tough this section had been and before long it got a bit technical, lots of roots and rocks.  Personally I loved it, nice single track going up or down most of the time, never flat.  At times we were right by the loch, walking past stony beaches, others we were in really nice woods with huge pines and mossy floors.

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There was quite a bit of passing others and at one point a mountain biker (carrying the bike at the time – much if this section is quite literally unrideable) decided to squeeze past Katie, rather than wait just a few more moments for her to reach a wider part of the track.  His foot was right on the edge of the track which gave way and he went head first, with his bike, sliding down the side of the trail towards the water.  He managed to stop after a couple of metres, his mate got down to him and helped pull his bike off which I then lifted on to the trail and the biker scrambled his way back up.  We checked he hadn’t dropped anything and his mate joked only his pride was left down there. ? If only he’d been a bit more patient.

We stopped for a nice lunch break by the loch and continued, soon reaching the first holiday park/campsite of the day at Rowardennen.  The temptation of a cold fizzy can of pop was too much and I joined the queue in the bar, however the queue was too much, and I couldn’t be arsed so we continued with our thirst unquenched.  From there we had about 7km more to reach our goal for the day and now that we were in an area near a road and holiday parks, the trail was easier underfoot, however it still went up and down like a roller coaster!

We arrived at Millarochy Campsite around 1730, where we had booked a tent pitch, and the lovely people here informed us that we could pitch in the backpackers area for less and they would refund the difference on our booking!  Lovely stuff.  They also had ice creams so Katie had a Cornetto and I had a Magnum.  We deserved it.

Tent pitched, we showered and then made use of the backpackers kitchen area to cook and eat, as the midges were out, and after us!

Food Diary

Thought it would be fun to keep a track of the food and calories eaten today, not as much as I thought!

Breakfast

• 2 waffles – 240 cal
• Peanut butter/choc spread combo – 100 cal
• 4 dried figs – 54 cal

Lunch

• Cheese and pickle roll – 300 cal
• 1/2 bag crisps – 375 cal

Dinner

• Packet of Ainsley cous cous – 354 cal
• Packet of noodles – 271 cal
• Mange tout – 50 cal
• 1/2 pack jerky – 80 cal
• Birds Instant Custard – 150 cal
• 1/4 Yorkshire Tea Loaf – 231 cal

Snacks

• Magnum White Chocolate & Cookies – 235 cal
• 2 handfuls of peanuts – 250 cal
• Stroopwafel – 180 cal
• Nakd Bar – 137 cal
• Kind Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt Bar – 214 cal
• 1/2 pack peanut M&Ms – 300 cal

Total: 3521 cal

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Day 26: Milarrochy Campsite to Drymen Campsite

? 18.13km

?555m

We hit the trail just after 0700 knowing we had a bit of a lump to climb over and around 15km to a Sunday Roast at the Clachan Inn in Drymen.  We continued where we left off yesterday following the edge of the loch, until heading east and starting the climb up Conic Hill.  We were now among not only other WHW hikers, but also the day hikers too.  There was a lot of huffing and puffing.  Not from us though.  We made our way slowly up and stopped to take a few pictures looking back over Loch Lomond.  The cloud had lifted just about in time and it was a view to savour for a few minutes!

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The WHW doesn’t actually take us to the top of Conic Hill and we figured we had seen as good a view already as we would get a few more metres up so we stuck with the main trail and started descending.  We walked through forest and farmland for a couple of hours and the sun started to peek out as promised.  We had our first ‘your going the wrong way’ comment today after 6 days against the flow on the WHW, Katie quickly piped up “Not if you’re walking to Lands End!” which stopped the fella in his tracks for a moment!?  We soon popped out on to the A811 and headed into Drymen for lunch.  We were early so we did a quick shop for the next couple of days food at a Spar.

The Clachan Inn didn’t disappoint and did a decent roast.  Katie went for ham, I had the beef.  This is becoming a bit of a tour of Britain’s Sunday Roast, so we started scoring them.  Today’s scored a solid 7 out of 10.  Decent meat, great potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.  Veg was nice but lacked anything green, and no cauliflower cheese.  The sticky toffee pudding, our fourth of the trip, scored an excellent 9, equalling that of Garrison West in Fort William.  They didn’t even blink when I asked for ice cream AND custard.  What’s this ‘or’ malarky all about?

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By the time we finished lunch the sun was shining and it was about 23⁰C!  We still had 2-3km to do to get to the campsite for the night so off we trotted, back along the road out of Drymen, picking up the WHW again, through some fields and then back on to a road before arriving at the campsite, right on the trail.  We pitched up and took advantage of extra time to relax in the sun before showering, doing our normal routines stuff and dinner.