Pennine Way – Friday 4/5/2012 – 19 miles

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It was one of those indecisive mornings when we got up; the weather could have gone either way and when we finally set out after gathering up our laundry and collecting our packed lunches from the YHA reception it still wasn’t clear what would happen. We’d left the village and walked about half a mile past where we should have turned off, returned to the junction and gone about a mile in the right direction before it started drizzling. This coincided with the ground beginning to rise more steeply as we rounded Dufton Pike and we had a nasty feeling this was going to be another of those days where the weather up on the hills would be far worse than that in the surrounding valleys. That would be a shame as we were heading for the highest hills of the Pennine Way, including Cross Fell which is renowned for its high winds and localised rough climate.

The drizzle increased to a light but wet rain as we skirted Brownber Hill and headed straight up towards Knock Fell but then mercifully stopped before we reached the top and stayed dry for the rest of the day. It was extremely windy though – as you’d expect really – but this had the useful effect of quickly drying our clothes out so before long it was as if the rain had never happened! When we took turns to pose for a photo next to the tall cairn at Knock Old Man the wind inflated my loosely fastened waterproofs so much I look like I’m wearing a fatsuit! We nestled down in the rocks in front of a collapsed drystone windbreak to shelter while we ate our breakfast bars and an interesting sound drifted across to us on the wind; the clear rhythmical thumping of distant heavy guns. At last we could identify those faint booming noises we’d heard for a while the day before down in the Tees valley – military exercises on the far side of the hills. Obvious really!

We were impressed when we’d left Knock Fell and were heading up on to Great Dun Fell that there were snow poles alongside the path. It made us feel like real mountaineers! The ground was a bit squelchy near the road leading up to the radar station and we were disappointed that the footpath led us away from the tarmac soon after we’d joined it but it wasn’t too bad higher up.

It was interesting walking past the radar station on the top; those little white golf balls you see on distant hilltops are quite big when you get close up! I assume there were people working in the buildings there but it looked deserted from the outside.

We headed straight for the summit of Little Dun Fell next which in the usual manner entailed a steep descent and ascent – I found this one the hardest yet, strangely – then from that summit continued in a more or less straight line to the top of Cross Fell.

The weather improved as the morning progressed, and although we couldn’t see much of the Lake District thanks to low cloud in that direction it was quite bright around us and we even had some sizeable patches of blue sky overhead. The famous Cross Fell wind was obviously having a day off – for which we were grateful – it was windy but only in a normal top-of-a-big-hill kind of a way.

There are some large and very well built cairns on the top which must come in handy in bad weather as it’s a pretty featureless place otherwise with no visible paths and only the trig point and the X shaped dry stone windbreak to serve as landmarks.

We didn’t hang around on the top once we’d taken some photos and left the summit plateau next to the cairn and followed the path straight down until we met the obvious firm ground of the Old Corpse Road and turned right. We were hit by a sudden blustery hail shower that came from nowhere and we struggled to get our gloves on and hoods up quick enough to fend off the stinging ice pellets. Of course as soon as we were wrapped up it stopped again but the temperature had dropped amazingly in just a few minutes.

In less than half a mile we arrived at Greg’s Hut and went inside. Although it wasn’t particularly rough outside the immediate quiet as we closed the door behind us was striking. We had a look round and read the notices which included a brief history of the hut and of John Gregory, the mountaineer to whom the hut is dedicated. Although it’s called a hut it’s actually a small two room stone cottage originally built for miners but restored by volunteers to serve as a refuge for anyone who needs shelter on the fells. It’s easy to see how it could save lives in bad weather; Cross Fell would be a terrible place to get stranded.

We stayed to eat our lunch then set out again but after a hundred yards or so met a man walking the Pennine Way North to South. We chatted for a few minutes and he asked about conditions on the tops but then proceeded to tell us how the stage north of Alston was so waterlogged he recommended following an alternative route to avoid it. I know he was trying to be helpful but how can you ever claim you’ve walked a trail if you don’t follow the proper route?

Anyway, we continued, striding out as the rough path became a track and eventually a hardcore road taking us the six or so pleasant but uneventful miles down into Garrigill. Many people have complained about the stony surface of the Corpse Road being difficult to walk on and very tiring. We thought it was OK but maybe we were just grateful to have such a long stretch of solid ground for once!

With around four miles still to go to Alston we didn’t stop to see if the George and Dragon was open for a swift one but carried on along a series of footpaths that followed the course of the South Tyne through gentle farmland straight into the centre of Alston. We found Tyne Willows Caravan Site easily enough but walked back and forth a couple of times trying to find the reception. A lady came out of a static caravan near the entrance and beckoned us over to her while standing up the reception sign that was lying face down on her patch of garden, blown over by the wind! She told us where we could pitch and get water etc. and we paid the usual fiver each that most sites charge backpackers. It wasn’t the most attractive site we’d been on and when we later saw the showers and loos – a strange underground arrangement beneath what I think was a disused factory – complete with rust brown water issuing from the taps and showers we were even less impressed!

But there’s no choice if you want to camp at Alston and to be fair it was OK. The site was quiet and we got a good night’s sleep and the drinking water was perfectly clear. We’d certainly stayed in worse places but we’d expected a bit better on an organised site! We ate at the Angel Inn that night and were more than happy with that – their friendly staff and good food and beer more than made up for the rather weird campsite!

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