Out of Alston YHA for 09:00 hrs, running straight into a Police checkpoint for the Appleby Horse Fair which is on this week and has both equine and human visitors from all over the world. Along quiet country lanes which ramble across the countryside – in this area, the Way seems to lose impetus and meander gently northwards as if to give you a rest in preparation for the harder days to come.
Stopped in the wonderfully named village of Slaggyford for our packed lunch, sharing it with a local horse and three free-range hens. The on northwards across easy going which turned out to be just lulling us into a false sense of security. Blenkinsopp Common was approached as evening was just beginning and we should have had just a couple of miles to go.
The Way passes through an untidy, run-down farmyard immediately before the Common. Signposting is good until you cross the stile into the thick marsh grass. Nominally, the Way curves in a lazy left handed sweep for a few hundred yards then you take a path almost due North. This we never did see nor did any of those travelling that day. In fact, a more experienced member of the people walking that day was on his second attempt to cross the Common, having lost hi compass and been flooded out on a previous occasion.
Hard walking over heavy going, with detailed map and compass work was required…a real nuisance as we knew the town could only be a few miles away, round one of the small valley heads. Reception for the GPS was poor so it was useless: we decided to walk on a bearing to a marked fence line and navigate out from there. In the jostle a few days later, we discovered everyone had the same problem on this piece of moor: perhaps National Trust should reassess the signs there.
Eventually into Greenhead and a short walk down the old A69 to the YHA. Again, a privatised dormitory style YHA recently taken over by the (new) owners of the local pub, the Greenhead Hotel. The YHA doesn’t do meals (although there is the usual Members’ kitchen) so it was over to the hotel to eat. Accepting that the owners are new and managing both the YHA and the local pub, they still have some way to go on the YHA side to reach the normal standard, but nothing that some maintenance, a lick of paint and the gaining of more experience by the young Warden won’t put right.
Good news of the day: end of the “Pennine Way Central” map…on to the last sheet!
Stopped in the wonderfully named village of Slaggyford for our packed lunch, sharing it with a local horse and three free-range hens. The on northwards across easy going which turned out to be just lulling us into a false sense of security. Blenkinsopp Common was approached as evening was just beginning and we should have had just a couple of miles to go.
The Way passes through an untidy, run-down farmyard immediately before the Common. Signposting is good until you cross the stile into the thick marsh grass. Nominally, the Way curves in a lazy left handed sweep for a few hundred yards then you take a path almost due North. This we never did see nor did any of those travelling that day. In fact, a more experienced member of the people walking that day was on his second attempt to cross the Common, having lost hi compass and been flooded out on a previous occasion.
Hard walking over heavy going, with detailed map and compass work was required…a real nuisance as we knew the town could only be a few miles away, round one of the small valley heads. Reception for the GPS was poor so it was useless: we decided to walk on a bearing to a marked fence line and navigate out from there. In the jostle a few days later, we discovered everyone had the same problem on this piece of moor: perhaps National Trust should reassess the signs there.
Eventually into Greenhead and a short walk down the old A69 to the YHA. Again, a privatised dormitory style YHA recently taken over by the (new) owners of the local pub, the Greenhead Hotel. The YHA doesn’t do meals (although there is the usual Members’ kitchen) so it was over to the hotel to eat. Accepting that the owners are new and managing both the YHA and the local pub, they still have some way to go on the YHA side to reach the normal standard, but nothing that some maintenance, a lick of paint and the gaining of more experience by the young Warden won’t put right.
Good news of the day: end of the “Pennine Way Central” map…on to the last sheet!
No comments:
Post a Comment