The Pennine Way - Paddy Dillon

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out what is offered as soon as bookings are made, as some providers may be unable to satisfy last-minute requests or special dietary requirements.

      Walkers who are backpacking need to know where useful shops are located so that they can buy more food as they travel, rather than carry everything for the duration of their trek. All the towns along the Pennine Way have a range of shops, but some villages have either a limited choice or nothing at all. Be sure to read ahead to discover where re-supply options are sparse, then buy food in advance to cover for those days. Many wayfarers like to take a break at a pub, and there are several along the Pennine Way, but they are unevenly spread and only rarely occur in the middle of a day’s walk. Places offering refreshment are duly noted in this guidebook. The most famous pub is surely the Tan Hill Inn, a convivial establishment in the middle of nowhere and the highest pub in Britain.

      A handful of companies offer accommodation booking and baggage transfer along the Pennine Way. They might appear expensive, but many walkers are willing to pay the price for someone else to make all their arrangements. It’s interesting to note that sometimes, when a number of wayfarers have booked through different companies, the same van collects and delivers all their bags. A list of companies offering a baggage transfer service can be found in Appendix A.

      This depends primarily on your choice of accommodation. From its earliest days, the Pennine Way was intended to be a tough route for tough walkers. In the beginning, many walkers carried heavy packs and planned to camp every night. If camping, then full backpacking kit is required but keep everything as light as possible, taking advantage of modern materials and innovative products. There is no need for a full backpack to exceed ten kilos, and seldom any need to pack more than two days’ worth of food.

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      Food fantasy – or an enormous Tunnocks bar? (Day 20)

      Youth hostels were originally spartan, but gradually offered more comforts. The provision of B&Bs along the route is pretty good, and these tend to be well-supported by today’s Pennine wayfarers. Anyone using hostels or B&Bs need little more than the usual contents of their daysack, plus a lightweight change of clothing for the evenings, allowing the ‘walking’ clothes to be rinsed and dried every couple of days or so. It really isn’t necessary to carry heavy loads along the Pennine Way, and in any case many wayfarers sign up for baggage transfers – sometimes having huge suitcases sent ahead!

      While an increasing number of shops, pubs and restaurants will accept payment by credit card, many don’t, so walkers need to carry plenty of cash to pay for goods and services while on the move, especially on the more remote parts of the Pennine Way. If you are unsure about carrying large amounts of cash, at least try and budget ahead, then be aware of places along the way that have banks and ATMs – these are mentioned in the daily route descriptions. Some supermarkets offer a ‘cashback’ service or have a cashpoint on their premises.

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      Bellingham is the last village with a decent range of shops (Day 17)

      An information box at the beginning of each daily stage provides the essential facts for the day’s walk: start and finish points (including grid refs), distance covered, an estimation of time, ascent and descent figures, an overview of the types of terrain you’ll encounter, relevant OS Landranger, Explorer and Harvey sheets, and places en route (as well as slightly off-route) where you can buy refreshments.

      Stage maps, extracted from the Ordnance Survey mapping, are provided at a scale of 1:100,000. In the route description, significant places or features along the way that also appear on the map extracts are highlighted in bold to aid navigation. As well as the route being described in detail, background information about places of interest is provided in brief.

      Appendix A provides contact details that may be useful in planning and enjoying a successful walk. Appendix B lists accommodation options along the route and, where necessary, options off-route.

      This guidebook contains basic 1:100,000 scale maps, which are intended purely to give an overview of each stage of the trail. The Ordnance Survey, www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk, covers the Pennine Way on ten Landranger maps at a scale of 1:50,000. The sheet numbers are 74, 80, 86, 87, 91, 92, 98, 103, 109 and 110. For greater detail, eight Ordnance Survey Explorer maps cover the route at a scale of 1:25,000, and the sheet numbers are OL1, OL2, OL16, OL21, OL30, OL31, OL42 and OL43. The companion map booklet to this guidebook contains extracts from the Ordnance Survey Explorer maps, at a scale of 1:25,000, with the route highlighted, along with alternatives and off-route spurs.

      Harvey, www.harveymaps.co.uk, publishes three maps covering the Pennine Way on water-resistant paper at a scale of 1:40,000. These are Pennine Way South, Pennine Way Central and Pennine Way North. The relevant maps are listed at the start of each stage of the route.

      The Pennine Way is a designated right of way from start to finish; therefore it should be open at all times and always be free of obstructions. The route is made up of public footpaths, public bridleways, public byways and public highways. Signposts usually include the words ‘Pennine Way’, along with the official National Trail ‘acorn’ symbol. Marker posts generally feature only the acorn symbol and a directional arrow. Occasionally, the initials ‘PW’ may be painted or carved onto surfaces to give additional directions. Yellow arrows denote public footpaths; blue arrows denote public bridleways; and red arrows denote public byways.

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      Leaving the route at Windy Gyle allows for a descent to Trows (Day 19)

      Following the ‘acorn’ symbols is fairly fool-proof, but bear in mind that the Pennine Way intersects with the Pennine Bridleway on a handful of occasions, and also runs concurrent with a considerable stretch of the Hadrian’s Wall Path. As all these routes are National Trails, they all bear the ‘acorn’ symbols, and some walkers do find themselves following the wrong trails!

      Note that there are some very long stretches that have no signposts or markers, and this is the policy for what is after all a tough and often remote long-distance trail. In clear weather, providing careful note is taken of route directions, rudimentary map-reading skills will be enough. However, on some bleak and exposed moors, especially in mist, an ability to use a map and a compass is a distinct advantage. GPS users can download GPX tracks for each daily stage from the Cicerone website.

      Walking for hours across bleak moorlands on an almost daily basis is fine, so long as the weather is good. There is little anyone can do about the weather, except to be prepared. Get into the habit of checking the forecast as often as possible, and keep an eye on the days ahead, so that if bad weather is predicted on a particularly tricky stretch, at least that can be included in planning. Forecasts on radio or television might be too general, but online forecasts provided by the Met Office, www.metoffice.gov.uk, can be tailored to more specific locations. For example, a detailed forecast is always available for the summit of Great Dun Fell! Numerous weather forecasts are available on smartphone apps.

      Mobile phones don’t always get a signal along the Pennine Way, and coverage varies depending on your service provider. All of the towns along the Pennine Way have coverage, but some villages don’t, and rural telephone kiosks are gradually being removed. For internet access, Wi-Fi is offered by most accommodation

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