The Pennine Way is certainly a very special walk - challenging, beautiful, wild, rugged and surprising in turn. The diversity of countryside through which it passes is quite astonishing and I had never really fully appreciated just how scenically diverse England is.
Each region has a distinct character - the rolling hills surrounding Edale in The Peak District quickly give way to more serious terrain, such as Kinder Low, Kinder Downfall (2076 feet) and the extreme blanket bogs and marshes leading to and beyond Bleaklow Head (also 2076 feet). Next comes bleak moorland and the notorious Black Hill. This is rugged and dangerous country. Remote moorland continues as you leave Derbyshire and enter Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire Moors. The scenary takes on a softer look here for a while and the landscape is marked by ancient tracks - drove roads and corpse roads. These are high moors and the views are superb whichever direction you face.
Next comes an area of moorland and reservoirs and then theYorkshire Dales with the limestone landscape of Malham and the spectacular Pen-y-ghent. The Yorkshire Dales has its own diversity, the rugged high peaks of Pen-y-ghent (2277 feet), Dodd Fell (2192 feet) and Great Shunner Fell (2350 feet) contrasting with rolling hills and meadows. Then comes the extreme high moorland of County Durham, probably the bleakest section of the walk and one of the most dangerous.
Then a gentle area of meadows and wild flowers before entering Teesdale, like nowhere else I've ever been - the wild river Tees with its abundant birdlife and stunning waterfalls (including High Force - the highest waterfall in the country). Just when you think it can get no better, you creep up upon High Cup Nick, as I've said before, probably the most impressive natural sight in the country. The beautiful Vale of Eden follows in sharp contrast to the previous days and then the high ground again but this time a mixture of deep bogs, rocky crests and the summits of Great Dun Fell (2798 feet) and the highest point on the Pennine Way Cross Fell (2930 feet).
After this comes Hadrian's Wall, perched upon the Whin Sill and a rare example of the natural and man-made complimenting each other. This is, again, spectacular scenery but unlike anything that has been encountered on the walk before. The Northumberland National Park now, an area of pastures, forests and bogs.
The Pennine Way keeps one of its highlights till last - there is no anticlimax to this walk. The Cheviots. This range of hills has a unique character and encompasses the most remote and wild countryside in England. This is the least populated area of the country and when you descend from the Cheviots into Kirk Yetholm you really do have a feeling of having emerged from somewhere very special.
And that is my conclusion, that The Pennine Way is a very special walk and a special experience for anyone who takes the trouble to attempt it. There may be shorter walks that are more difficult or more scenic, but to my knowledge there are none that can sustain the quality of both for anywhere near the 270 miles of the Pennine Way.
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