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"A long green trail from the Peak to the Cheviots. Just a faint line on the Ordnance Maps which the feet of grateful pilgrims would, with the passing years, engrave on the face of the land." |
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was the vision of journalist and rambler Tom Stephenson
in an article published in The Daily Herald in 1935. The
Pennine Way long distance walk was eventually born on the
24th.April, 1965, and is now very firmly engraved on the
face of the land! It was the first of the National Trails
to be created and is still , arguably, the toughest. The
Pennine Way attracts walkers from all over the world and
is described as a 'Challenging trail, wild and
spectacular scenery' by The Countryside Agency and
'Challenging' by The Rambler's Association.
A. Wainwright said at the end of his 'Pennine Way Companion' "You won't come across me anywhere along the Pennine Way. I've had enough of it." His own experiences of the walk included getting stuck in a bog up to his waist on Black Hill - he had to be pulled out by a passing National Park warden! |
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trail passes through some of the most beautiful and
remote countryside England has to offer.The ruggedness
and difficulty of the walk could be said to have been
tamed a little since Wainwright's day by the
'improvement' of stone slabbing and wooden walkways on
some of the eroded and boggy sections, noticeably in the
south and particularly within the Peak
District National Park.
That said, it still offers some very challenging walking
particularly if walked in one go and especially if the
weather is bad, which invariably it is. Bog and marsh
lovers will not be disappointed as there are plenty of
both which have not been tampered with. The route also boasts the highest waterfall in England (Highforce in Teesdale - Day Ten) , the highest road (on Great Dun Fell - Day Eleven) , the highest Inn (Tan Hill), the highest market town (Alston) the longest canal (the Leeds and Liverpool canal) the highest, deepest and longest canal tunnel (The Standedge tunnel), and the highest narrow gauge railway (South Tynedale Railway)! |
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| During
the walk I carried the two National Trail Guides by Tony
Hopkins, Pennine Way North and Pennine Way South which
are a good alternative to carrying the numerous maps
otherwise needed. These guides also provide a host of
information and I would highly recommend them. Click on
the pictures above for details. If you prefer to carry
the individual maps they can be purchased in my Map Shop
- click
here. I also carried a Garmin GPS for emergency use - I never had to use it but it gave me great peace of mind to know if I really got into trouble in the mist I could always find out exactly where I was. Garmin and other GPS's can be purchased in my GPS store, click here. |
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| There are other websites by walkers who have completed the Pennine Way and I found them helpful when planning my own walk. Links to these are included on the Links Page together with other links which may be of interest. If you know of any others which I have missed , please tell me about them in the Guestbook or email me at thepennineway@btopenworld.com and I will add them to the site. | Visit my bookstore for books and maps on the Pennine Way as well as general walking books , books on The Cleveland Way, The Cotswold Way, the Coast to Coast path, the Lake District, the Cotswold Way, the Great Glen Way, Glyndwrs Way, Offas Dyke, Hadrians Wall Walk , the South Downs Way, the North Downs Way, Peddars Way, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, pub walks, the Ridgeway, the South West Coast path, the Speyside Way, the Thames Way, Wainwright books, the West Highland Way and treks and walks overseas. |
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