The English Pennine Way - Day 10 & 11 — Long Walks, Organics & African Stuff

Day 10 - Keld to Baldersdale

From Keld YHA, I crossed the River Swale and headed north once again. From here was a gentle ascent towards the Tan Hill, 6.5 km away, across a vast area of flat moorland. Looking back, I had a lovely view of the wooded valley around Keld.

I had set off in good spirits, but as I neared Tan Hill, it began to rain very heavily, so quickly donned my waterproofs. They worked well, but my clothes were already wet with sweat and with the cold rain, and in the clammy mist that began to fall I soon became chilled. I walked in the small stream that the path had become, and squelched my way onward.

On top of Tan Hill is a pub, aptly named the “Tan Hill Inn.” It stands at 528 m above sea level and is the highest pub in England. Probably the remotest too. Despite being June, and meant to be summer, there was a cheery log fire burning when I entered. I quickly downed two pints of Theakston’s bitter, which had a fantastic effect on my mood and, apparently, the weather too, as the rain stopped and the sun came out! So I had another pint to hopefully make the sun stay out. There were lots of old black and white photographs on the walls, and one struck my attention, the pub in mid-winter, with 10 cm of ice on the inside of the windows (4 inches in old money)!

**The Tan Hill pub on Sleightholme Moors - © Duncan Smith**

It was easy walking from here, with no steep hills of any note. Peat, heather and fell were all around me. Sleightholme Moor came into view. A desolate place, and after the rain, the paths had become sodden and brown, like miso soup. It was flat, straight walking, and the Tan Hill Inn could be seen behind me during most of the most of 8 km walk to the farmhouses at Sleightholme.

Arriving at Trough Heads I headed left on the main PW route. An alternative way turns right here, when conditions are adverse, and leads to Bowes.

I came to “God’s Bridge” a natural rock bridge going over the River Greta. Quickly across the A66 road and onto Bowes Moor, and lots more heather. It isn’t well-marked for quite a while until a stone wall is reached over Deepdale Beck.

Soon Baldersdale Reservoir came in sight, and my night’s stop at the YHA nearby, a self-catering hostel. It was a very welcome sight. I could still see the Tan Hill Inn, enticing me in the distance.

Walked 24 km in 6 hours

Day 11 – Baldersdale to Langdon Beck

After a restful sleep and a good breakfast, Langdon Beck beckoned me onward. This section was very different from the previous days walking. Instead of moorland and wilderness, it was much more pleasant.

The route became quite tricky as it crisscrossed lots of little decades-old wildflower meadows. They were covered in a wide range of flowers and grasses brightly-strewn in a glorious melee. Yellow-rattle, buttercups, sorrel, tufted vetch, orchids, sweet vernal grass, cocksfoot and many others. I’d heard of these beautiful meadows before but never actually seen them, a delight to the eye.

Coming over Harter Fell, Teesdale came into view. It wasn’t such a dramatic “BANG” to the senses that Wensleydale or Swaledale was, but beautiful none-the-less. Little fields surrounded by stone walls, many trees and the magnificent River Tees flowing through it. I popped into Middleton-in-Teesdale, a pretty little village, to have some food and stock up on a few supplies.

**River Tees in Yorkshire. Foxgloves growing along the banks - © Duncan Smith**

Following the south bank of the Tees, sometimes hugging the river bank and sometimes meandering away from it. Through flower-strewn meadows, some of them not commonly found, and a heady smell of red clover filled the air. To my delight, a bordering carpet of wildflowers was strewn along the river banks, including many orchids, which I love; early-purple; fragrant; twayblade and northern marsh, mixed among many other picturesque flowers.

**Orchid - Marsh (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) - © Duncan Smith**

After recent rain, the river, stained brown with peat, was running well. It surged over flat, gritstone slabs of rock, and poured heavily over Low Force waterfall. The river bed was broad here, where islands and platforms had been formed by spectacular boulders, including some column-like. Many plants were growing on top of and among them. All seemed to be trying to hold back the river; however, the water had other ideas, forcing itself between and over them in a heavy tumble.

**Low Force waterfall on the River Tees. Middleton-in-Teesdale - © Duncan Smith**

Through the pine trees, I heard a mighty, thundering roar, and as I walked, it got louder and louder. Eventually I saw the source of this powerful sound, High Force, a large waterfall. The river seemed to take on dramatic urgency here. It plummeted 21 metres in a fierce rage down to the river below, in a broil of fury and foam. Spray from it curled upwards, tumbling gently away by the wind to and settle slowly on neighbouring trees and leaves.

**High Force waterfall on the River Tees, Yorkshire. Near Middleton-in-Teesdale - © Duncan Smith**

I liked this section of the Pennine Way and took my time to walk through it. As Alfred Wainwright, the walker and travel-writer once wrote “Always tarry long in the presence of beauty, as so much in life is barren” He was right. Many people sat nearby to watch in awe at the power and grandeur of these falls.

Passing High Force to its left, I walked through many juniper bushes and continued my journey to Landon Beck YHA.

**Force Garth Quarry, top left, blotting the beautiful landscape along the River Tees. © Duncan Smith**

Not far from High Force I stumbled across a really ugly, ugly blot on an otherwise very beautiful part of the countryside. That of the Force Garth Quarry, sitting right on the banks of the River Tees, next to the Pennine Way. Hurrying passed, I came to a junction in the river where Langdon Beck joined it, beneath Haugh Hill. Crossing Crankley Bridge I headed a short distance along the beck to the hostel. It was a lovely stone building but very cold, as was its’ miserable warden. He was stubbornly reluctant to allow us a fire; however, he relented when all of us insisted, very firmly.

Walked 24 km in 9 hours

Back to Days 8 and 9 - https://duncangoeswalking.squarespace.com/blog-pages/the-english-pennine-way-days-8-and-9

Onwards to Days 12 and 13 - https://duncangoeswalking.squarespace.com/blog-pages/the-english-pennine-way-days-12-to-13