Pennine Way British Walking Guide: Planning, Places To Stay, Places To Eat; Includes 137 Large-Scale Walking Maps

by Carter, Keith; Scott, Chris

• ISBN13: 9781905864348
• ISBN10: 1905864345
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-22
• Publisher: Trail Blazer Pubns

Summary

Britain's best-known National Trail winds for 256 miles through three National Parks - the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland. This superb footpath showcases Britain's finest upland scenery, while touching the literary landscape of the Bronte family and Roman history along Hadrian's Wall. * 137 walking maps - 1:20,000 (3-1/8 inches to 1 mile) - the largest-scale maps available. *Unique mapping features - walking times, directions, tricky junctions, places to stay, places to eat, points of interest. * Includes day walks and short breaks. * Practical information for all budgets - what to see, where to stay, where to eat: pubs, B&Bs, hotels, campsites, hostels.

Author Biography

Keith Carter has over 40 years' experience of hiking Britain's long-distance paths with numerous magazine articles published on the subject.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION - PART 1: PLANNING YOUR WALK 1.1 About the Pennine Way, History - How difficult is the Pennine Way? (route finding) - How long do you need? 1.2 Practical information for the walker Accommodation (camping, bunkhouses and hostels, bed and breakfast) - Food and drink (drinking water, buying camping supplies, pubs) (Aside: Beer) - Money - Other services - Walking companies (accommodation booking, baggage carriers, self-guided holidays, group/guided walking tours) 1.3 Budgeting Camping - Bunkhouses and hostels - B&Bs - Extras (Aside: Information for foreign visitors) 1.4 When to go Seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) - Temperature - Rainfall - Daylight hours 1.5 Itineraries and Planning map - Which direction? - Village and town facilities - Suggested itineraries (Asides: Highlights of the Pennine Way - the best day and weekend walks; Walking with dogs) 1.6 What to take Keep it light - How to carry it - Footwear (boots, socks, extra footwear) - Clothes (Aside: Cheaper alternatives) - Toiletries - First aid kit (Aside - Mountain rescue) - General items - Sleeping bag - Camping gear - Travel insurance - Maps - Recommended reading (general guidebooks, flora and fauna field guides) 1.7 Getting to and from the Pennine Way (Aside: Getting to Britain) National transport (rail, coach, car, air) - Local transport - Public transport map 1.8 Further information Trail information - National Parks - Tourist information - Organisations for walkers PART 2: THE NATURE OF THE PENNINE WAY 2.1 Flora and fauna Mammals - Reptiles - Birds (streams, rivers and lakes; woodland; moor, bog and grazing; buildings and cliffs) - Wild flowers, grasses and other plants (Aside: How do you identify a flower?) (bogs and wet areas; woodlands; higher areas; lower areas) (Asides: Why are flowers the colour they are; Orchids; Wild flowers) - Trees, woods and forests (oak and broadleaf woodlands; coniferous woodland (Aside: The Forestry Commission) 2.2 Conserving the nature of the Pennines Government agencies and schemes - Voluntary organisations - Beyond conservation PART 3: MINIMUM IMPACT WALKING 3.1 Economic impact Buy local (Aside: Food for thought) - Support local businesses - Encourage local cultural traditions and skills (Aside: The state of the farmed countryside) 3.2 Environmental impact Use public transport whenever possible --Never leave litter (Aside- The lasting impact of litter) - Erosion - Respect all wildlife - Outdoor toiletry - Wild camping (Aside - Your ecological footprint) 3.3 Access Right to roam - Rights of way (Aside: National Parks and the honey pot issue) - Waymarking - The Country Code - Lambing - Grouse shooting PART 4: THE PENNINE WAY - EDALE TO KIRK YETHOLM Trail maps Scale and walking times - Up or down? - Accommodation - Other features Edale to Crowden (Asides: Kinder Scout; Trans-Pennine Trail) Crowden to Standedge Standedge to the Calder Valley (for Hebden Bridge)(Aside: Stoodley Pike) Calder Valley to Ponden (Aside: The Brontes of Haworth) Ponden to Thornton-in-Craven Thornton-in-Craven to Malham, Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale (Asides: Fountains Fell; Fell running) Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Hawes (Aside: Packhorse roads) Hawes to Keld(Aside: Field Barns) Keld to Tan Hill Tan Hill to Baldersdale(Asides: Hannah Hauxwell; Hannah's meadow) Baldersdale to Langdon Beck (Asides: High Force; Black Grouse) Langdon Beck to Dufton (Aside: High Cup) Dufton to Garrigill to Alston (Asides: Greg's Hut; Lead mining in the Pennines) Alston to Greenhead Greenhead to Once Brewed (Asides: Thirlwall Castle; Hadrian's Wall) Once Brewed to Bellingham Bellingham to Byrness Byrness to Kirk Yetholm (Aside: St Cuthbert's Way) APPENDIX: OUTDOOR SAFETY AND HEALTH Avoidance of hazards - Mountain safety - Weather forecasts - Water - Biting insects - Hypothermia - Dealing with an accident

Excerpts

Introduction

Of all the long-distance trails in the British Isles the Pennine Way, 256 miles (412km) along the backbone of northern England, is pre-eminent. The first to be opened as a National Trail, to some it’s the best; it’s certainly the best known and it’s arguably the hardest.

            Anyone who completes the Pennine Way will refute the suggestion that it was easy. It isn’t. It requires fitness, determination, good humor and adaptability because your walk won’t go smoothly all the time. There will be days when nothing seems to go right and you wish you’d never got out of bed; then again, there will be others when you feel invincible, when you can walk all day and arrive at your next stop, still with a spring in your step – when to be alive is ‘very heaven’.

            The Way takes you through most of the different habitats of flora and fauna in this country and you’ll see a wonderfully varied and wide range of plant and animal life. You’ll start with a testing trudge over the peat moors of the Peak District and continue through the South Pennines past such milestones as Stoodley Pike and Calder Vale where a short detour to Hebden Bridge is recommended. You are into Brontë country and will pass Top Withens, said to be theWutheringHeightsof Emily’s great novel. The parsonage where the family lived in nearby Haworth is well worth visiting……

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…..      Some who have walked the Pennine Way say it has changed their lives. It certainly gives everyone a chance to prove to themselves what they are capable of: ‘I never thought I could do it’, they say yet the Way has shown them there’s nothing you can’t do once you set your mind to it. Spiritual experience or great fun, hard work or the walk of a lifetime, maybe a combination of all four, the Pennine Way stands supreme.