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| Leaving Greenhead I walked up onto Blenkinsopp Common. |
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| Snow during the night...temp dropped to -7c. |
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| Absolutely glorious morning. |
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| Blenkinsopp Common is notorious as one of the most boggy sections of the PW. |
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| Everything was frozen though, so the going was good. |
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| In these conditions the common became downright otherworldly...crystalline. It was a joy to walk. |
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| Burnstones viaduct. Here I decided to just use the South Tyne trail to get to Alston. |
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| Along the trail there wasn't much scope for wildcamping, so I put some extra miles in to reach Alston and another hotel. |
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| Generally after 10 miles my feet begin to ache...just from the weight of the pack. It was a relief when I eventually walked into Alston after dark. I stayed at the Cumberland Hotel where the hospitality was great. |
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| Next morning after my customary full-english I headed to Garrigill along the River South Tyne. |
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| The Corpse Road up to Greg's Hut was a hard slog with the weather blowing directly into my face. Snow drifts made walking a nightmare at times. |
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| Ski goggles and a buff....essential kit!! I'd have been fucked if I hadn't taken them. |
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| Greg's Hut bothy, just north of the summit of Cross Fell, built in memory of John Gregory who died in a climbing accident in the Alps in 1968. |
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| The bothy was great....plenty of fuel for the stove...which really pumped out some heat and warmed up the smaller back room in no time. With some candles for light the place looked positively cosy. |
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| Awesome stove. |
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| I kept all my kit close together in one area in case anymore folks turned up. No one did though...I had the whole place to myself! |
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| Whiteout conditions next morning. |
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| My trusty compass got me to the summit without any drama. |
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| Cross Fell trig point. |
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| The rock stack on the south eastern side of the summit marking where the path drops down. Weather looking like it wants to clear. |
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| Battling through the snow. Little Dun Fell ahead. |
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| The scene became breathtaking upon nearing the summit. You can't see it in the photo....but the wind blowing the snow uphill and the clouds rolling by with the sun behind.....phenomenal. You can see it in my video. |
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| The radar station on Great Dun Fell. What a vista! Reminds me of the planet Hoth in Empire Strikes Back. |
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| Walking in snow was a pain. A handful of times I sunk down to my waist. With the weight of the pack....crawling out was the only option bar taking the pack off. A man from the radar station had been monitoring my sluggish progress and took pity on me. He called me over for a cup of tea from his thermos and told me he liked my style. |
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| Looking back at Cross Fell. |
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| Next it was up and over Green Fell... |
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...before dropping down into Dufton, to find that there was no accommodation anywhere. Luckily a lady from the YHA gave me a lift into Appleby where I stayed at the upmarket Tufton Arms Hotel. It had been a savage day physically, and I was starting to wonder if I would complete the PW if there was going to more snow days like this.
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| After getting a lift back to Dufton from the hotel owner...I made the climb up to High Cup Nick. Tragically it was all in the clouds. I was gutted. The snow wasn't so bad though thankfully. |
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| Cauldron Snout and the River Tees. |
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| Cow Green Dam. |
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| Looking for a place to wildcamp on Lingy Holm. |
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| Managed to find a lil spot right by the river away from the cliffs. I thought the sound of the river might mess with my sleep, but it didn't bother me at all. |
