Day 8/20 The Pennine Way 429km - Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Hawes - 4 Aug 2009

22.1km, 560m ascent, took 5.5 hours (no rest)

It was quite uncomfortable sleeping in the bunkhouse last night: I didn't have a sleeping bag; only a mattress; no pillow; no duvet. But managed to get a bit of sleep still. :)

Today's walk involved a single long ascent up onto Dodd Fell to end with a relatively sudden drop down into Upper Wensleydale and the familiar town of Hawes (again!). Much of the paths were wall-bound stony tracks, old packhorse trails used for centuries as thoroughfares over the wild limestone moors. The weather started off cloudy, then the wind built up and on came the pattering of raindrops. Fog was another problem today, minimising much of the visibility which was a great pity. Nevertheless, such cloudy weather was best for walking, at least in my opinion. :P


From the town of Horton, the Way passed gurgling potholes and topped out on Jackdaw Hill, following a prominent 'green road' passing more potholes and limestone outcrops to reach the delightful Ling Gill ravine where the beck had carved a deep gash, creating a unique reserve for trees.















After crossing Ling Gill Bridge, it was more uphill to the high crossroads known as Cam End. It was a pity that the view of Three Peaks was not clearly seen as they were covered by the thick fog which made me slightly nervous (being surrounded by the 'unseen'). Next, the never-ending West Cam Road led me along the shoulder of Dodd Fell, high above the mysterious valley of Snaizeholme - beautiful!




















When approaching Hawes - a welcoming busy town, I saw the lady from Switzerland and we chatted till we reached Hawes. We had lunch at a cafe together. How nice to get to know someone like that! She even gave me her contact details, if I ever want to visit Switzerland. We bid each other gooodbye before she moved on to the next village. Wouldn't have the chance to see her any more, and I wished her best of luck for her walk all the way to Edinburgh. :)


At Hawes, I bought another new pair of good walking socks. Checked into YHA and shared the room with 2 other cyclists. One was from Australia, working in London, and we chatted as though we had known each other long ago. Reason: Both of us are Geography crazes! (Our eyes are always glued on to MAPS!) Also came to know about a group of naval cadets who was conquering the Pennine Way in 7 days! OMG! That's totally SIAO! But they had a suppport team helping them with preparation of meals, ...