At Keld I stayed in a converted youth hostel. It's most notable feature is a cavernous drying room, heated by a power plant resembling a small nuclear reactor purloined during the break up of the Soviet Union. The proprietor relieved me of my damp boots and they joined several pairs already enjoying a sauna. I took the opportunity to do some laundry; by the time I went bed it was all thoroughly dessicated. In the morning, my boots were properly dry for the first time in a week and I dutifully applied a coat of water repellent. I'm old-fashioned so I use dubbin, an unpleasant substance rather like earwax, but very effective. When I needed a new supply recently, the assistant in the outdoor shop said sniffily that it was only appropriate for football boots and that I should try a sports shop.
Keld marks the intersection of the PW and the Coast to Coast and the proprietor confirmed my suspicion that the latter is much the more popular route. Unlike my other overnight stops so far, Keld was almost full, although I was the only afficionado of the PW as everybody else was either on the Coast to Coast or planning circular jaunts taking in its highlights. The number of walkers now attempting the PW annually is around 4,000, significantly fewer than the 24,000 it used to attract probably due to the profusion of shorter, more interesting and more accessible long distance routes both in the UK and overseas. During a group walking holiday in Iceland last year, my companions were extolling the virtues of trails in places as diverse as Corsica and Patagonia. The Coast to Coast also got a good press, but curiously no one mentioned the PW.
Breakfast was served from 7.30 and I decided to make an early start as rain was forecast later. After Tan Hill, a broad plain opened up which looked like easy walking. Closer inspection revealed that it was marshland and I half-expected to see Magwitch loom up from the quagmire. The going was difficult and slow, requiring frequent detours to skirt the worst of the bog and recover the vestigial path. After enduring that for a couple of hours I felt an uncharacteristic wave of fatigue. From Trough Heads Farm there is a choice of routes. The original shorter one involving a climb or a longer, flatter alternative via Bowes which was introduced to increase the accommodation options along the PW. I was nervous about selecting the original route as it crosses a natural feature called God's Bridge and as a lifelong atheist I suspected that He might take the opportunity to prove His existence by casting me into the river. Eventually laziness triumphed over caution and I decided to take my chances with the wrath of the Almighty. God's Bridge had been recommended as a must-see by a family I'd met, which was another incentive for selecting that option, but when I arrived it seemed quite unremarkable, not even worthy of a photograph.
The sun came out later, making a mockery of the weather forecast. It's said that if you want to predict tomorrow's weather simply assume it will be the same as today's and since the UK weather generally follows three day cycles you'll be correct 66% of the time, which is almost as good as the professional forecasters who average 75%. In the afternoon, I met a couple of day walkers who said they'd come from Durham. Thinking that was a long way to drive for a day out, I was impressed and only subsequently realised that Durham is actually less than 30 miles away and that it was me who had travelled a long way over the last 10 days. In fact, I have today passed the halfway point on the PW, which would certainly justify a celebration drink if only there were a pub nearby.
© David Thompson 2012
Keld marks the intersection of the PW and the Coast to Coast and the proprietor confirmed my suspicion that the latter is much the more popular route. Unlike my other overnight stops so far, Keld was almost full, although I was the only afficionado of the PW as everybody else was either on the Coast to Coast or planning circular jaunts taking in its highlights. The number of walkers now attempting the PW annually is around 4,000, significantly fewer than the 24,000 it used to attract probably due to the profusion of shorter, more interesting and more accessible long distance routes both in the UK and overseas. During a group walking holiday in Iceland last year, my companions were extolling the virtues of trails in places as diverse as Corsica and Patagonia. The Coast to Coast also got a good press, but curiously no one mentioned the PW.
Breakfast was served from 7.30 and I decided to make an early start as rain was forecast later. After Tan Hill, a broad plain opened up which looked like easy walking. Closer inspection revealed that it was marshland and I half-expected to see Magwitch loom up from the quagmire. The going was difficult and slow, requiring frequent detours to skirt the worst of the bog and recover the vestigial path. After enduring that for a couple of hours I felt an uncharacteristic wave of fatigue. From Trough Heads Farm there is a choice of routes. The original shorter one involving a climb or a longer, flatter alternative via Bowes which was introduced to increase the accommodation options along the PW. I was nervous about selecting the original route as it crosses a natural feature called God's Bridge and as a lifelong atheist I suspected that He might take the opportunity to prove His existence by casting me into the river. Eventually laziness triumphed over caution and I decided to take my chances with the wrath of the Almighty. God's Bridge had been recommended as a must-see by a family I'd met, which was another incentive for selecting that option, but when I arrived it seemed quite unremarkable, not even worthy of a photograph.
The sun came out later, making a mockery of the weather forecast. It's said that if you want to predict tomorrow's weather simply assume it will be the same as today's and since the UK weather generally follows three day cycles you'll be correct 66% of the time, which is almost as good as the professional forecasters who average 75%. In the afternoon, I met a couple of day walkers who said they'd come from Durham. Thinking that was a long way to drive for a day out, I was impressed and only subsequently realised that Durham is actually less than 30 miles away and that it was me who had travelled a long way over the last 10 days. In fact, I have today passed the halfway point on the PW, which would certainly justify a celebration drink if only there were a pub nearby.
© David Thompson 2012
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