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Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 9:27 pm
by Christo1979

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With a free day at our disposal, it was off to Nenthead for a bit more North Pennine action. We planned to walk The Dodd, Killhope Law and Middlehope Moor, but AS EVER the mist was thick, the weather was unpredictable, and the ground was rough, so we didn't hold out much hope for making the third of those Hewitts. We parked at Killhope Cross which, at a height of 623m, meant there wasn't much climbing to be done today.

Because of the poor visibility, we decided to follow the lines of fences wherever possible, and so of we plodded up over Black Hill and then on to The Dodd. No views, nothing to write home about, but beautiful in an otherworldly way. On the way up, we crossed the rather-better waymarked Isaac's Tea Trail, and reminisced about our last walk up in these parts just a few weeks ago, when the visibility was altogether better.

ImageBoggy Proposition by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

ImageAscending The Dodd by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

ImageIsaac's Tea Trail by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

After exploring the summit of The Dodd we had to establish our bearings, and could see very little. Another victory for map and compass over JR's sturdy but sluggish phone/app combo saw us heading down into a beautiful valley and the approach to Sunnyside, here we joined the road for a while before tackling our second Hewitt.

ImagePeat Hag by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

ImageDescending towards Sunnyside by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

We went for the direct approach up to Killhope Law, hiking through deep heather and even deeper bogs, until we reached the misty and eery summit with its trigpoint, currick, fallen tree and unexpected lake. I'm finding the North Pennines make for tough walking, but there's something incredibly beautiful and serene about the summits, and we always have them to ourselves.

ImageKillhope Law by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

ImageSurprise body of water on Killhope Law by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

We decided not to push onto Middlehope Moor, and made a fairly direct descent from Killhope Law to Killhope. Some pretty treacherous bits of ground swallowed JR up on a few occasions, and we decided this was not somewhere we'd like to be after dark, head torches or not. Stopping to admire the views, I realised my axe was overkill (but hey, the book said there's snow up here almost six months of the year!) but the winter layers were greatly appreciated.

ImageDescending towards Killhope by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

ImageAxe was overkill, winter layers were not by Christopher Watson, on Flickr

From Killhope, we simply walked the road back up to Killhope Cross, just in time for the light fading and the weather taking another turn. We drove to Stanhope and settled in one of the pubs for a well-earned pint.

Re: Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:37 pm
by Sgurr
One of the funniest books about The Pennine Way, is called "One Man and his Bog"..you can see why from your photos.One of the ones I liked best was"Walking Home" by Simon Armitage where he funds his walk by reading poetry at each night's stop. Probably only possible if you are as well known as he is.

Re: Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 1:25 pm
by jmarkb
Christo1979 wrote: we always have them to ourselves.


Looking at those photos, I can't imagine why! :wink: I did wonder if the ice axe was for extracting yourself from particularly deep peat hags. Reminded me of doing Black Hill in the Peak District in the days before the paving slab path - definitely a once-only experience!

Re: Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 11:57 pm
by Christo1979
Sgurr wrote:One of the funniest books about The Pennine Way, is called "One Man and his Bog"..you can see why from your photos.One of the ones I liked best was"Walking Home" by Simon Armitage where he funds his walk by reading poetry at each night's stop. Probably only possible if you are as well known as he is.


I could perhaps find a piano and give a Liszt recital at each stop, but I suspect it wouldn’t go down quite as well.

Re: Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 11:59 pm
by Christo1979
jmarkb wrote:
Christo1979 wrote: we always have them to ourselves.


Looking at those photos, I can't imagine why! :wink: I did wonder if the ice axe was for extracting yourself from particularly deep peat hags. Reminded me of doing Black Hill in the Peak District in the days before the paving slab path - definitely a once-only experience!



Ha ha, I see your point. “Never a-bloody-gain” was my mate’s only comment as we hacked our way up the moor.

Re: Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 11:48 am
by treehugger
Talk about hardcore bogging! I had all on to work out where this was...........well had to zoom out on the map, anyway. :crazy:

Re: Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 1:43 pm
by Christo1979
treehugger wrote:Talk about hardcore bogging! I had all on to work out where this was...........well had to zoom out on the map, anyway. :crazy:



Ha ha, I admit I'm becoming quite the bog-walker :lol: I look at photos from many other people's walks with envy, because as soon as my boots go on I seem to attract clag and bog!

Re: Another Boggy Pennine Adventure

PostPosted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:40 pm
by trailmasher
Commiserations on both missing out on Middlehope and the crap weather conditions :( :? I did the round in late winter with perfect weather and half decent ground conditions due to stiff ground 'cause it was cold. Well done on grabbing another two Hewitt's and producing a good report :clap: :clap: