Rites of Passage on Penyghent

There will now be another one of those brief gaps in blogposts during which me and Dawn will have a bit of a wander around the edges of Shropshire and Radnorshire (aka Powys). I'm all packed, I have a new pocket db radio thingy, some train tickets and 75cl of cheap scotch – all of which means I’m ready.
In the meantime, instead of the usual music video, hear this tale of another Knipe passing his rite of passage on that fine but small Yorkshire mountain, Penyghent.

Some time back in the mid 1950’s my Uncle Eric who was a postman in Earby, took my brother to Penyghent and didn’t take me. I was miffed two knickers about this at the time and my own first ascent didn’t take place till Easter 1964 as part of an Ermysted’s Grammar School (for Boys) Easter holiday at Helwith Bridge. This was a right poor do, as my rucksack somehow rolled down the hill, spilling out all the contents and making me late for the “lunch” we had on the summit. My only surviving meal was a dented tin of spaghetti in tomato sauce and, beiung unable to cook it on the scrappy remains of a pal’s last bit of gutterring hexamine, I chucked the whole lot over the wall and decorated a sheep. I got into trouble for this.

So, it’s maybe a surprise, that I invented this rite of passage for all Knipe children at around the age of six or seven. The rite involves an ascent of Penyghent from Dale Head (the shortest way up), the scoffing of unsuitable and unhealthy food, dangerous scrambling on rough and gritty boulders and more scoff in the Penyghent Cafe afterwards.

I have three grandchildren staying at knipetowers this week. One went to Hadrian’s Wall where ancient drains were investigated and sword fights were had. Another went to the University Hospital of North Durham for a consultation and procedure under general anaesthetic to repair the result of a collision with a knipetowers radiator, and a third, the eldest, know as “Ben”  was armed with a rucksack (Aunty Becky’s), some orange juice, a warm jumper and some unsuitable food including crisps and chocolate.

The rite was carried out successfully. It was a nice day. Rocks were scrambled.  We ate most of our lunch by the stile at the bottom after marching all of three –quarters of a mile.  Advice was given on the crags that were too steep. Rocks were collected and discarded for being much too big.  We had a good time. The dawg came too. He likes to make sure that no food litter is left in the grass. He’s very tidy like that.  One down, two to go.
I should add that all of my own three children have climbed Penyghent like this.  Some have been up more than once. Its likely that a further development in the future might well involve Striding Edge.

Anyway, I’m off to Wales.
Try to amuse yourselves somehow. Quietly. And no nipping each other. I SAID QUIETLY! You do like peas, you’ve eaten peas before….   Now who needs the toilet? No, the cat doesn’t like being stroked like that, that’s why he’s scratched you….. Where’s Tommy?

Sorry…. I’m in the zone….

Some Donated Bolts Law Pictures

I opened three emails this morning – two from Graeme and one from Neville who must have read the pieblog and taken sympathy at my incompetent efforts at photography and camera management. And they sent me some pictures.

 

See – I wasn’t imagining that people were following me….

Thanks to Graeme and Neville – Quite good pictures, actually!

Massive Group of Hikers Seen on Bolts Law

Another of the Durham County Council walks wot I’ve lead was today – a walk entitled “Hunwick Hobble” a ten mile long and hard (their definition, not mine) walk from Baybridge to Bolt’s Law. I did the reccy for this a few days ago along with Bruno who knew the way and was legal since all of the walk is on public rights of way or roads.

The actual walk happened today (I mentioned this above by the way) and counting everybody including me and three stewards – Dave, Neville and Sheila – there were forty six of us.  Forty seven souls if you count the small dog that came too.

There are no photographs of the guided walk group due to the fact that I forgot to put the memory card in the camera and the USB port on it is broken , so there’s no way of getting any of the three pictures of the long snake of walkers that followed me around the North Durham moors. I’ve deleted the pics now in a moment of petulance and low blood sugar, so they’re gone.

It was a good walk, though, on a beautiful summer day with huge views from the Cheviot to the North Yorks Moors.

It was hot, too, when me and superdawg did the reccy. The keepers were out and busy again, preparing for August 13th (12th is a Sunday, so there’ll be no shooting on that day) and haymakers were turning hay in the meadows, so there was the sweet perfume of Sweet Vernal Grass.

The route wanders up boggily through Deborah Wood and through the pastures to Townfield – all part of my adopt-a-path route – but then it goes through the Derwent Mine and over rough moor to Packletts Gate and, after a bit of a road walk, by the bridleway to Bolts Law. It was here that today’s party lunched and here, on the reccy, that me and Bruno snoozed for ninety minutes in the warm breeze.

Then, by devious paths to the smelting flue chimney and over the moor on tracks and bridleways to Blanchland Bridge and back to the start through the woods.

I think most people enjoyed the walk in the specially-arranged warm sunshine although the odd steep climb and the rough moor was a bit of a challenge for some of the walkers, but with 46 people, there’s inevitably going to be a range in people’s form and fitness. We’ll see what the feedback says.

Here’s a map. It’s a good walk. Do it!

Pennine Way Middleton in Teesdale to Forest in Teesdale

The thing about Durham County Council walks is that you do them twice within the week. The reccy for this walk has already been mentioned in relation to an unwarranted and, frankly, mindless assault on my delicate parts by a howling (quietly) mob of ants.

On Sunday, it was time to do the actual walk, which was exactly the same as the reccy except that in certain respects it was different..er.if you catch my..er…

Anyway – the main differences were that there were other people – six others, to be precise , including the stewards Sheila and Ian , and it was a bit thundery.

Six people including two stewards is not a great number. I put this down to a games event that’s going on in That London at the moment and a dire weather forecast which mentioned prolonged torrential rain, flash flooding, thunder and lightening, a plague of locusts and a viking raid involving rape, pillage and burning (in that strict order) and a bloke with one eye who looks quite a lot like Kirk Douglas. Quite a lot of  this didn’t happen and there was no mention of the midgies at High Force which foreshortened the lunch break to about ten minutes.

The route, briefly, goes up the back road out of Middleton and down to the river through some meadows and crosses the Tees at the lower bridge near Newbiggin. It then follows the Pennine Way past Wynch Bridge, The Stone Sheep, Low Force, The Juniper woodland, High Force and Cronkley and then by back lanes back to Newbiggin/Bowlees from where it crosses the Tees again and follows the PW back to Middleton. Its just a bit less than fifteen miles.

 

The reccy was warm and sunny and the actual walk was sweaty and heavy and the sky rumbled and grumbled darkly and there was a bit of rain, but not much.

Its a nice walk.

You should do it.

Here’s some maps.

 

Weardale - Cowshill to Stanhope by the Riverside

This was another one of this last week’s walks – on Saturday, I think – it all becomes a bit of a haze….

And it was a Durham County Council guided walk lead by Steve Shippen. There’d been an appeal for stewards for this one, so I offered and, in the end there were three stewards and five walkers. Its the first time I’ve been a steward for a while. Its nice to do it now and then. Steve had been my steward on the Bowes to Tan Hill walk and so it was nice to repay the favour. Three stewards may have been overstaffing, however…! (But we’re all volunteers, so don’t go complaining about the cost on your rates!)

We caught the Weardale bus from Stanhope to Cowshill and walked the twelve or so miles back to Stanhope by an easy, almost downhill route using paths next to or close to the river and a couple of miles road walking where there’s an inconvenient gap in the rights of way.. You could extend the walk nicely to Wolsingham if you wanted…. and there are plentiful opportunities for sitting in pubs and tea rooms on the way for those who develop a raging thirst or a pang for a scone.

Five walkers is a low number and those games in That London may well be to blame for this, with the added hazard of a weather forecast that mentioned thunder and lightening and heavy showers – none of which happened to us, although we did hear a bit of rumbling at the end of the walk. This may have been my alimentary system, however.

But the day was a warm, summer one, ideal for wandering by riversides and ambling through cut meadows and sweetly scented glades.

And it makes a nice change to do a linear route as opposed to the usual ever decreasings.

More walkies followed on the Sunday……….

Here’s a map – note the general downhilliness of the profile. Fitness enthusiasts may consider doing the walk in the other direction. The map’s a bit fuzzy, unfortunately…