Day 10 Middleton in Teesdale to Dufton. Scenery in abundance.

Today I headed West or North West rather than North. The route follows the River Tees and then Maize Beck and onto Dufton. The route starts in County Durham and ends in Cumbria. The guidebook describes today as “Pennine Way Gold” because of the number of scenic views it has to offer; there is Low Force, High Force, Cauldron Snout and High Cup. 

Disappointingly, because of the direction I have travelled today I am now further away from the end of the PW at Kirk Yetholm than when I started out from Middleton 20 odd miles ago.

I got an early start after our rest day yesterday and left camp at 8:00am to arrive at the bridge by the first of three waterfalls, Low Force just after 10:00. Last time I was here, last October, it was busy with walkers of all ages; today I was alone; I guess it was earlier in the day today. The River Tees originates on Cross Fell, hopefully draining the bog that it promises to be as I am going there tomorrow, and flows for 85 miles into the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.  The bridge at Low Force is thought to be the earliest suspension bridge in Britain and the current version dates to 1830. There is an ominous sign above its entrance saying that only one person at a time is allowed and that groups or people swinging it deliberately do so at their own risk. The good news is that I didn’t have to cross it at all, just past it.

Low Force on The River Tees

High Force on The River Tees

The Juniper was in full berry but they are a sickly bunch at this spot. They are dying through an infection with the fungus Phytophthora austrocedri and walkers are asked to scrub their boots and spray with disinfectant when leaving the area. I was glad of the free boot scrub.

 

Juniper Berries

From High Force to Cauldron Snout the route meanders along the River valley, often crossing boulder fields right next to the water’s edge. It felt remote up here and it was the closest landscape I have seen to walking in Canada; I felt sure I would see a bear around the next corner catching Salmon in the river; maybe I should shout “Yo. Bear” to warn them of my presence.

 

By the time I got to Cauldron Snout I was convinced that I had the route to myself but as I climbed up beside the Snout I met a couple taking pictures on their phones. She was in trainers and carried nothing but her handbag and he had boots and what appeared to be an empty rucksack. She appeared to be there under sufferance. I have no idea where they had come from; I was 12 miles into my day at this point. More to the point perhaps where were they were going; presumably back in the direction I had come from?

Cauldron Snout is a narrow cleft in the rock which the water is forced between. It flows out of Cow Green Dam. The Dam is interesting because Wainwright describes the protests in his time in 1966 against the building of the dam, citing scientific research and conservation as reasons not to build it along with concerns over the flow of the Tees being controlled. Clearly the dam project went ahead.

Cauldron Snout

There then followed a long and tedious section of gravel road alongside the MOD Firing Range with its usual “Danger Military Firing Range Keep Out” signs and a red flag flying on the hill. I heard no shooting but I did meet another PW walker going North who I had not met before. He explained that he was a bit lost and had just walked out of the firing range! It turned out that he had no map but was instead relying on the way-markers and his GPS. Those way markers have been almost completely absent today. He admitted that whilst he had a GPS he did not know how to work it properly. So, whilst he will never actually be lost because his GPS will always tell him where he is, he does not know where to go in the absence of a map and any way makers, interesting. 

 

Talking of Durham and its attitude to way markers, it seems they are not that fussed about footpath maintenance either. The best I have seen from them is to chuck a couple of planks over the boggy bits. No flagstones here.

Durham Council footpath management, no expense spared here.

Having seen the Tees waterfalls before I was really looking forward to seeing High Cup. This is a glaciated U shaped valley almost 700 feet deep and it just appears in front of you as you approach along the PW. It is huge, I am not sure that photographs do it justice. It looks like a meteorite has hit the earth and gouged out a huge cleft beneath right in front of you.

 

High Cup, a glaciated valley

We are now camped in a rather utilitarian, and mainly static caravan inhabited, camp site in Dufton.  Its friendly enough and the owner / manager has kindly let us hang our washing in the boiler room.

 

Tomorrow I head up the notorious Cross Fell; the highest point on the PW. It has a reputation but more on that tomorrow, after I have walked it.

 

I have noticed these hand forged gate stays. I wonder how old they are. I have also seen them fitted to modern metal gates where they are clearly much older than the gate.

Whilst I headed West, Catherine cycled 34 miles East to Hamsterley Forest for coffee and cake courtesy of the Forest Commission. Victoria Sandwich today and very good by all accounts. Though mainly it seems that this is a mountain bikers’ paradise, the road cycling is pretty awesome too.

Art on The Pennine Way. The caption under the sheep reads " A wonderful place to be. A walker"

Upper Teesdale.

 AW