Day 49: Pennine Way - Cowling to Malham

Day 5 on the Pennine Way, and it’s still tough. Today was meant to be a bit of an easier day but I’ve finished the day absolutely drained. 

• Date: 8 May 2024
• Start: Cowling
• End: Malham
• Miles: 18.0
• Total miles: 643.5
• Accommodation: Riverside Campsite Malham

It was rather cold in the summer house last night, but I put the provided kettle to good use this morning. I packed up and climbed a hill out of Cowling. It was very murky this morning and took a while to clear up. 

I popped down into a village before another climb, where I met some other walkers doing the Pennine Way in stages. They were very friendly and we walked and chatted for several miles. 

I dropped down to a canal on the way into Gargrave, a fairly sizeable town, where I was able to restock in the local Co Op. I needed supplies for the next two days as there are no shops. 

I mainly walked alongside a river for the rest of the day, a welcome break from all of the hills. I even bumped into my old mates.

I descended on the village of Malham, fairly pretty and really busy for reasons I don’t understand. 

I headed to camp and put the tent up, had a shower, and used the campsites cooking area to make my new specialty, chilli con carne. 

There’s no phone signal in Malham, so I had to walk to the pub just so I could write this blog post. What an inconvenience. 

The Pennine Way is hard, I’ve had five days of 18 mile days now with lots of climbs. Tomorrow is a slightly less 15 miles, but I am climbing the second highest mountain in Yorkshire. I am in the Yorkshire Dales now though.