Day 51: Pennine Way - Horton in Ribblesdale to Hawes

Day 7 on the Pennine Way, and this was the most boring day so far, even up there in the top five of the whole walk. I mainly walked on either stone or tarmac roads the whole way today. I couldn’t wait to finish. 

• Date: 10 May 2024
• Start: Horton in Ribblesdale
• End: Hawes
• Miles: 15.0
• Total miles: 673.9
• Accommodation: YHA Hawes

If you’re wondering what the image above is, it’s the national trail symbol in England and Wales. People stick eyes on them sometimes, I saw a few on the South West Coast Path and Offa’s Dyke Path. Today, I saw many of them, probably to keep you entertained because of how boring this section is. 

I set off out of Horton up a track, with much the same surroundings as yesterday. 

I stopped for lunch at this bridge and bumped into a couple from Canada also hiking the Pennine Way. I’d heard about them from other walkers over the last few days so it was good to finally bump into them. 

It was very hot today, so a few breaks were necessary. It was also good to rest from the constant walking on tracks as well. 

I arrived in the village of Gayle, where they have a Wensleydale cheese factory, of Wallace and Gromit fame of course. I then arrived in Hawes, my stop for the night. 

I then set up the tent, admired the sunburn on my hands (I’d been wearing arm warmers all day as it was cold this morning), had a shower, did some laundry, got some fish and chips, and admired the view from the campsite at the YHA. 

I’m not really sure where I’ll end up tomorrow. It’s the weekend, which is pain for actually booking anywhere, but there’s a couple of options I’ve got.