Day 55: Pennine Way - Middleton-in-Teesdale to Dufton

Day 10 on the Pennine Way, and it was a soggy one. Perhaps it was good that it was raining, as it meant that the many waterfalls I saw were absolutely roaring. 

• Date: 14 May 2024
• Start: Middleton-in-Teesdale
• End: Dufton
• Miles: 20.4
• Total miles: 727.5
• Accommodation: Grandie Caravan Park

You know the saying about two buses coming at once when you’ve been waiting ages for one. Well I hadn’t met anyone else walking Land’s End to John O’Groats until I met two this morning. Both of them were at my campsite. One was taking a rest day and the other was doing the challenge with a bit of speed, by running where he was able to. 

I set off knowing it was going to rain at least at some point today. The first few miles were actually very pleasant, as I passed the Low Force and High Force waterfalls. 

The rain started coming down and the path got harder. For the first time since Cornwall, I needed to negotiate boulders on the path. Not an easy feat when it’s hammering it down. 

Apologies for the lack of quality in today’s photos, there was a lot of water on my camera lenses, because, you know, rain. 

I approached the Cauldron Snout waterfall, which rather worryingly, I needed to climb up the side of. The climb actually wasn’t that bad in the end. Of course it would have been a lot easier if it was dry. 

After ascending the waterfall, things got easy for the rest of the day, following a track for most of the way. 

I bumped into the first people I’d seen since setting off, Ruth and Alan (and their dog). They explained that just before I ascended the waterfall, one of another couple they were walking with slipped on the rocks and hurt her wrist. They had to get an ambulance out to take her away. 

I walked with them for a bit, then approached High Cup Nick, a glacial valley. 

It was then onto the long descent into camp, where it finally stopped raining. I bumped into another man coming the other way, who I’ve seen before. He’s doing the Pennine Way in a very peculiar way. To be honest, he was a peculiar man. He was parking his car, doing half a section, walking back, then going onto the next section. He’s basically going to do the Pennine Way twice. 

Everyone I’d met on today’s walk, including my fellow Land’s End to John O’Groats walker, were staying at the same campsite. We’re all cleaned up and headed to the village pub for the evening (after chilli con carne of course). 

Tomorrow, I climb to not only the highest point of the Pennine Way, but the highest point of my entire walk. As a reward, I have my own room in a hostel tomorrow night!