Dufton to Alston about15 miles
The
weather showed a change for the worse today, there was much more cloud
out, rain was in the air, We called at the store for provisions in Dufton
before we left as the plan was to camp wild as soon as we found a suitable
place after negotiating Cross fell,
While making steady progress upward toward the point where the route met e road to the Radar Station on Great Dunn Fell we were passed by the young chap that we had seen the previous day while having our lunch.
This
part of the route entails about eight miles of steady uphill walking steep
in places, so we were glad to take advantage of the Radar Station road
when we reached it. The weather was deteriorating all the time and on we
had to don waterproofs, gloves etc. As we reached about 2500 ft were into
cloud and the wind was rising steadily, we were content to put our heads
down and plod on using the tarmac as our guide. When the road ended at The
Civil Aviation Authority radar beacon visibility was down to out 30 ft. We
leant on the perimeter fence and considered the situation. ahead lay two
further tops to cross involving a climb of a further 200 ft, then a drop
of 200ft followed by a climb of 400ft to 2930ft on Cross Fell. looked a
tough task with the wind now gale force and getting worse but decided to
press ahead.
Suddenly the cloud cleared for a few seconds and right before us, about ft away was the huge radar dome that is a landmark for miles around. within seconds the cloud whipped back into place as we set off across the radar site. On leaving the site any trace of a track was absent so we both set a compass and headed down onto the col.
Out of nowhere a figure appeared, the young chap that we knew was ahead somewhere, He informed us that he had been as far a Little Dunn Fell (the next top) Conditions were impossible. . . . Visibility down to 5 yards and the wind so strong it was almost impossible to stand. He had turned back as conditions on Cross Fell were sure to be even worse. He vanished once more to the mist.
It did not take us long to decide that he was right. Reluctantly we traced our steps and headed back across the radar station, we realised as we went that we were taking a different route between the buildings from the one taken a few minutes before, This emphasised how difficult route finding in these conditions was proving to be.
At
the Bottom of the radar road lies the hamlet of Knock, From here we were
able to arrange transport to the Mountain town of Alston, where we booked
a room a the Angel Inn. It had poured down heavily most of the day,
putting tents up in the rain did not seem a good idea, we succumbed to the
soft life, . . . . Very nice it was too, Later we saw some of our earlier
acquaintances in the bar, they had been lucky. Starting earlier than we
had just cleared the tops as the weather broke and so were able to
continue on to Alston.
We now had a problem.... Several miles of our route had a break in it. it was the only time on the walk that we had to go back later and fill in a gap.
We went several weeks later and walked the 14 miles from Langdon Beck to Garrigill and on a further 4 miles into Alston.
From
Sour Hill bridge (Sour Hill farm) a track follows the beck north for a
while and reaches the road near the Langdon Beck hotel. We followed this
route with the aim of filling in the part of the summers Pennine journey
that we had to miss out due to the weather. Today's walk would involve
quite a bit of road walking, but in October the B6277 is a quiet road.
Today
the weather was kind to us, although it was quite windy the sun shone as
long as we kept moving it was quite warm. A couple of miles beyond Langdon
Beck we took a lane Leading through a string of isolated homesteads
of Harwood, all looking splendid in their white paint. Every building in
upper Teesdale seems to be white, even dilapidated old barns sport a
recent coat of whitewash. It makes a fine picture on a sunny day as today
As we dropped towards the first farm we were confronted with a large flock
of sheep being driven up the road towards us . We stood in a gateway for a
while to let them pass. Throughout the day we could see shepherds working
their flock with the help of their dogs. As winter is coming on perhaps
they are taking them off the high fells. Or maybe it is tim
Shortly
after we left the last of the farms we found ourselves passing through the
site of some long forgotten industrial activity, probably mining of some
sort but impossible for us to tell. By now the lane had petered out into a
rough track running close alongside the delightful Harwood
beck. It danced and flashed in the morning sun as it tumbled its way to
join the Tees further down the valley. This was the
ideal place for lunch, we were out of the wind, and quite cosy among the
rocks on the riverbank.
From
Harwood Beck the track climbed and joined the 86277 which we followed for
the rest of the section. From here we had fine views of Great Dunn Fell
and Cross Fell out to the west. An ominous black cloud seemed to be
stationary over the tops threatening rain, but it never blew across to us.
As expected there was not much traffic about. The only things to avoid
were a string of uneasy horses plodding out to the fell sides. We could
see huntsmen on foot higher up the hill.
Once
again we met a large flock of sheep come streaming along the road as we
approached the side road down to Garrigill.
As we left Garrigill a Buzzard came in low and lighted on a fence post just a few yards from us, he grew uneasy at our presence and circled away to the west but not before we had a chance to admire him.
The route into Alston followed the banks of the South Tyne for a couple of miles before climbing away across fields and of course the usual stiles. Rain started when we still had a mile or so to go, so it was on with the waterproofs for the tramp into town.
