Pennine Way 2024 - Day 13: Hannah's Well - Alston
Distance: 21.3 miles Total: 203.62 (Tracklog: 19.38) Steps: 43,143
Things seen: rain, rain and more rain.
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Well, today was quite a day. Having camped at High Cup Nick, it rained all night but when I woke up about 5am it had eased off and soon stopped. I got up and packed away the tent, set off about 6am. The plan was to walk across the moor to pick up the PW trail coming up from Dufton. Mostly that was fine but for the last mile or more there was no path so it became quite hard work. Also it started raining again. Still I got to Knock Old Man by about 8am. Then follows a series of large fells, Great Dun Fell, Little Dun Fell, and then Cross Fell, at 893m the highest point in England outside the Lake District. Since you have to go down after getting to the top of each, in order to reach the next one, it is all quite gruelling. I got to the top of Cross Fell, and luckily the rain stopped again. I went downhill to Greg's Hut, by the time I reached it, it was raining again and that carried on for the rest of the day.
The long and stony path down into Garrigill seemed endless in the steady rain, and so did the path from there to Alston. Less said about that the better, I was glad to reach the hostel at Alston. 4 PWs, 4 visits to this welcoming hostel. Every stitch of clothing I was wearing was soaked through. I got changed, put it all into the drying room, and went for a beer and something to eat with Trevor. He and Sula had spent the previous night on Greg's Hut ("very cold") and were now staying at the hostel.
I have another rest day, my third and last, tomorrow and it is just as well!
Not many photos, because of the weather:
A lonely and neglected trig. point on Dufton Moor
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