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Contents : PENNINE WAY       Introduction Day 4 Day 9 Day 14   Prep and Planning Day 5 Day 10 Day 15   Day 1 Day 6 Day 11 Day 16   Day 2 Day 7 Day 12 Day 17   Day 3 Day 8 Day 13 Prep Runs                     THE PENNINE WAY FOLLOWS THE COURSE OF THE RIVER SOUTH TYNE     NATIONAL TRAILS GUIDES UK - DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS & GALLERIES           Day 6 :: Rainbows and Rushing Water :: Lambley to Garrigill :: 16 miles           I awoke this morning to inclement weather.  It rained just about all day, and although Ian assured me that he had heard that the meteorological office forecast for later today was sunshine, it did not happen.  Carol and I performed our usual yoga routine and after breakfast we set off for Lambley. Today’s route would take us over Lambley Common and down to Burnstones where we had planned to take an alternative route around a less desirable part of the Pennine Way where the path was quite awkward to follow through farms.  This would take us along a dismantled railway, which we would join at Burnstones and follow to Alston, passing through Slaggyford.  At Alston we would rejoin the Way and follow the River South Tyne to Garrigill, where our run for the day would finish. As we approached the Pennine Way near Lambley the only ray of sunshine we saw today shone through the clouds and created a spectacular rainbow, the arc of which seemed very low above the moor and elongated, such that I have never before seen the like.  I was fortunate enough to be able to capture it on disc with my digital camera.               Rainbow on Lambley Common   Pennine Way on Lambley Common           We started to run on the opposite side of the road to where we finished our run yesterday, on an extremely boggy rise up Lambley Common.  The rainbow stayed with us for about 5 minutes and then the sun disappeared, not to return again today. To say the path over the Common was boggy would be an understatement.  I took a photograph of a typical part of the path to demonstrate the point.  Some parts of the Pennine Way were so waterlogged that for lengthy periods our ankles were completely immersed in water and mud.  We were by now used to running on wet ground, but it seemed to be getting wetter and wetter. There was a lot of mist about but not enough to trouble us and we were able to catch an occasional glimpse of Ashholme Common on the opposite bank of the River South Tyne, whose bearing we were running parallel to.  As we descended the Common toward Glendue Burn the Pennine Way actually shared its route with a sike, which seemed to be carrying the excess water from the moor in the direction of Glendue Burn, the same way that we were traveling.  As we neared the Burn the path steepened and as it did so the sike following our course was joined by other run-offs and became quite torrential; there were cascades cutting across our path also, and continuing downhill through Glendue Wood which lay to our left.               Pennine Way near Glendue Wood   Pennine Way adjoining Glendue Wood           The tumult here of the combined roaring from Glendue Burn, which was in full spate, and the springs and sikes that were joining it was quite deafening and the air was filled with spray.  It seemed to create an atmosphere all of its own and we couldn’t help feeling the excitement of the moment as we made our way downhill to the footbridge across the Burn. We crossed the footbridge hurriedly; the surface of the Burn was not that far below us and I did not trust the water.  In full spate and in this weather the footbridge looked quite fragile.  We did not stop to admire the scenery, but sped on uphill to climb the next section of moorland on Proud Hill. Taking our OS map from its waterproof housing in driving wind and rain was more than modestly difficult, and it was now necessary to do so.  As we did the map started to tear.  It was already sodden in places; obviously its waterproof housing was not entirely waterproof.  But we succeeded in the exercise. We next crossed the Candlesieve Sikes and then the Proudyhill Sike, which in fact was a roaring torrent cascading across our path with considerable ferocity.  Continuing along the Pennine Way at this point was not possible, at least not without a wet suit.  When we first came across this Sike we thought it to be the Thinhope Burn, such was its size and for a time we could not identify it.  We were amazed to discover it was Proudyhill Sike, which should have been a modest stream, capable of being forded               Glendue Burn   Rainwater run-off cutting across our path           We found our way over the sike higher up the moor and made our way back to the path, which we continued to run along until reaching a large disused earth works at Side House.  There was then an easy but muddy path down to Burnstones, where we were introduced to Thinhope Burn.  This looked more as I remember the River South Tyne to be last spring, and I wondered what indeed the River South Tyne would look like now.  I would see soon enough. We found the viaduct where we were to join the dismantled railway, and scrambled up one of its embankments, where interestingly, it seems many others had done before.  There was a good footpath at the top, and this was more or less what we had expected.  Unfortunately, however, it did not remain a good footpath for very long.  We made good time for a while, following an agreeable path.  There was a sign across a gate saying “bull in field”.  This must have been a malicious gesture by someone as there were no cattle around at all, and we were not in a field, but on a dismantled railway.  Still, it was enough to make Carol nervous (phobia 2).  I reassured her and she trusted me. The scenery around Knarsdale was magnificent, even in rain, and the track was still good, being mostly tree-lined and affording a little protection from the wind and driving rain.  On viaducts we passed over several burns, and were afforded exciting views, particularly over the Knor Burn.  The path mostly embraced a wonderful muster of wild flowers on each side, undisturbed and growing in a profusion of delicate creams, yellows and purples.  The combined fragrance was wonderfully invigorating.  The rain seemed to emphasise their delicate aromas and we were very tempted to stop and idle for awhile, although we did not do so.               Stouthard from Burnstones   Ayle Common above the River South Tyne           Ayle Common, to our left and above the River South Tyne was lightly shrouded in mist and it seemed we were looking through a thin cloudy veil to see it.  We wondered at the tree-lined South Tyne valley at the foot of the Common, and all the excitement and mysteries it held that we presently could only guess at.  We would be joining it at Alston and following it all the way to Garrigill, and we were looking forward to this part of our run.  Ahead of us lay Stouthard, a large dome shaped hill rising to dominate the skyline. Our wonderfully easy track had now begun to dematerialise.  At first it became a slushy, muddy track but it was now 2” to 6” deep in water most of the time and had become completely overgrown. As we were running along our track we experienced a puzzling enigma.  Had we overlooked something?  It would not be the first time.  Suddenly the railway ceased to be dismantled.  A single track railway sprang into being.  Everything looked new.  There were line points with levers that looked as though they had just been fitted new.  Not far down the line was a railway station.  There was no one in it and it looked as if it had been built and painted yesterday.  Even the railway border fence looked new  It was in fact so new that it had not been properly finished.  We checked our map.  Yes, it did say “preserved railway” further down the sheet, not far from the words “dismantled railway”.  We presumed that it was being renovated as a tourist attraction and that it was not yet functional.  After all, the track does end in the middle of nowhere. We were not sure what to do now.  We could not simply cross to the Pennine Way, as the Way had veered off to the right and we did not have an exact fix on our location.  Neither did we wish to trespass on a railway.  The new fence looked as though there might be an insubstantial path to its side that we could at least follow for a short way.  We made the decision to do so and would decide what to do next if the path became ineffectual further down, although in all probability our only real option would be to follow the track.  In actuality, upon checking later, this was a proper footpath, although very badly overgrown and invisible to all but those knowing it to be a path.  The railway track was a narrow gauge and if it did support a train we knew it would not be a full-size one.  Following the track, if it became necessary, did not seem too harsh. Our path shortly became impenetrable and we crossed the fence to join the railway.  We knew there was no train behind us and that if the track did support a train it would be in front, and that we would see it some way ahead and be able to re-cross the fence before it closed upon us.  We reached  Gilderdale, where there was a perfectly preserved (but empty) railway station.  There was a crossing over its tracks.  We walked across and as we did so we heard the whistle of a train.  We thought this to be a sound effect to amuse tourists, which was set off by crossing the track, and thought no more of it.  We could see the line far, far in front and there was no sign of a train and so far we had not seen any sign of life around the railway or its stations. We re-crossed and the whistle blasted again.  We then carried on, following the track, and after only a few minutes we abruptly saw the tell-tale grey and white churning vapour of a steam train rising from a bend in the track ahead of us.  We immediately re-crossed the fence and I pulled out my camera.  We stood waiting for a minute or so when this wonderfully preserved and very colourful steam train came into view.  It was quite an extraordinary sight.  There were two vanguard drivers, both of whom were leaning sideways out of each side of the front of the train, with a kind of fixed puppet-like smile to their faces, such was their obvious joy in driving this train.  The train had a full complement of passengers who we guessed would think it quite extraordinary to see two people in the middle of nowhere, standing in the pouring rain taking a photograph of their train.  The train drivers waved to us, as did many of the passengers and we waved back.               Pennine Way heading to Highside Farm   Marker Stone near Black Burn on Hartleyburn Common           We carried on, this time along the overgrown path, as fast as we were able to, bearing in mind the condition of the path, until reaching Alston.  On the outskirts of Alston there was a terrible reek as we passed some sewage works.  Alston station was kaleidoscopic with its very many multi-coloured railway signals and other railway rigging, and this time there were a considerable number of people around and a hive of activity.  There seemed to be dozens of signals and many parked goods trains. Close to the station the River Nent converged with the River South Tyne in a most thunderous churning torrent.  The demeanour of the river was terrifying and anyone entering its waters would be immediately swept away and probably never seen alive again.  The waters were very high, and industrial plant on the banks of the Nent was partly submerged and in danger of being swept away. We ran through Alston and rejoined the Pennine Way.  We had traveled this part of the Pennine Way in March of this year, on a beautiful sunny spring day.  It was vastly different now.  The river was bursting its banks and covering part of the path.  We decided to take the higher of the two paths (we had taken the lower path on our practice run) and became confused with part of the route through some of the farms, straying from our path.  We were able to make good our error, however, as we knew we should be following the Tyne and continued to do so. There was an attractive footbridge over the Nattress Gill and a waterfall. The Gill was festooned with a dense greenery and the Fall thundered angrily below us.  We soon found ourselves at Bleagate and almost followed the Pennine Way back to Alston on the lower path.  Carol did not realise at first, but I suddenly recognised Bleagate farm from our last run (the higher path and lower path both converge at Bleagate) and we corrected ourselves.  We continued to run, edging closer to the River South Tyne which we crossed at a footbridge after following a very narrow and very muddy track amidst overgrown grasses.  It was so unlike what the path had been like in  spring, when it had been easy to follow and dry, and when the grass had been short               Small waterfall spilling to the River South Tyne near Middle Sydes   Garrigill           After crossing the river the Pennine Way was straight forward to follow.  We were now looking out for the spoil heaps we knew lay just before the Pennine Way joined the road into Garrigill.  Once we found them we stopped and did our stretching as neither of us had a desire to stretch on the village green in Garrigill.   We did our stretching in the rain, but were not bothered by it as we were already soaked through, our clothes clinging to us, being soaked with both perspiration and rain water. It is hard to describe what this feels like. It is very uncomfortable, but you just simply ignore it. After stretching we walked the remainder of the distance by road into Garrigill, where Ian awaited us with food and drink.  We then drove back to Alston where we were once again staying the night.         Day 5 Day 7       Author - Roy McKee Copyright © Roy McKee 2006