Exploring England's Last Wilderness - the Northern Pennines AONB

We discovered the North Pennines AONB when we cycled Route 68, http://carinahumberstone.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/route-68-cycling-from-berwick-upon.html, from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Buxton. It is characterised by large, rolling hills, isolated farmsteads, upland bogs and moorland with small market towns dotted within the vales and valleys.

Wild, upland and deserted moors

We returned to Alston, reputedly the highest market town in England; a claim that our home town of Buxton also has. We stayed in the YHA affiliated hostel which overlooks the upper River Tees. The accommodation is spacious, warm and comfortable. It is ideally situated with shops, cafes and bars within a few minutes walk. The owners have thoughtfully placed bird and squirrel feeders outside the dining room windows. We would watch a vast array of birds, along with red squirrels getting their fill each morning. 

Following a good track down from Cross Fell

The attraction of this area was its description: 'England's last wilderness'. Having thoroughly enjoyed exploring Scotland's last wilderness we were keen to discover this wild, upland area; similar in size to the Lake District National Park and only 35 miles away. Being so close to the Lake District it is often forgotten and missed by tourists and businesses alike. This is defenitely one of the area's attractions.

Climbing through the inversion, following The Pennine Way to the summit of Cross Fell

Whilst waiting for the hostel to open we drove up to the Cumbria / Northumbria boarder and watched the sun set, soon followed by the rising of Venus and other planets and stars. This AONB has 16 Dark Sky Discovery sites, more than any other protected landscape in the UK.

Cross Fell

Tall cairns mark the way over the top

The next day we were yet again blessed with fine weather with not a breath of wind and so decided to climb Cross Fell, the highest point in England outside of the Lake District NP. In fact Cross Fell, (at 893m or 2930 feet), would be the eigth highest mountain in the Lake District; if it were there. We climbed up the delightfully named Grumply Hill and continued through the layer of volcanic rock known as Whin Sill. (This is the hard, rocky ledge that much of Hadrian's Wall follows). We then continued our ascent, gently rising around a layer of limestone boulders, before joining the Pennine Way to cross the boulder-strewn, flat summit, to reach the large shelter cairn at the top. Having risen above the cloud we were walking in brilliant sunshine with little, or no wind. Could this really be the wild and desolate summit that instils fear into so many Pennine Way walkers? Could it really be the summit that the devastatingly dangerous Helm Wind passes over before causing destruction in the hamlets below? (The Helm Wind is the only named wind in the British Isles). Apparently so.

Heading through the mist searching for The Pennine Way

We continued to enjoy our walk, looking for Greg's Hut, a conveniently placed bothy on our descent. We saw 2 other walkers on this perfect day. We had followed paths barely visible on the ground, including The Pennine Way. We had caught the most amazing views; not only of the north Pennines themselves but also west towards the mountains of Cumbria. The walking was easy going with paths, old mining tracks; open moorland, both boggy and hard. The hills are less extreme than their more famous neighbours, in shape but not necessarily in conditions. Their attraction lies in their lack of traffic. Strolling past decades of history, local farms, wild horses; glimpsing wildlife not often seen on the fells out west, without another human in sight is wonderful. We knew we were somewhere not often visited when we stopped for lunch at the summit and there was not a raven, crow or rook in sight.

Beautiful, wild moorland

As we walked towards the sunset we had glorious views of the peaks of the Lake District silhouetted against the glowing sky. We had enjoyed a wonderful walk of over 11 miles, to the highest point in the northern Pennines, in mid-winter and were back at the car before dark. The lack of visitors to the area is evident when trying to find somewhere to park without ruining the immaculate village greens or wide, grassy verges. It is possible to find places but visitor parking is not really catered for; another draw to the area, in my eyes.

High Cup

High Cup

Our second full day in Alston also dawned dry and calm so we planned another venture onto the high fells. This time we would follow old mining tracks onto the moors, then cross the fells towards High Cup, where we would follw the Pennine Way down slope, back to our starting point at the delightful village of Dufton.

Dufton Pike and the distant Lake District hills from a disused lime kiln

Again the ascent was gentle and straightforward, following a good track right onto the moors. Looking back Dufton Pike was framed between its neighbours with the mountains of the Lake District behind. We looked on with interest at the mining infrastructure left behind and used our torches to briefly enter old mines. The thought of having to climb up these slopes every day and then do a long days work, underground, every day was quite horrible. On reaching the tops we lunched in a small hut beside Great Rundale Tarn before following the outflowing stream accross the moor towards the Pennine Way. 

Traipsing across the moor

The moors were very much like our local stomping grounds on Kinder Scout and Bkeaklow. The top was a peat bog, now covered in grass. There were small streams leading the way off the moors to lower ground. What was different is that these bogs lie on top of limestone rather then grit stone. Stepping on rock here was slippery and unexpected. The going could have been tougher if the preceding months had not been unusually dry and if the landowners had not maintained the tracks obviously used by their all-terrain vehicles, in order transport their clientele between grouse butts. Our path criss-crossed an ever growing stream until it passed through a small limestone gorge. It then cut deeper through harder rock as it approached the hard layer of igneous rock known as Whin Sill. The river meets its match here and turns abruptly east to flow out to the north sea, via the River Tees, rather than on to the Irish Sea to the west.

Following the river towards The Pennine Way

There is a bridge crossing the river where the Pennine Way traverses the moor. There is no marked path on the ground. We were not yet following this national trail. We continued on across the moor to reach High Cup at High Cup Nick, the weakness in the sill where a stream and a path find their way through to the glaciated valley below. We took in the view before skirting around the sill, rejoining the Pennine Way and slowly making our way back downhill to Dufton.

In the Upper Tees valley walking a circular route between Alston and Garrigill

The Northern Pennines truly are a wonderful wilderness. I would highly recommend a trip to the area. We only scratched the surface, there are so many more possibilities; long, upland waks, multi-day camping or bothy trips; lowland valley walks; multi-base walks, pub or tea room walks. But, I don't really want to advertise the area. What makes it so great is its lack of visitors and infrastructure.

Stunning, rolling countryside

The moors are open access land and there are few paths and tracks across them. The settlements have just enough facilities to keep tourists happy but it is evident that some of the locals are struggling. Pubs are closing, cafes, shops and post offices are no longer open and many places only open in the summer. I hope that there are enough visitors for the locals to make a decent living and offer the basic services often wanted by the tourists. However, I would hate to see the growth that has happened in other, better known, protected, natural areas. This AONB missed out on being designated as a National Park and is one of the more recent areas to become an AONB. I think that this has actually done the area a huge favour and I hope it will stay a wild, untamed area. Please visit but don't tell everyone!

Small settlements and farms dot the landscape