{"id":1522,"date":"2018-04-29T00:01:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-28T14:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/julesforth.com\/walkingtheblackdog\/?p=1522"},"modified":"2018-04-29T17:40:50","modified_gmt":"2018-04-29T07:40:50","slug":"day-52","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/julesforth.com\/walkingtheblackdog\/day-52\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 52"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From:\u00a0<\/strong>Langdon Beck to Dufton
\nDistance:\u00a0<\/strong>14m \/ 22.5km
\nCumulated distance:\u00a0<\/strong>685m \/ 1102km
\nPercentage completed:\u00a0<\/strong>57.9<\/p>\n

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Yesterday started in County Durham and ended in Cumbria. The walk along the Pennine Way, wended its way through Widdybank, Cauldron Snout and High Cup. The terrain was bleakly beautiful moorland for much of the route, with two of the most spectacular geological features of my entire journey. Widdybank is described by The Wildlife Trust as \u2018a most wonderful botanical station, with all the glories that grassland, flushes, bogs and limestone rock have to offer’. But in fact we failed to see just about any flowers of any kind. Black grouse, with their tufty red wattle and the ring ouzel with its loud and mournful song, apparently both breed in this area but we saw few of them either. The day was all about the views.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Early morning view from Langdon Beck hotel ..<\/p><\/div>\n

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.. half an hour later the mist came in but thankfully moved on<\/p><\/div>\n

The early part of the day had us following Maize Beck, through an empty, empty landscape. Even the sheep seemed few and far between.<\/p>\n

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Maize Beck<\/p><\/div>\n

We passed a curious sight at one stage .. something that harked back to a bygone age. Along the wire of one of the fences were tied dead moles, in a dismal little line. Maybe they were put there by the mole-catcher to demonstrate he was doing his work or perhaps, like the Tudors displaying human heads on city walls, they were being used as a warning to other moles. Either way it was a pretty grim sight.<\/p>\n

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Deceased moles<\/p><\/div>\n

It certainly added to the brooding atmosphere of the landscape.<\/p>\n

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Nick and Joanna lightening the mood<\/p><\/div>\n

At one stage the riverside walk became quite a challenge, with giant boulders to pick a path between. It was slow-going and demanding of the concentration. But if you stopped to really look at the rocks, you saw that they were covered in the most exquisite lichen. No wonder designers look to nature so often for new ideas.<\/p>\n

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Challenging riverside walk<\/p><\/div>\n

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Up close<\/p><\/div>\n

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Seeking respite among the boulders<\/p><\/div>\n

Cauldron Snout cascade lies just below the dam of Cow Green Reservoir, which holds back a whopping 40,000 million litres of water. The Snout\u2019s more a long cataract than a waterfall but at 180 metres, it\u2019s probably the longest waterfall in England. It certainly has the best name, in my humble opinion. As we walked past it we stepped from County Durham into Cumbria, my favourite English county, where I’ve walked on countless occasions, mostly with my sister. And once in a group of four when all were called Helen, except for me.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Cauldron Snout<\/p><\/div>\n

As we were climbing up the side of the Snout, forty or so young kids were coming down with huge great packs on their backs. Duke of Edinburgh Gold, we all thought. But no, this was their first day of Bronze! Quite astonishingly difficult for students from a South Shields school, many of whom had never been out of the city. I loved the way they were helping one another and looked so bright and cheerful .. clearly newbies to the game. Incidentally, their packs each weighed in at a hefty 64 litres! Respect.<\/p>\n

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Helping hands<\/p><\/div>\n

A long climb took us up from the reservoir to our lunch spot, overlooking .. well, nothing really. Vast areas of moorland, much of which was prohibited from entry by the military. We sat in an area of Shake Holes on Dobson Mere Foot to eat and rest the feet.<\/p>\n

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Long and winding road<\/p><\/div>\n

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Joanna trying to look taller than me .. just not convincing<\/p><\/div>\n

The star act of the day was undoubtedly High Cup Nick. It\u2019s a massive, deep U-shaped valley and having seen umpteen photos of the place, my expectations were extremely high. And I was not disappointed. It was as if a giant had taken a huge scoop out of the land, leaving a stupendous empty bowl. It\u2019s three miles from the nearest road and so anyone being here has come with the intent of being awed .. there are no bus loads of tourists, no tacky souvenir shops, no cafes selling curled up sandwiches. Instead, just peace and natural splendour.<\/span><\/p>\n

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High Cup Nick coming into view<\/p><\/div>\n

And what is especially awing about High Cup Nick is the way that you almost stumble across it. One minute you’re walking along featureless, bleak moorland and the next thing, the whole landscape opens up to reveal one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Not only is the valley itself spectacular but it also creates the most extraordinary frame for the distant mountains of the Northern Lake District.<\/p>\n

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Frame for the Lakes<\/p><\/div>\n

As the knees complained and the feet joined in, it was a timely reminder of why I was doing this walk. There was no complaint from my eyes nor my happy heart. I lay down to just drink it all in, wishing I could store the experience in a bottle to be brought out at will.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Happy<\/p><\/div>\n

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Walking around the side of the Cup, with snow still visible on the far side<\/p><\/div>\n

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Starting the descent<\/p><\/div>\n

And then, as if the day couldn’t get better we spied a flock of sheep being driven up the hillside towards us. Not only was it a fabulous sight, with the backdrop of Cumbrian mountains behind the flock but it was also an awesome sheep dog demonstration.<\/p>\n

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Cumbrian sheep<\/p><\/div>\n

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Getting closer<\/p><\/div>\n

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In the thick of it<\/p><\/div>\n

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Over the hill and far away<\/p><\/div>\n

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Way down to Dufton<\/p><\/div>\n

The descent into Dufton was tough on the knees but with such an uplifting day it was neither here not there. And there was still time for some silliness .. I was with Nick and Joanna, you have to remember.<\/p>\n

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Just because I’m taller than her ..<\/p><\/div>\n

The icing on the cake at the end of the day was the Stag Inn, Dufton. A clearly very convivial pub, groaning with local punters and walkers. A perfect place to end a dream of a day.<\/p>\n

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Hawkshead real ale awaiitng ..<\/p><\/div>\n

Black Dog Tails<\/strong>
\nHank performs a very necessary task with the soldiers in Pech River Vallery of Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. He’s the only Boston Terrier, in fact the only dog, who was sent to interact with soldiers as stress relief. Capt Katie Kopp is pictured with Hank.
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Yesterday started in County Durham and ended in Cumbria ..<\/p>\n

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