Hanging Shaw to Dufton Walking the Pennine Way 30/05/24

 

Hanging Shaw to Dufton

 

Walking the Pennine Way

 

30/05/24

 

 

Setting off from Hanging Shaw at about 9.00 the walk follows the River Tees and forks to the right along Harwood Beck to Sayer Hill. A very pleasant start to a challenging walk.

 

The weather was dull and overcast but not cold and there was very little wind at this low level. The views were very long and interesting but the low cloud diffused the light giving the views a smudged edge. Clarity of detail was definitely lacking.

 

After Sayer Hill we passed a herd of our favourite cows Belted Galloways with young in tow. If cows can be cute these are a good example.

 

Crossing the bridge over Harwood Beck pausing as ever on a bridge to watch the water for a couple of minutes. These upland rivers are beautifully clear though often they have a peaty brown tinge. This really was easy walking.

 Onward over the wide expanse of grassland passing a lonely sycamore. This photo gives you a good idea of the dull weather conditions.

 

Our first brief water stop at a bench strategically positioned to get a great view of the Tees from the north bank with hills on the right and in the distance.

 

 

The gentle walk follows the Tees along a grassy sward all the way to the start of Falcon Clints opposite Merrygill. Lapwing and larks were our only companions.

 

And then the boulders started. About a mile of clambering over large, small and medium boulders following a tortuous route up and down the bank and even on boulders in the river. What made this stretch even harder was that quite often the only places to put your feet was the edges of rocks making slipping a real problem and hurting the soles of your feet.

 

About a third of the way along this stretch we encounter a charming mother and her boy of about 12 who were on a round walk taking in the Cauldren Snout. The lad was enthusiastic about the waterfall and definitely whetted our appetite to see it. We exchanged hiking stories and then I mentioned that we were on the lookout for dippers as the river looked ideal habitat. She told us she had seen one briefly in the pool at the bottom of the snout. I confess to a little envy but also anticipation.

 

 

We paused at the base of Falcon Clints and had a coffee and snack. The cliff here is quite impressive and the boulder field testimony to where the cliff is going to.

Following the river around the bend from Lingy Holm towards the Spout we crossed boggy ground and then more boulder hopping. Believe me this is a tough section to cross even though it is riverside.

I had a mishap at this point not looking at the ubiquitous Pennine way paving slabs I put my foot in a hole and hit the deck off to the right of the path. Luckily I relaxed and my shoulder took the fall onto soft ground so no damage done. Peter levered me up using his body as a counter weight, I was lucky to find there was no damage. I did bang my right shin leaving a small bloody indentation but apart from that I was fine. We try and avoid these incidents at all cost because the more they happen the more the probability is that damage will occur making walking impossible and then it becomes a rescue not a walk.

 

And then:

The cascading waterfall of Cauldren Spout is loud and impressive. In my book just as impressive as High Falls but harder to get to. We paused for a while to take in the sight and I scanned the pool for the elusive dipper but was not rewarded. Oh well at least they are here.

The climb to the top of the Snout is difficult and a little scary but passable with care and some stretching. At the top there is view of the dam at the massive Cow Green Reservoir spilling lots of water feeding the snout.

 

Passing over the bridge at the top of the snout the route mercifully leaves the boulders and still following the route of the river, climbs Rasp Hill before re-joining a watercourse at Maize Beck.

 

The river runs down a steep slope at this point creating a series of ridges. I wandered what my Geography teacher, Mr Ellerby would have made of this. As he was my teacher in the early 70’s I suspect he will not still be around but I always refer to his knowledge implanted into my mind in that fruitful formative period of my education. I don’t actually think he liked me very much but he taught me so much to do with geography and more importantly the love of the subject. Good old Ellerby.

At Rasp Hill we crossed the path of a younger couple doing the same section of the Pennine Way but the opposite way round from Dufton to Hanging Shaw. They also were using the 2 car method of having one car at either end of the walk to make the walk possible. It was quite a long conversation and we discovered they were doing the same walk as us the following day (Dufton to Garrigill) also in the opposite direction so we agreed to meet again at the midway point. Mentioning we were due for our lunch stop helpfully the lady indicated a great stone bench shaped rock to have our lunch at near the Beck. We found the bench and it was as described.

 

You are never far away from the ever curious upland sheep on these walks. We love to see them and they often provide some interest either posing on top of boulders or cliffs or just watching our passage. Never knock the sheep, the walks would be poorer without their presence.

The bridge crossing Maize Beck put us on the route towards High Cup Nick. We both had a sense of anticipation as the view from High Cup was supposed to be impressive. The going underfoot was quite good and in places was excellent short cropped lawn type grass.

Wow

 

Wow. Just wow. High Cup Nick and High Cup in pictures. You don’t need words.

 

There was an unfortunate incident we witnessed at the Nick where a young couple with a dog, we had seen a couple of times on the walk, made a critical error. Having their lunch they let the dog off the lead or let go of the lead I am not sure which. Anyway the result was the dog chased some sheep, one in particular. He was playing rather than attacking but the sheep jumped off the cliff down onto a ledge on the cliff face before they got control of the dog. Whether the sheep managed to scramble back up or not we have no idea but it is a salutary lesson please, please keep your dogs on their lead and under control at all times. Hopefully this had a good ending but………..

 

High Cup was as impressive as expected and believe me the photos do not convey the true height of this cliff top. The drop looks like it must be about 700 or 800 feet more or less straight down. The path was scary in places but the views were just spectacular all the way past Peeping Hill.

 

It was a longish downhill trudge to Dufton from Peeping Hill.

 

A long walk with spectacular features, plenty of birdlife and sore feet.

 

Hanging Shaw to Dufton
Distance	14.51	miles
Duration	06:36	hours
Avg. Speed	2	mph
Total Ascent	1527.84	ft
Steps	37,374