The Final stage of the Pennine way with my brother Peter.

Pennine Way

RFM Blue Line

Walking with Peter

16th to 17th May 2025

After a couple of years of walking the Pennine Way often walking 25 miles on a weekend we approached our last leg with excitement and trepidation. It's not the distance. Its not the ascent. Its the fact that there is nowhere to stop halfway, no hotel, no b&b, no Airbnb, no road, no lane. You just have to do it in one go, either continuous or sleeping out on the hill. We could never walk that distance or ascent in one continuous walk so we had to opt for the camping. This then meant we had to carry the tent etc, 2 days worth of water and food and power packs etc etc.The result was that we were carrying a lot. My bag weighed in at 15.6 kilos. Remember I am 68 and Peter is 72. I hope you now understand why this stage has been on our minds for so long.

The weather forecast for our walk was very good early mist followed by sunshine. It was not completely accurate but good enough. That positive was reduced by the North Easterly wind blowing hard into our faces once we reached the high land. The prevailing wind would normally have been following not facing.

We met in Kirk Yetholm on the 15th May staying over in our ultimate destination the Border Hotel. Setting off early to Byrness we began the 2 day walk at about 8.00 am.

On the way to Byrness we paused at the border not just for obligatory selfies but to get a view of the clouds shrouding the hills we were destined to cross.

Outside Byrness Community Centre we left my car and set off. It was actually quite an effort just to get the rucksacks on. Hats off to Peter as a couple of weeks ago he had had a back problem and couldn't practice with the weight which I had had the opportunity to do in my last 4 walks.

We passed through the wood to our rejoin point at Byrness Church. We met a young antipodean chap on his way south. He had slept on the hill and looked remarkably fresh and eager. Ahh the resilience of youth. This was the only southward Pennine Way walker we met for the entire 2 days.

There is no easy introduction to this stage just a really steep ascent up Byrness Hill which climbs several hundred feet through the pine woods and over moor to the hill top. With these packs on this was really tough. We stopped several times and allowed a guy with a smaller pack to pass us half way up. We had a chat regarding the Pennine Way and he said this was his 6th time walking this stage. He was going to the path off at Windy Gyle to be picked up and brought back the following day. We had considered this but the additional climb and distance looked like bad news. This guy was the only northward Pennine Way walker we met for the entire 2 days. That was it we were alone for the best part of 2 days on the wild North Pennine hills.

These are the views down and up from the halfway point of the climb. The weather was calm, bright, clear but still cool.

Another stop a bit higher up, more views but importantly a chance to get our breaths back.

Nearing the top and the scramble up the small crag.

At the top of Byrness Hill, 1400 feet high, we stopped to eat part of our packed breakfast provided by the hotel. It was a packed lunch really but, believe you me, the ham sandwich was excellent and welcome. Always better to eat at the top of a hill than the bottom. The cairn was made into a huge stone seat which made us feel like kings of the hill.

Soon the cairn was behind us and the hills in the distance looked a long long way away.

We followed this horizon crossing Saughy Crag, Houx Crag, Windy Crag and finally Ravens Knowe. All the time the accumulated ascent was sapping our strength. We had many stops and followed Michaels advice of bags off every hour or so for a 10 minute rest. In fact we had a lot of rest, we needed it.

The route followed the horseshoe shaped valley round with the right hand side being a residual currently inactive Ministry of Defense range.

The views forward and back were becoming very high level and the nature of this upland area was becoming clear. Huge expanses of upland with ridges and valleys and we were keeping to the high land.

The top of Byrness hill in the distance on the right hand photo looked a long way beneath us.

On our left we passed occasional woods beyond the fence and we could see forestry on the slopes beyond.

Like a pair of aging hobbits we had our second breakfast on the top of Ravens Knowe, 1729 ft.

The weather was kind of perfect and we were happy to be on the trail. We were totally aware that we needed to complete the full 26 plus miles in 2 days and pacing was essential. When walking we were not slow but we had plenty of stops.

I think the raven in Ravens Knowe probably refers to resilience and this was an attribute we really needed on this walk. The underfoot condition were fantastic, really dry, so the dreaded bogs of this area were near enough bone dry.

The ascent continued and the view back with the far distant ridges across the countryside was looking vast. In the photo on the left we speculated whether the farthest ridge was Hadrian's Wall and I guess it could have been. The view forward was also looking epic and in the far distance we could see the lowlands sneaking into the picture. We felt lucky and privileged to have such views as we thought that most walkers up here would probably be wet and windswept not admiring the views but just putting one foot in front of the other.

As we passed Ogre Hill, 1692 ft, maybe we are hobbits, we reflected upon the absolute lack of other walkers since we let the guy pass us earlier on Byrness Hill. Just look at those views..... its immense.

We followed the border fence off Ogre Hill and could see the hills before The Cheviot which we would have to pass over. We started to approach Chew Green where we were given an option of going down to the Roman fort or staying up high and saving 1/2 a mile. We chose the fort. Both paths are part of the Pennine Way so both are legitimate choices.

Heading down the valley the wide expanses became more manageable. There was a sheep fold on the hill opposite. We searched for signs of Romans speculating as to the marks and bumps and humps on the hillsides. Perhaps signs of agriculture connected to the fort but now long abandoned.

Of all the Roman landscape features we have seen on our Pennine Way walk this was probably the least obvious. We could see Dere Street being used as a lane coming down the opposite hillside and then as a grassy road that we were following. The fort was a series of grassy walls and flat areas. Why a fort in such a remote area? This is where the imagination grows. Were they protecting the road crossing of the valley and the uplands. What did the Roman legionnaires stationed here think of their luck. How did hob nailed sandals fare in this landscape etc etc. There is something really special about walking on the very ground these Romans walked on over 1600 years ago.

We regained the heights following the cold footed legionnaires along Dere Street and the higher option rejoined the trail. Looking back, Byrness hill was becoming a very, very long way away but we were only just about half way through for todays walk. The black cattle were on the Scottish side of the fence.

The Cheviot tops the horizon and we knew we would have to pass close to it tomorrow.

This is big country.

We passed a strange looking valley which Peter said the guide book said contained some unique vegetation. It certainly looked weird.It was near a feature called Pete's Shank.

Since the Roman fort the landscape had become a little closer but this meant we had more little hills and valleys to cross.

Rounding Wedder Hill,1496 ft, we dropped down into a valley and reached the first rescue hut where we had planned to have lunch. It was probably after 1 by the time we got there. The hut itself was not very inviting as the afternoon was warm, dry and sunny so we sat on the stoop and had our sandwich. Peanut butter as usual, the walker's friend. We decided to stop again in about an hour so saved some lunch for the afternoon stops. Its hard to explain how the weight of the rucksack and the strong headwind were affecting our walking but we both felt it was slowing us down and to put it simply bloody hard work. The wind kept blowing us off balance. Luckily there were no mishaps at all on the first day.

Climbing Lamb Hill,1676 ft, hugging the border fence, disappointingly it wasn't electrified, we could see over into Scotland and the lowland below whilst in front was the lowering bulk of The Cheviot.

The trig point on Lamb Hill was in Scotland so as Peter wasn't prepared to climb the fence we settled for a distant view.

The Pennine flags allowed us to move reasonably quickly towards Beefstand Hill, 1843 ft.

Luckily the dry condition helped between flags but it was still difficult terrain.

We came across the famous wild goats of the area, they had big horns but quietly moved away from the path for us, thankfully.

It was a bit of a high level yomp over to Beefstand Hill but the views down into Scotland, over the fence, and towards the Cheviot were fantastic.

We passed Mozie Law,1811 ft, and The Street (a path) and crossed the bog with the wonderful name of Foulstep. The bog was dry.

We were approaching Windy Gyle and came across more goats with even longer horns.

We climbed to the top of Windy Gyle, 2030 ft, as the late afternoon exhaustion started to set in. The trig was on an outcrop and we decided we were close enough. The Cheviot was now dominant in the landscape.

We started looking for a place to camp. The ground was good here but the wind vicious.

The sign post where hikers leave the route to hike off the hill to be picked up looked like a good camping spot but Peter was happy to go on. To be fair every extra mile today is a mile we don't have to do tomorrow.

We could see the route of part of tomorrows walk in the landscape and discussed the spectacular views we would get. The Auchope climb looked very tough.

Eventually we pitched tent on some tussock grass right next to the path with The Cheviot in the background. I estimate the pitch was at 1720ft. It was windy but the tent went up without too much delay. We were very tired and after a few bits to eat and drink by 7.00 o'clock we just decided to try to sleep. The night was long and cold. We both slept but not solidly. The wind and was blasting the tent which actually stayed up well.

We were up by 5 and on our way by 6 after breaking camp. The weather was horrible, cold, windy and we were in the damp cloud. Everything was wet though it wasn't raining. It was very unpleasant. Can you see the tent in the photo. We actually set off at a good pace to get warm.

There was nothing to see except cloud so as we were on flags we just covered the ground step by step. The wind was worse than yesterday and it was cold so keeping upright was an issue. The only mishap was when I put a foot in a bog and wrenched my left calf but luckily it did not affect my walking. We only knew this was King's Seat,1742ft, because there was a trig.

The route to Cairn Hill, 2437ft, was a nightmare, cold, wet really windy and now steep and difficult to pass. What made it worse was we couldn't see the hill so every summit felt like the top until another one came out of the clouds. This was tough.

Finally we made the top and the point where you can spur off to climb The Cheviot, pointless in this weather but to be honest by now we had agreed the priority was getting to the finish line not getting side tracked. This was the highest point of our walk and we expected tremendous views but we had cloud. Oh well on we go, that's the Pennine Way.

The cairns were getting harder and harder to see. If yesterday had been a perfect day this was the opposite. The good thing we were slowly descending. In the photos above you can just make out the cairns on top of Auchope Cairn, 2395 ft.

The descent from Auchope started with a precipitous sharp stoned scree. We looked around for the path until we realised it was straight down the scree. This was a very dangerous scree and we picked our way down and thankfully did not slip.

Below the scree the slope was equally as vicious through steep gullies and very soft ground with plenty of jarring jumps and falls. The way was hard to pick out but the fence was a good guide. It was really hard going down but going up would have been a nightmare.

We followed the hill down to Auchope Rigg,1633 ft, and today the inside of the Shelter was perfect for breakfast. A good place for a rest and to lift the spirits. We stayed a good while and it was noticeable we both were in high spirits. The decent was 762 feet in just about 2000 feet.

After a slight mistake following a wrong path we retraced and set off back alongside the fence. This didn't cost us more than 100 yards but was annoying.

The last big hill was The Schil and we could only just see the summit when we were practically there. The weather, packs and tiredness were making this a difficult walk.

Over the Schil, 1971ft, and down the long painfully difficult to cross terrain we eventually started coming out of the cloud but were still really high up.

These were the first views of the day and right welcome. What's that in the distance is it a runner. It was the first human being we had seen since the guy passed us yesterday morning. We walked down the hill as the runner approached. She exchanged pleasantries and headed up the Schil.

We had a bags off break at the style at the bottom of the hill and the runner had time to get up to the Schil and return before we advanced. We had a brief chat and she went on her way. It was good to see someone else. We had to climb up to a saddle,1640 ft, between Black Hag and The Curr and then we had a long downhill towards Old Halterburnhead.

The route down was not easy. It was a narrow path on the side of a very steep high slope and it was windy and we still had heavy, but not as heavy packs, and we were tired. Also the decent was long so the muscles in the thighs started to complain and tighten and all the lower joints were gradually becoming more and more uncomfortable.

This is a view from our picnic spot, 820 ft. We finished off most of our food. I had 3 apples left somehow. I also had about 2 litres of water which I wish I had not had to carry but better safe than thirsty The woods produced a lovely sound of birdsong of all sorts of warblers, tits and songbirds definitely a change from the skylarks of the high country.

The sheep were taking to the shade as the sunshine became really quite hot.

As we followed the valley down towards Kirk Yetholm we started passing a few day walkers to whom we readily exchanged news of our impending finish to the Pennine Way. We accepted much congratulations and to be honest it was good to see civilisation again. The main farm we passed through looked very untidy but who cares. Just before the end there was one last steep road hill to climb which took 2 stops to gather strength where we would normally have done it in one.

The first view of Kirk Yetholm was a blessing.

The destination, the Border Hotel, 360ft, and our bed for the night. Peter and I hugged in celebration and it was a fantastic moment I will never forget for the rest of my life.

We sat outside the hotel and Peter, bless him, fetched the drinks, bitter for him and fizzy orange for me. I don't mind saying I was done in. You do not know how happy I was to get that backpack off for the last time. We had a good, relaxing, long conversation with a couple who were from Doncaster and were walking the St Cuthbert's Way. Then shower, rest, dinner, more rest (Eurovision until 9.00 o'clock and then bed and sleep. 9 straight hours.