Horton to Hawes

Wednesday 18th July 2018
Distance:  14.5miles
Weather:  warm, gentle breeze and some sunshine

I had breakfast at 8:00am and met the other guests who were two Swiss ladies walking part of the Pennine Way from Horton to Greenhead.  I was on the trail at 8:50 with my packed lunch prepared by the landlady of the Crown. I picked up the trail behind the pub and walked along a walled lane which was rocky underfoot.  Most of the day will be spent on either pack horse routes and/or Roman Roads so I will be walking through history with the jaggers and the centurions.  It was a steady climb with great views opening up all around me.  Pen-y-gent was looking magnificent without its cloud shroud.  Also Whernside and Ingleborough were coming into view.  

The first highlight today was Ling Gill which was a beautiful gorge with the river running through it with overhanging rocks, wildflowers and trees and its bridge was also very photogenic.  I could see the path snaking up ahead of me towards Cam Fell; it was a steady climb and hot.  The Pennine Way joined the Dales Way for a while and they have made the trail into a hard track so the logging lorries can get to and from the forestry land - not pretty.  

The Pennine Way left the Dales Way behind and now I was on the Cam High Road which is a Roman road which was then used as a pack horse route.  The views of the Ribblehead Viaduct, Pen-y-gent, Ingleborough and Whernside were stunning.  Not a cloud on any of them and every so often a little train would trundle over the viaduct.  The track continued and with Snaizeholme Fell  on the left which was grand.  I stopped for lunch and admired the view.  Later, at my next break, I met two people I saw briefly yesterday on my descent from Pen-y-gent.  They were a Belgian couple walking the whole Way.  We walked together for a while and chatted - they were lovely.  I was to meet up with them everyday for the rest of my walk.

I followed what was now a grassy track down into Gayle and then Hawes. Hawes is postcard pretty with lots of useful shops.  I was looking forward  to my tea - fish, chips and mushy peas washed down with Dandelion and Burdock