In Conclusion

I can safely state that we both felt an immense sense of pride and satisfaction in completing this walk. I noticed that Simon’s attitude had changed from ‘I’m just taking this one day at a time’ to ‘I’m walking the Pennine Way’. The critical change in thinking occurred at the half way point, after our epic night on Tan Hill.

Would we do something similar again? I know I would. Probably 17 days is at the upper limit for a walk of this nature – I can’t say that I left wanting more, but perhaps this is because the final days and terrain were probably the toughest and bleakest

Would we do something similar again with Simon? Definitely. He adds a lot to any situation or group

 

Costs

The cost of the holiday was about £630 each, or £35 per day. Simon spent a bit more with his two accommodation upgrades.

As expected, beer was the biggest cost - £180 each

Accommodation was about £160 (for me) with £35 on camping – 5 campsites and 3 wild camping

Bought meals came to £150 and food to make meals £65

 

Equipment

All of this worked very well. Sleeping bag comfortable at -4.5, Trangia stove was fine, rucksack not entirely waterproof but drybags worked to keep everything dry. I will investigate a rain cover.

On the clothing side I used everything except the spare hanky. Could have managed with one less T shirt, but that’s it. Happy I upgraded to a heavier fleece and also leggings – needed on the colder days encountered at this time of year.

I also added a silk sleeping bag liner to my original kit list. Possibly not essential, but with my previous bag 40 years old and these things being difficult to clean, seemed a worthwhile investment for my clean new bag.

Route Planning

I had wanted to walk south to represent a walking home rather than running away. But there are other significant advantages to this direction:

You are walking against the normal flow, so you meet all of the people going the other way. We met plenty of people for whom we were the first walkers on the way that they had encountered. And the people you meet are a big factor in the rewards of travel. Perhaps if we had walked during a more mainstream time of year, then in going north you would be among a group of people moving along the trail at a similar rate, and this would not be such a marked factor

We also found the last 3 days much tougher than the first 3 days. Everyone worries about the 28 mile traverse of the Cheviots, but they are over in two days, have a number of shelters en-route and the more varied scenery makes for more interesting walking. I can see that doing the southern section first could be quite disheartening, thinking you have 100s of more miles of the same pennine bleakness.

We more or less stuck to the schedule, but the days did appear longer than the advertised 15.8 miles. Much of this is due to additional mileage to reach accommodation off route or to pick up supplies off route. The learning point here is to allow some slack in the calculated distances. We seemed to be finishing in the dark more often than we wanted.

Solo or Team

The other most often asked question was how had I managed to put up with Simon for so long. To be honest, I think we work well together as a team. I am probably the more organised; chivvying Simon along/getting him up in the morning/organising food etc. But Simon has special powers as far as engaging with other people is concerned. He is able to get along with, and find something in common, with everyone he meets, and really draws people out. This led to a much more fun trip – after all, it’s about so much more than the walking

Physical State

The other most commonly asked question was whether I thought I had lost weight on the trip. Having weighed myself on the day of departure and morning after return I can reveal: no change whatsoever. 61.5kg before and 61.5kg after (9st 10lbs to save you the maths).

I didn’t feel bad at the end, my legs and feet were fine, but I was ready to stop – though that’s probably more of a mental thing. We didn’t take any rest days, which goes against all standard advice.

Mental State

Walking gives you a lot of time to think about stuff. I discovered that my sense of grief is still quite raw at times, but was able to work through this. It’s a good way to take stock of where you are in life: if that’s what you’re minded to do. I don’t want to exaggerate: this wasn’t a journey based around soul-searching. Most of the time there was a sense of wellness that comes from being in beautiful surroundings, and a sense of fun from the various characters we meet on the route. Even the bad days were good.

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