Walking Lands End to John O'Groats 2025 for Alzheimer's Society

Martin was going home today, so we had some sorting of supplies to do before leaving the hotel. We drove over to Clove Lodge and set out at 10:10. We didn't get very far before arriving at the Clove Lodge Coffee and tea shop which was well set up and we enjoyed speaking to the owner who is also a keen walker. As we left two young men heavily laden with backpacks arrived. They had stayed overnight at the shooting hut with shelter that I’d checked out yesterday. They were frozen and said it was incredibly cold during the night. I was sorry for them but greatly relieved I hadn’t camped there as planned. Martin turned around at 10:30 having gone past Blackton reservoir and the glamping setup at Birkhat. A tearful parting on my part - again...I hate goodbyes. There were two ridges to surmount before getting to Middleton with plenty of sharp undulations.   On the second reservoir (Grassholme) there were 2 male and 1 female Wigeon on reservoir along with a common sandpiper. I was imp...

 A difficult start to the day as it meant saying a tearful goodbye to Jacqui and Mal. I hate goodbyes. Martin walked out with me up to one of the old barns and then turned back in order to walk out to me from Tan Hill. We enjoyed exploring the Kisdon waterfall before we really got going, and I spotted a dipper there. The views across the valley were beautiful, and the walking conditions excellent. I waved back to Butt House as promised. At the brow of the hill, before a fairly level section running parallel to the road going to Tan Hill, I could spot Martin as he drove up the valley. Another steep section took me through an old mining area including a cutting where minerals would have been washed out leaving a gully behind. As I reached the final level section too the pub Martin appeared and we walked together seeing pochards on water just before tan hill. We enjoyed a coffee at this quirky and popular pub before parting once again. Martin went to explore and do some shopping at Ba...

After leaving the cottage near Askrigg, we started off from Hawes at 10, my glute was playing up - I needed to remember to take ibuprofen and deep heat 15 mins or so before the walking. We walked across the bridge and through fields to Hardraw where we stooped at the tea room for coffee. This gave time for my glute to settle down so I was much happier on the continuation. There is a pretty steady ascent up towards Great Shunner and Martin came with me until the ascent steepened significantly. I was delighted that there were lots of curlews. Shortly after I entered a conservation area I continued to hear the sound of curlew, black grouse and other ground nesting birds. This reminded me that I had seen the classic white curved tail of a black grouse at the head of Snaizeholme the day before. A lapwing displayed as I was contemplating this. It was pretty cold and as I continued to head up, there were a couple of hail showers which stung my face but made me feel alive and full of inspirati...

We had a slow start - luxury.  Drove back to Horton so started at 10:30. The fact it was bank holiday weekend had totally passed me by. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what day it was! There was a racing event, motor biking, and the usual 3 Peak events happening so the parking and traffic around Ribbleshead viaduct had to be seen to be believed.  Heading out on the Pennine Way was a different world. Not a soul around and everything quiet. Just the occasions curlew call.  We stilled at Sell Gill to take photos of where water would normally pour down into the depths. Not event a trickle today. Everything is so dry. And then everything changed  - the 3 peak trail joined us and suddenly not only walkers but cyclist were buzzing around us. Up until this point, Martin found the walk disappointing as he’d seen these views before ferrying me back and forth; he turned back at 11:30. The Pennine Way left the 3 peak track shortly after with the Ribbleshead viaduct coming ...

I left this beautiful spot at 8:05 having let the tent dry out more - the groundsheet was sodden. I woke at 5am feeling cold despite the bivvy bag. Frustrating. I’ve no idea what the temperature dropped to but with forecasts in local towns down to zero over next few days I’m worried about continuing to camp for the foreseeable future. Something to chat through with Martin tonight.  A sandpiper took off as I followed the stream to exit. A wheatear who had bombarded me last night was accompanied by others this morning and I saw it fly into its nest in a crevis in the rock above the stream. It was a good feeling leaving there with no trace. Although the cows certainly don’t! The tarn was calm today with hardly a ripple and 2 fishermen out in a boat set off a peaceful scene. I was glad of any distraction as my glute was playing up again. A couple of ibuprofen and deep heat and I hoped it would settle in a couple of hours. I realised I had walked across one of the key fault lines causin...