# A quick jaunt up to t'North Pennines



## Geoff Crowther (21 Oct 2014)

My OH, Chrissie, is introducing Kim to backpacking. She's working towards taking her round the Cumbrian Way next spring. In preparation Chrissie planned a night wild camping on Cross Fell last weekend. Me and Hamish fell to chauffeur duties with the vans but I reckoned we could cram in some mountain bikin' too.

We charged up the A1 on Friday afternoon in beautiful weather and were soon pitched up at one of our fave van wild camping spots.







Next morning we drove north through Alston, over Hartside Pass then down to the tiny village of Blencarn where we dumped, sorry ... dropped off ... the girls and their pooches for their "mini adventure".






Actually, Tilly the lab's my dog but I do lend her out now that Dixie, Chrissie's elderly boxer, has stated that backpacking over hills is too much like hard work (she IS thirteen). Tilly's also good at carryin' her own stuff as you can see.

Hamish and I dashed back round to Nenthead before walking the dogs (K&H have two too) then set off on a brief foray up past the lead mining museum and over the off-road section of the C2C which we missed out earlier this year (me being on my tourer).

It was fun.






We had a great evening, drinking, eating a very fine meal cooked by H, watchin' Clint in "Hang 'em High" and generally puttin' the world to rights before I fell asleep ... dreaming of my soon-to-arrive Thorn Sherpa.

Next morning we blasted over the moor again. Shot down into Garrigill then up across a byway to Alston for lunch. Then more bridleways took us on a tortuous route back to Nenthead. Hamish JUST managed to catch me as I hurtled out of the first shot.
















We had a great ride ... in the most glorious of autumn weather. Even saw a couple of deer twixt Alston and Nenthead.

We picked the girls up in Garrigill and K&H hurried off home. We, meanwhile, both now ... say it quietly ... retired, just mooched off back to our fave van wild camp spot to catch a gorgeous sunset.






Over the next couple of days we dawdled back thro' the Dales, enjoying a couple of nice hillwalks before returning home on Wednesday. It had been a most satisfying little break.


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## 13 rider (21 Oct 2014)

Looks like a lovely trip. Nice black orange top just like mine from Aldi


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## Geoff Crowther (21 Oct 2014)

13 rider said:


> Looks like a lovely trip. Nice black orange top just like mine from Aldi


It was great; very relaxing.
Yep, those frequenting the store will recognise that H and I ARE Team Aldi!


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## midlife (21 Oct 2014)

Nice 

I can see Cross Fell from my back window, very wild and windy and the home of the only named wind in the UK  Almost bought a house in Blencarn, nice quiet place.......

Shaun


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## Geoff Crowther (21 Oct 2014)

midlife said:


> Nice
> 
> I can see Cross Fell from my back window, very wild and windy and the home of the only named wind in the UK  Almost bought a house in Blencarn, nice quiet place.......
> 
> Shaun


Go on Shaun, you've got me.
I've never heard of the wind. Dare I ask ... what's it called?
It's a part of the world we really love.


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## Deleted member 23692 (21 Oct 2014)

It's 'the helm' and it's named after the bar of cloud that sits over the fellside when it's blowing. 

It wasn't so nice yesterday when I was around those parts


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## Geoff Crowther (21 Oct 2014)

Ffoeg said:


> It's 'the helm' and it's named after the bar of cloud that sits over the fellside when it's blowing.
> 
> It wasn't so nice yesterday when I was around those parts


Ok, I misunderstood. I HAD heard of the Helm. 'Thought Shaun was gonna say, "Cross Fell Wind" or somesuch.
D'you reckon that's it in my first photo?


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## Deleted member 23692 (21 Oct 2014)

Sadly not - the helm is a north easterly wind and the cloud sits over the west side of the fells when it's blowing.

Looks like you did a similar route to this - http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/your-ride-today.8938/post-2472650


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## Geoff Crowther (21 Oct 2014)

Ffoeg said:


> Sadly not - the helm is a north easterly wind and the cloud sits over the west side of the fells when it's blowing.
> 
> Looks like you did a similar route to this - http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/your-ride-today.8938/post-2472650


Yep, that's the one. I'd no idea wot to expect. Just made it up by following bridleways on the map at home.
BTW Hamish is a bit of a hero on a MTB and he did ride that really bouldery bit out from the mine. I rode some of it but got off ... before I fell off. The descent on that lane into Garrigill's quite entertaining too!

Oh, and thanks for educating me about the helm.


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## Geoff Crowther (23 Oct 2014)

Thanks so much for all the "likes" folks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Now ... back to reading my new "End to End" guide ...


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## SpaCyclist (23 Oct 2014)

Great trip and great photos.


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## Globalti (18 Feb 2015)

I can't wait to retire. Only seven years of slavery left.


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## Geoff Crowther (18 Feb 2015)

Globalti said:


> I can't wait to retire. Only seven years of slavery left.


Yeah, and ... sorry to twist the knife here ... I CAN heartily recommend it


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## Deleted member 23692 (18 Feb 2015)

A good proportion of my work is in the North Pennines, and it's a truly magical landscape.


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## Geoff Crowther (18 Feb 2015)

Ffoeg said:


> A good proportion of my work is in the North Pennines, and it's a truly magical landscape.


Indeed it is mate. Thankfully, not everybody knows it ... sssssshhhhhh!


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## Deleted member 23692 (18 Feb 2015)

Geoff Crowther said:


> Indeed it is mate. Thankfully, not everybody knows it ... sssssshhhhhh!


Aye, that's both the beauty and the trouble


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## Geoff Crowther (18 Feb 2015)

Ffoeg said:


> Aye, that's both the beauty and the trouble


Trouble?


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## Deleted member 23692 (18 Feb 2015)

From a local economy viewpoint they they need the tourist pound, but it staggering the amount of folk that still go to the vastly over packed and, to some degree, overrated Lake District and spend their hard earned cash there.

If just 5% who come the M6 and turned right instead of left at Penrith, it'd help no end


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## Geoff Crowther (18 Feb 2015)

Ffoeg said:


> From a local economy viewpoint they they need the tourist pound, but it staggering the amount of folk that still go to the vastly over packed and, to some degree, overrated Lake District and spend their hard earned cash there.
> 
> If just 5% who come the M6 and turned right instead of left at Penrith, it'd help no end


Ok, yeah, totally understood. I agree with your implication that the Lakes is overrated. It's just too busy for my liking and tends to be visited, to some extent, by folks lacking imagination. We are off up shortly though for Chrissie & Kim to do the Cumbrian Way, while Hamish & I bash off some hilly road miles.
For what it's worth, I do my bit extolling the virtues of the North Pennines.
Cheers.


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## Globalti (18 Feb 2015)

The Lakes is lovely but the landscape is completely manufactured, over the last century we have turned it into a theme park by over-protecting it.


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## Deleted member 23692 (18 Feb 2015)

Geoff Crowther said:


> Ok, yeah, totally understood. I agree with your implication that the Lakes is overrated. It's just too busy for my liking and tends to be visited, to some extent, by folks lacking imagination. We are off up shortly though for Chrissie & Kim to do the Cumbrian Way, while Hamish & I bash off some hilly road miles.
> For what it's worth, I do my bit extolling the virtues of the North Pennines.
> Cheers.



These might be of use then to you then - http://www.golakes.co.uk/adventure-capital/cycle-guides-download.aspx


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## Geoff Crowther (18 Feb 2015)

Ffoeg said:


> These might be of use then to you then - http://www.golakes.co.uk/adventure-capital/cycle-guides-download.aspx


You sir, are a star! Never heard o'those and don't actually have any Lakes cycling guides (see earlier comments). I'll spend some time perusing those.
Many thanks!


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## Deleted member 23692 (18 Feb 2015)

Glad to be of help  You might should be able to link a few together and make some longer rides (if needs be)

I've just noticed they've butchered the first few leaflets from the extracts of the original leaflets into some crap web page with poor maps. Grab'em while they are still of some use!


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## Deleted member 23692 (11 Mar 2015)

I had to go to the AONB offices in Stanhope today, via Hallbankgate, Alston and Nenthead. 

On a beautiful spring morning (like today) it's one of the most beautiful areas in the country, but on the way back in the viscous wind and driving rain it's one of the most inhospitable. But in either case I got a timely reminder of why I moved to Cumbria


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## galaxy (19 Mar 2015)

We used to cycle from Sunderland to Edmundbyers, over to Stanhope, if we were ambitious over to Barny and home, otherwise, down the Dales to Wolsingham and home, some of my best ever cycling times back in the early 80`s


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