Day 41 Dufton to Alston

Another fine day to wake to this morning, a day that was to be a real high literally as I was going to traverse over Cross Fell which, 893m, was not only the highest peak on the Pennine way but also the highest on my entire route. The view from Dufton Youth Hostel was great, all around were high hills some looking just like huge pyramids. Trouble was, whilst they looked great as a view I had to go over them today! After following the trail up an old hunting gully around Dufton Pike it started to get very humid and at first I thought it was starting to rain before realizing it was pouring off me.... nice! A grassy track then took me up and around Brownber Hill before crossing a completely dry Swindale Beck and then the climbing started although I was running stretches of the uphill bit wherever I could. The pull up to the first cairn atop Knock Old Man was quite steep with several false tops and the cairn at the top (794m) was a handy fruit pastille stop! Each day I am the last to set out but usually the first to finish....bit like a hound after the prey.

Passed two couples that had stayed at Dufton before getting to Knock Old Man. A flagged path then provided easy running down to the road going to the radar station on top of the next hill of Great Dun Fell (848m) : the radar was rather like a mini EPCOT ball. After climbing to the top of this hill it was the more flags over the marshy area between this and Little Dun Fell (842m) - at least I only had to drop 50 - 60m between each hill rather than completely down one and all the way back over the next. Another descent and more flag stones before a bit of boulder scrambling to reach the bigun although it was a bit confusing trying to decipher where the actual top was - three times what I thought was the trig point turned out to be a huge cairn on yet another false top! Eventually I saw the Stone Cross windbreak and the real trig point. Frank, a guy who is walking a total of 500 miles in five pieces in aid of Lupus disease was waving me on to the top and took my glory photo atop the trig! There were loads of tiny flies (thank goodness they didn't bite, they were just annoying) but also lots of swifts snapping them up and when they flew close to me you could hear the "whoosh" (the swifts not the flies).

Leaving the summit behind I dropped down to a track that took me past a little bothy called Greg's Hut. Basically this is a shelter for anyone to use or stay in should they get stranded. Just as I was running past, who should come out but David and Marilyn having had a brew up and signed the visitors book! Walked up the track with them then upped the pace once it started to go gradually downhill. Apparently the track was originally a corpse road ......nice! Whilst I ran virtually all the way down to Garrigill along this stony and slightly undulating track, it was almost seven miles long - definitely the longest sustained running I have done all the trip but I paid heavily for it on the steep descent into the village as my leg was really hurting ever stride. The post office offered tea on the village green so how could I pass that opportunity by? After chatting to three cyclists going coast to coast I then limped half a mile up the road to a lovely grassy path alongside the river South Tyne and was able to run through little copses and wild flower meadows before around two miles of lovely farm fields each separated either by stone styles or gaps in the dry stone walls.

The Youth Hostel at Alston is actually right on the Pennine Way and I almost ran straight past. By the time I arrived my leg was much better - I just need soft going underfoot for the rest of the trip then! Cooked spag bol for tea ......yum, I didn't really like the look of the village - no more quaint cottages but lots of derelict buildings and shops, boy racers and kids hanging round the market cross!!

Millage 19.91 time 5.14