Stage 6 took us through the Yorkshire Dales and over the South Pennines to the end of the Pennine Way at Edale. It brought our 500-mile and 600-mile milestones, friends and family on the trail – and the hardest, scariest day of the whole walk.
Stage 6 at a glance
- Dates: 10–26 July 2019
- Route: Tan Hill – Thwaite – Hawes – Gearstones – Horton-in-Ribblesdale – Settle – Gisburn – Colne – Hebden Bridge – Stoodley Pike – Standedge – Crowden – Snake Pass – Edale
- Distance: about 119 miles (around 600 in total)
- Steps: about 278,000 each
- Walking days: 13, plus 4 rest days
- Weather: fog, wind and rain on the tops – and the hottest day of 2019
Into the Dales and 500 miles
We left Tan Hill in thick mist, with Pixi’s LED light strapped to my front so drivers could see me – a pretty good Iron Man impression.
Lorna and her husband David, who’d been helping us over Facebook, met us in Hawes, and Lorna walked with us from Thwaite over the Buttertubs Pass, pointing out the deep limestone potholes. The next day, between Hawes and Gearstones, we passed 500 miles – and I couldn’t get The Proclaimers out of my head.
Walking the wrong way round the Three Peaks
Near Horton-in-Ribblesdale we found ourselves walking against about 2,000 people doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. They were climbing the peaks; we were walking round them. Every so often we laughed, just to make them think they were going the wrong way.
Our quieter route soon became another “Brown’s Excursion” through four-foot-high thistles, but we made it through, passing the Ribblehead Viaduct on the way.
Friends, family and Lions
As we headed south it got hotter, and finding shady parking for my afternoon naps got harder. In Settle I had a migraine – common after a brain injury, and for me a sign I hadn’t slept enough.
From Settle, Ian’s sister Hayley and her husband Andrew joined us, along with Justine, my occupational therapist from Icanho, who brought wine gums. Dad also came back to support us, and the Whalley Lions welcomed us to our first ever Lions Club meeting.
Near Hebden Bridge we met cows so fluffy they looked like giant teddy bears, followed by a steep descent on old cobbles. Then Louise, who’d driven up for the weekend, and Veronica from Whalley Lions walked with us up to Stoodley Pike, in the clouds, wet and windy. I couldn’t talk – all my concentration went on staying upright – but Louise can chat to anyone, so I just listened.
Standedge to Crowden: our hardest day
After a taxi took us the wrong way and we started two hours late, Standedge to Crowden was the hardest and most frightening day of the walk. In places the path was a foot wide, loose and stony, with a sheer drop beside it. Just like when we taught diving, Ian held on to the straps of my backpack the whole way.
Eleven miles took eight and a half hours, and because Ian was holding on to me, my watch didn’t even count all my steps. The next day I couldn’t walk at all, and I questioned what I was doing: this walk was meant to raise awareness of recovery, not to undo mine.
600 miles and the end of the Pennine Way
From Crowden, Kerry and her six-year-old son George joined us. George was given Ian’s walking stick and the official job of nettle-basher, which he did brilliantly. On 25 July, the hottest day of 2019, we walked from Snake Pass down to Edale, passed 600 miles and finished the Pennine Way: 22 walking days, just over 200 miles and around 450,000 steps.
Tips if you’re walking this stretch
- Think carefully about Standedge to Crowden if you have balance or mobility problems. Parts of the path are narrow, eroded and exposed.
- Check the event calendar. On Three Peaks Challenge days the Horton paths are packed.
- Be visible in fog. A light on your front helps drivers see you on moorland roads.
- Take emergency snacks. On long, slow days you’ll be glad of them.
- Plan for heat as well as rain. There’s little shade on the high Pennines.
Local facts we picked up along the way
- Hawes is home to Wensleydale cheese.
- The 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct carries the famous Settle–Carlisle railway.
- Stoodley Pike monument, above Hebden Bridge, was first built to mark the defeat of Napoleon.
- Edale, in the Peak District, is the official southern start of the Pennine Way.
What’s next
Catch up on Stage 5: the Pennine Way to Tan Hill. In Stage 7 we leave the Pennines behind and head south through the Peak District and the Midlands. See every stage and watch our film on the Our JOGLE page.
Inspired? Set your own challenge, any distance and any pace, and help other brain injury survivors keep going. Find ideas, our info pack and sponsor form on our Fundraise for us page. If you or someone you care for is living with a brain injury, you can apply for funding here.
