From Killhope Cross

A couple of months after my return to the hills, albeit with a modest moorland walk, I once again drove up to the north Pennines for my next outing.  I’d decided on attempting an out-and-back from Killhope Cross to Dead Stones which according to my own variation of Naismith’s Rule should take two and a half hours.

I started walking south from the empty car park at Killhope Cross and it soon became obvious that my fitness, following a long illness and a recent bout of Covid-19 was still very poor, the shallow incline to Knoutberry Hill often leaving me breathless.  I reached the vague summit where a small cairn probably didn’t accurately mark the true summit but with a bit of a wander I was happy that I had reached the true summit.

Knoutberry Hill summit cairn

As I took aim for Nag’s Head the fog became thicker and the temperature dropped.  Although relatively flat, the terrain was challenging due to the heather, bog and large areas of peat hags which prevented what would normally be a simple task of following the straight-line boundary fences.  I was on ground that the OS map wasn’t clearly representing and I came to understand that this was a weakness in displaying the true topography.  Despite the reputation of the Ordnance Survey, my navigation through the worst of the hags was best aided by the footsteps of another walker, despite me not seeing anybody else all day.

I reached Nag’s Head summit which was also marked by a small cairn which may or may not be at the actual highpoint.  Due to a combination of my lack of fitness and the tricky terrain (but mostly fitness) the time taken so far was equal to the time remaining before sunset.  Dead Stones was only a kilometre away but I was very tired and I didn’t know what the terrain would be like for the kilometre up to (and back from) Dead Stones.  And then I would have to walk the three and a half kilometres back to the car in fog and fading light.  I decided to cut short the planned walk and headed back to the road.

I had reconciled my decision and felt no disappointment as it was the right thing to do.  Dead Stones could be climbed in the future by a probable route from the west.

The whole walk took more than double the time indicated by my Naismith’s variation.  My planned walks for 2025 are likely to be shorter and have less ascent until hopefully my fitness returns to a point when I could reasonably consider tackling longer routes.

It’s time to get the maps out!

An Easy Return

There are periods in your life when circumstances and responsibilities at home and work conspire to prevent the pursuit of personal ambitions.  It had been 15 months since my last outing and I knew that my fitness had diminished significantly over that time.

I had been looking at my ticklist and searched for a very easy and very short walk to ease me back into the hills.  The north Pennines has some reasonably flat moorland with some of the highest roads in the country so with starting points promising walks with very little ascent, I parked at Allendale Pass and set off for Middlehope Moor.

I crossed the stile leading to the open moorland and followed the quad track alongside the wall and then the fence, avoiding some minor bogs when required.  I noticed my heavy breathing on this gentle slope, a strong indication of how much fitness that I had lost.

I crested the final slope and the cairn came in to view.  It was one of the most attractive I’ve seen, slender and waist-height, sat amongst moorland with no obvious source of stones other than some nearby walls.  Although the summit of Middlehope Moor is recognised as being some insignificant “heather” 20 metres away, I used my GPS to reassure myself that I could properly claim this Nuttall.

Middlehope Moor summit cairn

I returned to the car by mostly retracing my way up and my lack of fitness was reinforced by the fact that the out and back route took twice as long as my own adaption of Naismith’s rule would suggest and what’s worse is that my version of the rule can be quite pessimistic for such short walks.

Although the views were hazy and the wind being described by Francis Beaufort as a moderate breeze, the weather was that of a nice summer’s day.  I drove north to Allenheads and then turned west towards Nenthead.  Although it would be horribly bleak in poor weather, I thought that this area was very picturesque, probably more so than the Yorkshire Dales, and looking very similar to the Lowther hills, another area with a significant mining history.

This minor walk has reinforced my desire to walk the high places of the country and it certainly won’t be very long until I return.