camping on the pennine way

Easily possible did it last year except for 3 YHA's and I B n B out of 19 days. Then only for one very wet day and night and the others to get decent meals to avoid carrying or seeking out resupplies.

 Depends on the weather,and if wet, how long you can put up with erecting and breaking camp with a wet tent. Best to go light and campers are in the minority especially carrying their own gear. Many are using the Sherpa transport setups.

You might have stealth camp some. Pick a quiet spot close to village prior to darkness ,then return to eat and have a pint ,then return to your camp spot .Leave that early in the morning. Need of course to be able put your tent/tarp up in the dark. Otherwise could be long night in your tent.

You might need to avoid the popular Horton in Ribblesdale camp site it was very noisy till 3.a.m when I was there. Visit one of the pubs and walk on the Way to pick a sleep spot.

Can camp at Tan Hill Pub might lead to a lively night.

Where's Paddy?

He's out walking somewhere, and rather unusually, he's got his netbook with him for a change, and access to the lowest possible wi-fi signal to be able to post to this thread. (It actually says 'very low')

So...

Most folk, even with the best intentions of walking and camping the whole of the Pennine Way, occasionally succumb to a night indoors... maybe a hostel or a B&B. The last time I camped anywhere on the Pennine Way, it was about 20p per night, on average. These days, it's anywhere between £5 and £10... enough to drive me to wild camp!

SD - It's not always lively up at Tan Hill. I turned up midweek, around this time of year, about three years ago, thinking that it would be nice and quiet and I'd be able to stay indoors. In fact, it was the day of their annual sheep show and the place was absolutely beseiged by farmers, sheep, tractrors, land rovers and countless onlookers. When I elbowed my way to the bar, the barman told me all beds were taken, but he said I could sleep on one of the settles in the bar when the bar finally closed. I asked when that might be, and he said around four or five in the morning! I had all my camping gear, and while people normally camp beside their little car park, that simply wasn't possible because of the crush, so I camped just over that grassy rise at the back of the pub. There was only one other tent there, and I have to say it was surprisingly quiet. I assume that there was all-night merriment, with a cast of thousands, but I honestly wasn't aware of it.

Tan Hill rocks- but do you need that after a days walk. I camped in foul weather near the rocks out the back of the pub. There was wedding party in, its licensed for weddings, I can vouch for the strong beer and the wedding party went on for ages, not so sure about the tame sheep on the dance floor!

Managed toast and scrambled eggs next morning and the wet trip into Baldersdale .

hello all

im planning on alking both ways of the pennine way all in one go, camping every night, is there any tips anyone can give to me as ive never done it before, and ill be walking alone?

thanks again

patch

Include a little history in your walks. Pecsaetan - Ancient Derbyshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire - http://pecsaetan.weebly.com/

That's a real shame, thieving gits.

I'm hoping i have mine backed up on disc somewhere, i'm usually pretty strict about back-ups. 

Include a little history in your walks. Pecsaetan - Ancient Derbyshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire - http://pecsaetan.weebly.com/

Go Light. Don't carry much food plenty to buy on the way until late on. I think I carried a spare breakfast and an emergency dinner. I often managed a breakfast somewhere and a pub meal a day. Eat well, drink well = walk well.

I did camp most of it apart from 4 YHA and 1 B and B, these to do laundry/shower and for 1 foul weather.

When the Pennine Way was established, it was assumed that most people walking it would also be camping. For that reason, campsites sprung up everywhere, including some very basic farm sites, and some pubs also saw the benefit in having people camp alongside. While some sites have long since bitten the dust, there are still plenty available, and it's possible to spend every night on some sort of site... though facilities do vary. The Backpackers Club maintains a list, as does the Pennine Way Association. When you're faced with the final two days in the Cheviot Hills, you have the option of a long day's walk, or a wild-camp half-way. If you camp in the garden at Forest View in Byrness, you can be picked up half-way through the Cheviots, brought back to Byrness, then taken back the next day to where you left off, to finish the walk. Be sure to make this arrangement in advance.

As already mentioned, there is no need to carry lots of food. There are shops available at decent intervals, or not far off-route, and so long as you have the necessary information about facilities, you can plan ahead and keep your pack as light as possible. Even on the two-day stretch through the Cheviots, if you take advantage of the pick-up/drop-off provided by Forest View, then you don't need to carry more than a packed lunch into the hills. My own Pennine Way guidebook has just been updated for 2012, and the previous edition can be viewed on Google Books. If you know in advance what's available on the route, then you can make appropriate plans. If you don't know... then you might miss something important that could have made the trek a whole lot easier!

Trail magic

SD - the old petrol station/cafe/shop at Byrness is probably closed for good. The actual site is for sale, so maybe someone might have a go at re-starting it in future. I gather that the woman who was employed there at the time turned up for work one morning and was also disappointed to find it closed!

The former youth hostel is now independent, and is called Forest View. They describe themselves as 'walkers accommodation'. I stayed there when it was a hostel, as well as in its new incarnation, and it's a great improvement. They allow backpackers to camp in their garden, which is 'free', so long as you have one of their (good value) meals. As mentioned above, they do a pick-up/drop-off for walkers who might otherwise struggle to complete the last stretch through the Cheviot Hills.

Thanks Paddy. I did stay say at Forest View which is just rooms, the warden living next door but one or something. They do provide a meal if asked which is cooked at their place.

In the hostel there is a cupboard for basic resupply and an honesty box system.. They give you a receipt type thing to note what you have taken and settle up when you leave. Seemed to work fine.

Evidently the cottage square was built for forestry workers planting the Kielder area.

A couple of fellow wayers asked and camped in the hotel garden nearer the path as you come out and cross over the road.

this is all fantastic information!! thanks!

ill be buying your book in a couple of weeks when i get paid, what maps do i need to take with me?

i was thinking of the website (go outdoors) you can buy camping food in a packet, was just going to buy a certain number of them an buy a samll camping stove an wild camp where ever an when ever its getting close to sunset.

a couple of the days i would need to stay somewhere to charge my phone and have a wash, how long would it take an average walker to walk the pennine way from S to N?

thanks! ill have to check out the information you've provided as my dad wants to come on the computer.

but up to now everything sounds great and cheers for being helpfull!

ill get back to you soon....

Warren, for food, as you say, you can buy what you need and a small stove to heat stuff as you go along. The beauty of this system is that you know where your next meal is, on your back. This can be heavy, very heavy.

As Paddy notes, there are shops in so many places along the way that you never need to carry much food with you as resupply is easy.

If you want to carry most/all of your food and not rely on stops on the way then

a) get dehydrated food and

b) use the poste restante system and post stuff ahead to be collected as you go through towns. You can also post maps ahead. 

If you use OS maps then you need 9 of them see here. Ok, that site lists 8 rather than 9. There are also Harvey strip maps which cover more of the path but not a lot else so if you sometimes get misplaced it can be more difficult relocating yourself and if you want to know what something off the path is then it may well not be covered by the Harvey map - they are lighter by far though.

Maps can also be posted ahead and sent back when used.

Why are you planning end to end twice by the way?