Pennine Way From The Air DVD - It's A Cracker!

Funny how good things sometimes leap up and bite ya when you're least expecting it.

When we registered for the Pennine Way 40th Anniversary 'Way In A Day' project, we qualified for a free Pennine Way 'from the air' DVD. To be honest, we'd forgotten all about it, when it dropped through the letter box the other day.

Edale, where it all begins - spot the Nag's Head

And it's brilliant. Filmed in one day from a helicopter, it's a 45-minute fly-over of the route in glorious summer conditions. Paul Johnson at Navigator, who put the project together tells us that they waited around three months for a suitable day then filmed the whole DVD in around eight or nine hours.

Kinder Downfall as you've never seen it before :-)

It really is inspirational, starting - like you do - with a lingering pass over Edale, then taking in all the highlights from Kinder Downfall, through Malham Cove up to the Cheviot. You find yourself scrutinising individual walkers, who must have been wondering why on earth a helicopter was following them and, if you're familiar wtih the route, or parts of it, checking out familiar features from a very unfamiliar angle.

The glorious Malham Cove in the Dales, taste that greenery...

What else can we say, except that it made us want to walk the route again, which is saying something after the abject misery of our first, damp, miserable attempt some time ago... Oh, the music is a bit folky and won't be to everyone's taste and the commentary sounds like Dean Bean's granddad, but hey, feel the cinematography instead, it's just stunning.

Oi, you trying to spill my pint? England's highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn

The good news is that there are still limited stocks of the DVD available and it's free. If you'd like one, just e-mail a polite request to steve.westwood@countryside.gov.uk with your name and address.

Almost finished - next stop Kirk Yetholm :-)