My Birthday run

 Last year I did just over half of the North West Way- Bowes to Preston. The whole route is about 192 miles and I did a bit extra to finish on Preston docks rather than the railway station as it was more convenient for the van and home. It meant this year I would only have about90-92 miles to do. I had been gifted the book of the route by the author so it would be rude not to complete the journey. 

We knew we could get a quiet nights sleep in Bowes so I planned to go from Bowes to Carlisle. I might do a loop of the city main attractions at the end to finish via the castle and cathedral and then back to the van but it would depend on the weather and my mood. We had a sunny drive to Bowes only to arrive and find that the main street was being resurfaced and there was no parking. Fortunately there was a space in the layby on the east of the town and ideal for my start.

Bowes has quite impressive medieval castle ruins that were in turn built on the site of the Roman fort Lavatrae. I had visited before so this evening I concentrated on organising my gear and resting. I had moved my run forward 24 hours as the forecast for Thursday was not at all good. Wednesday would be cooler than of late but dry and if I ran fast I might not get wet at all. More likely I would get wet from midnight onwards.  I find it hard to guess my time on these solo runs. So much depends on the surface, the hills, the state of the paths, mud, the weather, my fueling and my mood. I certainly hoped to finish inside 24hrs and really wanted it to be inside 23hrs.

Wednesday dawned dry and clear. I was dressed, fed and ready to leave just before 5am. Bob got up to take photos and then would move the van to Middleton. He had about 3 hours before I would arrive. The first fields of long grass were damp and clearly the path was not used much as I waded through nettles to cross the A66. I hoped this would not continue. 

It seemed a long way from home

A few more fields of wet grass led me to the A67 and once I crossed this things improved with nice field paths all the way to Nabb bridge- a pretty packhorse bridge from 1699.  Heading northish there was then a good track to Lartington- posh hall and cottages. 

Lartington mausoleum

A short stretch then led me to the Tees rail path. This was better than I hoped as it was narrow, not dead straight and had lots of short ups and downs where it met lanes. Romaldkirk was pretty and a short diversion from the rail path before rejoining to cross the Lune at Balder viaduct.

Before long the path headed down to the Tees and away from the rail line. Bob was parked as planned at the cattle market in Middleton right on my route. I didn't really need much yet but grabbed some food. He told me a female runner had passed by about 10 mins earlier and we wondered whether or not I would see her.  Navigation on the next section was very easy- just keep the Tees on your right. It was also flat and despite a few rocks and tree routes I was making very good time and well ahead of schedule. There was a huge number of rabbits compared to where I run at home and my the river the usual  dippers, wagtails, oyster catchers and more. I was now in the fairly huge Moor House Upper Teesdale nature reserve.

Near Low Force

 knew before long I would reach the river near Bowless and the suspension bridge where the Pennine 39 race starts.  I stopped to take photos of both Low and then High Force. Despite the dry weather recently they were still impressive. They naturally confine themselves to one the many channels at low water and so the falls are still good to see. 

I had been spotting wet footprints for a while and now I could see the runner up ahead. I caught her near the big quarry and we chatted briefly. She was doing the Pennine Way in stages and heading to Alston. She seemed quite shocked when I said I was going to Carlisle.

This was not ground that I knew pretty well. I ran up the Tees crossing it over and then back. Steve's book goes north into Langdon Beck for accommodation  before using the road to Cow Green Reservoir. I opted for the Pennine Way despite the dodgy rocks below Falcon Clints. Slow progress for a while there. The river was much higher than I expected but the rocks were mostly dry. 

Cauldron Snout was impressive as ever as it tumbled down from the reservoir to the Tees.  The Pennine Way from here is on a big track past Birkdale Farm (the highest inhabited farm in England) and then past the firing ranges. 

he red flags were up but I heard nothing. It was surprisingly boggy going down to Maize Beck and all the way to High Cup Nick. My mind was happily filled with so many memories of Pennine 39 races and also coming the other way the Hadrian 100. 

Today I was alone and had the full glory of the view to myself.  I was feeling good and knew it would not take long to reach Dufton where I  planned to refill my water at the toilets and possibly use the cafe. Plans, ha ha!

It's worth two photos

I  raced down to Dufton and all was good until suddenly it wasn't. My reckless but enjoyable descent had damaged my right knee and it was not painful and refusing to operate properly. Heck- I had only done 1/3 of my route and the weather was wonderful. I walked into the village to more upset. The toilets needed 20p and there was no outside tap. 

The cafe was not yet open. In a rather low mood I left the village and began my plod up and up to Knock Old Man. Maybe the walk would allow my knee to recover; I had not planned to be running much of this section anyway. I crossed the little stone slab bridge and made short work of the walled track. 

It was a glorious day

Swindale Beck was bone dry but I knew further up there would be water in the stream. I stopped, drank loads and refilled by bottle. I saw nobody at all between Dufton and Garrigill. 

From the Old Man it became flatter and I tried to jog. No, knee not at all happy. A mixture of walk and jog brought me to the road to the radio masts/ radar. I now had a choice of route. I could continue on the Pennine Way and do the P39 route over Great Dunn, Little Dunn and Cross Fell or I could explore the bridleway down Trout Beck and the Tees. The latter would be new to me, so more interesting and I hoped would have less climb/descent and be kinder to my knee. It seemed to take me forever to complete the 4 miles down to cross the Tees. I was really struggling to run and the path was not what I expected. It soon became a muddy boggy mess and where the river had eroded the outside of bends it disappeared altogether. I was not happy and trudged across the river several times.

Sculpture by Daft as a brush cancer charity walk

I hoped that having left the Tees and started the South Tyne Trail that things would improve. The route did- a huge track with even some tarmac sections. Sadly I still could not run even though I kept trying! This was very depressing as I expected to be flying along this section. There were some tears and I seriously wondered if I would carry on once I reached the van. I have to admit I ignored the guidebook advise to detour to Ashgill waterfalls- doubt there was much flowing in a relatively small stream and I was not in the mood. By the time I reached Crossgill I was managing some jogging and so this continued into Garrigill where Bob was waiting.

I took the chance to sit in the van, eat, drink and take stock. Bob was happy to stop in Alston as he had to drive through it anyway. This would allow me to see if things were improving after 4 miles  by the river. I was dreading all the stiles on this section and they hurt but I survived. I ignored the signs about the closed bridge and just prayed that is was still there. They have now cable tied the gates shut but it was easy to climb and cross. To me the bridge seems fine with just one small section of dodgy hand rail. I had no need to use the Spar but Bob was in there buying treats for later. I set off along the South Tyne Trail rail path and Bob would wait in 5 miles at Slaggyford to check I was OK. I would normally hate sections like this but today relatively flat and with no stiles and few trip hazards it seemed a bonus and I was even able to run a bit.  The viaducts provided some interesting views and there were lots of wild flowers. 

View from the viaduct

The only tricky bit was at Lambley viaduct where you descend what seems like hundreds of steps, cross under the viaduct and then climb back up again.  There was a bike resting here and I did seriously consider borrowing it! 

Easy trail now led me to the outskirts of Haltwhistle and I managed to run slightly more. My knee was marginally better, especially on climbs and the flat. Bob was waiting and we had a good view of the Alston Arches viaduct. I had more food and then set off wondering how far I would get before dark when the rain was also expected. 

Haltwhistle is the geographical centre of Britain (lots of claims for this and it depends what islands etc you include) but today I did not have time to visit the monument to this.

I made a slight error leaving town as I was making good progress up the Haltwhistle Burn and remembering the LDWA100 coming in the opposite direction. Today I was meant to turn over a bridge and I had to retrace my steps a few hundred metres. I headed north through farm land to reach Hadrian s Wall at Chester's fort. 

There were lots of interesting remains here but I was determined to press on and make the best of the day light. 

This section was hillier than I expected with some impressive crags on my right all the way to Walltown Crags. At least being a National Trail meant that it was well signed. which was helpful at the fiddly bits around farms and when we were not fallowing the wall closely.  Near Greenhead I passed the remains of Thirwall Castle. 

Near Gisland I made a small error and diverted to a mile-castle and found myself on much smaller footpaths for a little while. Somehow there was a big steep climb up from the river after this but I knew it could not be far to Birdoswald and the van now. It was now dark enough to need my torch.

Bob was waiting where planned and had managed another short cat nap. I had not eaten much of what I was carrying as I had eaten so well at the van over the last few hours. A brief stop and I was ready to push on. My leg/knee were still troublesome but I was able to run a bit and was making reasonable time. It was a shame to miss these sections of wall as I had not been to them before but tonight I was just on a mission of getting the kilometres done and the signal towers, turrets etc mostly just passed me by. There were now lots of kissing gates rather than stile and that was a help. A short section of minor road led me into Walton.

It was now dark and raining. It was not as heavy as forecast but did make it slightly more difficult to check my maps. From here to Newtown is a bit of a blur but I remember farm fields, sheep and muddy tracks. The van was easy to spot with my torch as the wheels on Bob's bike on the A mixture of lanes and farm tracks led me on. The puddles were huge and there was mud. The map shows the line of the wall but in the dark there was nothing of note to see. A bridge led me over the A689 fast road and then into Low Crosby. Apparently this old section of once Roman road once marked the northern edge of their empire. It is now a twee commuter village. Next I was running parallel to the Eden but I couldn't see it. At the next village I left the muddy tracks and had tarmac over the M6 and all the way to Rickerby where I joined a lovely cycle path round the village and to the edge of the park. A small mistake here took me to a small path by the river rather than the more direct major path which I somehow missed. 

Dark when I crossed

It didn't matter and I arrived at the bridge knowing it would only be a few hundred metres to the van. Given the state of my knee and the rain I could not be bothered to extend my route to the castle, cathedral and back to the van. I stopped. 146km with 2311m climb completed my North West Way. in 22 hrs 39 mins. I was later shocked to see a moving time of 19hrs 50.... all that time eating int eh van and stopping on the hillside feeling sorry for myself had certainly added up! For now though I was happy. I had pushed on and not given in, hopefully I had not caused too much further damage. Bob was ready with presents, wine and treats.  I drank the wine, washed the worst of the mud and seat away and climbed into bed. I couldn't get comfy to sleep for ages but it was lovely to be horizontal, resting and dry. I could not have done it without Bob and the van, thank you.  Not a bad way to mark my 64th birthday and prove that age is just a number. We had an errand to run in Keswick but the rain was unrelenting so we gave up on our tourist trip around Carlisle. 

We were home in plenty of time to empty the van, shower, rest and go into town for a celebration birthday beer and food at Chews Yard.