Going home via Ashgill Force, on the Pennine Way

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Last night we’d stopped at Gretna Green to have a break in the long drive home. As we have been to Gretna Green before, we weren’t overly excited at visiting it again. So I looked at the map and decided we should do a detour through the Pennine Way as as far as I recall, I’ve never been there before.

The Pennine Way is AONB (Area of National Beauty) and Glyn thinks that’s just bragging. I don’t even agree with it! Yes it is very beautiful but natural? No. The majority of it is farmland and fenced. To my mind natural is rugged, wild and untamed by generations of humans.

But that aside, it was pleasant enough and we stopped at Ashgill Force that had a few positive reviews on TripAdvisor. Ashgill Force is a waterfall near Alston, Cumbria plunging 55 feet over a rocky shelf underneath an of stone bridge. It’s situated on the South Tyne that eventually makes it’s way to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I think that the source wasn’t far away. The area was very muddy and slippery and it’s a miracle neither of us fell over.

One cool thing about these falls is that you can walk right behind the water as the rock shelf it tumbles over juts out. The falls continue further down the river and we came across lots of mini-falls to the extent we were soon waterfalled out. Following the river took us along a footpath through farmland and some of the trickiest of styles. Eventually we came to a farm where the style had two very rusty and spikey metal posts sticking out of the top. It was difficult in the slippy mud and loose stones not to get double impaled, but we managed.

From the farmhouse, markers for the footpath disappeared and the only way was up - a very long, steep up of course. You’d think after a week in the Highlands that we’d be all over this but my stumpy legs are ready for a rest! Eventually we heard a passing car and knew we we near to the road where we’d parked. When we found the style and footpath, it came as no surprise that we wandered off course a fair distance. When we got to the road it was a bit of a jaunt back to the car.

The car journey through the Pennines was very cloudy and even turned wild for a while! Eventually we found the M6 and went home, to our three lovely cats.

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