Pennine Way 2006
Our second tour, the tough route from Berwick upon Tweed following the spine of the Pennines. We must have been under the influence when this one was dreamt up, the toughest route we could find in the North of England, with as many hills as imaginable and made extra hard by the unseasonally strong winds blowing from the south.
Day 1 was a long day from Berwick to Haltwhistle on Hadrian’s Wall, with the last 10 miles into a head wind on ‘roller coaster style hills’.
Day 2 Haltwhistle to Kendal, nothing but hills all day, most riders started on bikes but found running up some of the hills pushing the bikes was quicker.
Day 3 Kendal to Holmfirth, everyone starts questioning their own sanity when faced with the sight of trees been blown at right angles to the ground and raining horizontally, can it get much tougher than this. The hills get worse, taking in Pendle Hill after lunch, the hill where the National Hill Climb championship is held. We finally arrived in Holmfirth soaked to the skin, freezing cold and very hungry but the food at The Old Bridge Inn was legendary in its proportions, with half a cow being classed as a rack of ribs, enough to keep any weary team going.
Day 4 Holmfirth to Scunthorpe, a high spirited day, the homeward journey. A back wind all the way and a fair day, we raced through Barnsley and onto flatter terrain as we came through Doncaster. On arriving back in Scunthorpe, Ferry Road Hill was a mere speed bump compared to some of the hills we had been up.
