Today there is a change. Annie is accompanying me for the first time. (I think she is juist trying to get out of updating our blog). Anyway we leave at 9.30 walking up via "the tube"and the scrap-yard to get to Alston "city-centre" on an early sunday morning.

We are soon off on the Pennine Way and through a variety of farmyards where chickens proliferate. Annie's first experience of climbing over such a variety of stiles leadfs to suggestions that I should write a book on the multiplicty of stiles on the PW. A best seller? I think not.

We walk through lovely farmland, although it would be even better in the sunshine, and via locations such as Castle Nook and Dyke House followed by Slaggyford (muddyford) where the pub recently shut. It is true that many village pubs are now closing, the impact on rural communities is significant. When we see a reference to the Hairstyle Inn we know things are going downhill!

The weather is grey, the terrain is uninteresting but at least the climbs are not as challenging. A variety of small hamlets and a gentle stroll through the County Durham countryside.

As we cross yet another stile we see a friendly? farmer rounding up his shep (see today's photo) on his quad bike."Look out for this one! He is on the police register,If he bites anyone else, he will be put down, that is why he is on a lead!" So nice to interact with the locals. We walk faster and ........ no bites. The dog lives on.

We pass through interesting sounding villages such as Holly Rigg, Foxlake Clough, Upham, Batey Shield and Greenrigg. The moor is bleak and we cross marshy bog - without a compass we would be completely lost. Eventually after about 3 miles wiohout any path or signposts we reach exactly the junction at Gap Shields Fan and only a miole ahead we can see Molly and Alan waiting to pick us up exactly at the intersection where the PW crosses the A69(T). The decision as to which route to meet them is to take a shotr-cut. The short-cut inevitably means that everyfield we enter has barbed-wire with no obvious exit. A short-cut indeed.

After almost an hour we cover the mile and "escape" from the fields.Alan and Molly have ben only 2 yards away from us for sometime but the barbed-wire fence presented aignificant problem. We are back in civilisation and reach "home" and a trip to our campsite.

Annie has enjoyed most of her journey and we are at Hadrian's Wllnear Greenhead.

A different day with most of the time in a valley with only a few climbs.

We still made 2,018 ft of ascent and a trip of 16miles.