18 miles/29 km

Total miles: 134 miles/216 km

We were ready at 8.30 for breakfast at the Tan Hill Inn and shortly thereafter were on our way. The guidebook describes the section after the Inn as a little muddy but this turned out to be an understatement.

My The going over Sleighthome Moor was very slow and treacherous and, at times, it was hard to find a way forward. The peat bogs in northern England are, however, not too hard to navigate as long as you follow a few simple rules. Only stand on the cottongrass mounds and don’t stand on anywhere else. Especially the spagnum moss or you will be in mud and water past your ankles or even halfway up your leg. A number of times I had to stop to drag my trekking pole out of the mud.

The difficult terrain slowed us down significantly but after around 5km after Tan Hill the ground became drier and easier to walk upon. Shortly after doing so, the track split with the Bowes Loop going right and our route to Middleton going left. Since we had no need to go to Bowes, we continued on the main route.

After crossing the busy A66, a route used to cross the country by Romans, Vikings and Normans over the centuries, we climbed up onto Bowes Moor. The trail was uneventful and after crossing over Deepdale Beck, we descended down Cotherstone Moor to loop past Blackton Reservoir. It was then a climb out of Baldersdale and into the beautifully named Lunedale.

On the way, we passed Hannah’s Meadow. This formerly belonged to Hannah Hauxwell, a Yorkshire shepherdess who gained fame in the 1970s for living in a remote farm here without any running water or electricity. She was the subject of a documentary and went on to meet the Queen and even the Pope. The meadow is now managed by the Durham Wildlife Trust. As it has never had fertiliser or pesticides applied, it has many rare species.

As we climbed out of Lunedale, we had some beautiful views around us and could see how far we had walked. We were starting to get a bit tired by this point but had to press on for the final km into Middleton. There were rain showers all around us but we fortunately only felt a few drops.

Finally, we reached Middleton-in-Teesdale, our stop for the night. Tomorrow, we have the first of two long back to back days which will take us through to our final rest day in Alston. Not only that, spectacular waterfalls lie ahead!