Читать книгу Great Mountain Days in the Pennines. 50 classic hillwalking routes онлайн

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There is a soothing gentleness about this walk, which in its first half follows the route of the Pennine Way. Few Pennine Wayfarers visit Harter Fell itself, even though it is only a short, easy pull up from their route, but the wide landscapes of Teesdale that embrace gently rolling moors in all directions, rippling away to distant horizons, make it worthwhile.

The small market town of Middleton-in-Teesdale is clearly comfortable with itself, possessing neither airs nor graces, or needing to. It expanded in the early 19th century, when the London Lead Company moved its northern headquarters here from Blanchland in Northumberland, and much of the architecture from its days as a company town is still clearly visible. This includes Middleton House, formerly the headquarters of the company, the school (which is now an outdoor centre, and part-time car parking area) and some company houses.

The Route

From the centre of town, walk down Bridge Street and cross the lovely bridge spanning the Tees. Walk up the road until it bends to the left, and there leave it for a side-lane on the right, for Holwick. Almost immediately, leave this lane for the Pennine Way, on the left, climbing initially on a gravel track up a field to a gate. Beyond this, just after the gate, as the track divides at a small cairn, bear right.