Читать книгу The Pennine Way - the Path, the People, the Journey онлайн

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However, for northbound walkers contemplating day 2, he and Dr Smith had some crumbs of comfort. They suggest that if you set off from Edale and make it as far as Malham, then your body will have largely adapted to the new regime and you should have overcome any initial problems. And they offer this concluding observation: ‘If you complete the walk despite suffering you will be twice the person you were. If you give up you will be diminished. Good luck!’

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CROWDEN – HEBDEN BRIDGE

Repairing the green trail

Longdendale wasn’t exactly alluring the following day, murky and uniformly grey with moisture heavy in the air. It was one of those mornings, I told myself, where you simply have to get up and get going without too much thought in between. I crossed a former railway line that now forms part of the east–west Trans Pennine Trail, a coast-to-coast walking and cycling route from Southport, near Liverpool, to Hornsea, beyond Hull. It was as deserted as the lifeless reservoir below, one of five (Bottoms, Valehouse, Rhodeswood, Torside and Woodhead) that occupy almost the entire valley floor. The only activity seemed to be on the far side, where an endless stream of vans and articulated lorries were growling their way along the A628, which links Manchester and the M1 via the high and bleak Woodhead Pass.