Northern England walk
Mark Moxon
Land's End to John o'Groats

Alston
It's a long haul to Alston, but the Youth Hostel is geared up for walkers... as are the pubs.

Baldersdale
Baldersdale is home to two large reservoirs, a smattering of buildings and some pleasant grassland.

Bellingham
As befits such a remote northern outpost, Bellingham Youth Hostel is extremely basic.

Byrness
Byrness is a tiny settlement on the A68(T), but the Youth Hostel is a friendly place.

Crowden
The Youth Hostel at Crowden is a great little place with a good line in evening meals.

Dufton
The Stag Inn serves massive shanks of lamb and well-kept Bass, which is just what the doctor ordered.

Edale
Edale has a large and bustling Youth Hostel that's a good place to get ready for the Pennine Way.

Haltwhistle
Haltwhistle claims to be bang at the centre of Britain, though it's not the only place to make this claim.

Hawes
Hawes is a a classic Yorkshire Dales village, with winding cobbled streets and a river running through the middle.

Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a lovely place, and if you don't mind the rabid anti-smoking signs, so is the Angeldale Guesthouse.

Horton-in-Ribblesdale
Horton is a lovely place, though it's impossible to find accommodation during the Three Peaks race.

Jedburgh
I didn't realise that my B&B was quite so far outside the centre of Jedburgh when I booked it...

Keld
Keld is a tiny village, but the Youth Hostel is a welcome oasis in the middle of nowhere.

Kirkby Malham
Kirkby Malham is utterly charming, and is rather quieter and more rural than its big brother Malham.

Langdon Beck
Being in the middle of nowhere, Langdon Beck Youth Hostel is definitely a quiet place to stay.

Lothersdale
Lotherdale has no shops and no Post Office, but it does have a pub and some welcome B&Bs.

Middleton-in-Teesdale
The Brunswick Guest House was very pleasant, though the pubs of Middleton are really disappointing.

Standedge
It's a friendly place, is Globe Farm, which is most welcome after miles of lonely moor.

The A672 was an 18th-century turnpike road where a toll would be charged for passing traffic.

Black Hill
In bad weather, Black Hill must be one of the most miserable places on the planet, much like Bleaklow.

Blackstone Edge Moor
From the trig point on Blackstone Edge Moor, there's a great view west over reservoir country.

Bleaklow
Bleaklow is the largest area in England not to be crossed by a road, and it sure feels like it.

Cam Fell
The Roman road that crosses Cam Fell is long, straight and seems to go on forever.

Cauldron Snout
This pleasant waterfall marks the junction of the River Tees and Maize Beck.

Chew Green
At the site of the old Roman fort of Chew Green I joined Dere Street, which goes all the way to the Tweed.

Cotherstone Moor
Less pleasant is Cotherstone Moor, which can be extremely wet at times and seems to go on forever.

Cross Fell
The highest point of the Pennines and of my entire walk, Cross Fell is 893m above sea level.

Cumbria-Northumberland Border
At the county border the overgrown greenery along the South Tyne Way suddenly disappears.

Devil's Dike
This 'grough' (a channel that cuts through the peat) creates plenty of 'hags' (steep islands of peat).

East Marton
Here the Pennine Way joins the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, with its strange double-decker bridge.

Fountains Fell
The long, slow climb over windy Fountains Fell is rewarded by a great view of Pen-y-Ghent.

Gargrave
Gargrave is a pretty little village, with its own church and a welcoming café.

Garrigill
A sight for sore feet, the pub at Garrigill serves probably the best tasting beer in the world...

God's Bridge
This natural stone bridge, where the Pennine Way crosses the River Greta, makes a great lunch stop.

Great Dun Fell
The summit of Great Dun Fell sports a huge golf ball that's home to a commercial aviation radar.

Great Shunner Fell
The walk up Great Shunner Fell is long and arduous, but the views from the summit are spectacular.

Green Fell
The first peak of many on this trans-Pennine walk, the summit of Green Peak has amazing views.

Hardcastle Crags
The Pennine Way misses out lovely Hardcastle Crags, with its peaceful mill and pretty woodland.

Haughton Common
Haughton Common is marshier than the forest, but at least there are fewer midges in the open.

High Cup Nick
This absolutely gargantuan scoop out of the flanks of the Pennines has to be seen to be believed.

High Force
The highlight of the day, High Force is a huge and powerful waterfall that pounds over 21m-high rock shelves.

Jacob's Ladder
The climb from the Vale of Edale up onto the moorland of Kinder Scout is a vertical 150m up a steep stony path.

Jedburgh
The mediaeval abbey at Jedburgh has to be one of the most atmospheric ruined buildings in the whole country.

Kinder Scout
The boggy moorland of Kinder Scout is infamous amoung walkers, though the worst bits are covered by paving slabs.

Kirkcarrion
The dead used to be buried on this hill near the Pennine Way; not surprisingly it's said to be haunted.

Lambley Viaduct
The views from Lambley Viaduct over the surrounding landscape are an added bonus.

Leaving the Pennine Way
At last, after far too many days of struggle, this is where I left the Pennine Way to its own devices.

Ling Gill Bridge
The bridge over Ling Gill is a postcard, and makes a great spot for bathing sore feet.

Low Force
Low Force is a bubbling waterfall with peaty water the colour of Newcastle Brown.

Malham Cove
Malham Cove looks as if a huge spoon has taken a scoop out of the side of the hillside, leaving quite a sight.

Malham Tarn
It's unusual to find lakes in limestone country, but Malham Tarn sits on top of an ancient layer of impervious rock.

Milburn Forest
The walk down from Cross Fell along the northern flanks of Milburn Forest is very long and very tedious.

North Moor
There are a lot of moors on this section, but at least North Moor is smothered in attractive heather.

Oaken Clough
It's a long, slow, steady climb from Crowden back onto the moors, over ridges like Oaken Clough.

Padon Hill
The endless miles of yet more moor on Padon Hill seem to go on and on and on...

Pen-y-Ghent
One of the famous 'three peaks', Pen-y-Ghent is a long, hump-backed hill that dominates the skyline.

Pinhaw Beacon
It might have been late June, but the wind that whistled over Pinhaw Beacon was bitterly cold.

Ponden Reservoir
At Ponden, the Pennine Way dips steeply into the valley, before struggling up the other side.

Redesdale Forest
The long logging track through Redesdale Forest is pretty tedious, and there are plenty of midges.

Reservoirs
For the second day running, the Pennine Way takes in a collection of rather dull man-made reservoirs.

River Aire
The Pennine Way joins the River Aire just shy of Airton and follows it all the way to Malham.

River Tees
The River Tees is a delightful river to walk along, with chunks of dolerite and shale choking the flow.

Roman Road
The Pennine Way follows a Roman Road for a short distance across Blackstone Edge Moor.

Savile Estate
In the driving rain, the grouse moors of the Savile Estate are eerie, bleak, cold and lonely.

Scotland-England Border
The Pennine Way flits back and forth over the border, but this is where I got my first taste of Scottish walking.

Shitlington Crags
The place names round here are grim, but even worse than Shitlington Crags is the cheery sounding Lousy Bog.

Sleightholme Moor
When I crossed Sleightholme Moor the moor was so spongy it felt like I was walking on a trampoline.

Snaizeholme Valley
I could literally lean into the wind that roared in my face as I made my way up Snaizeholme Valley.

Snake Pass
It's after the A57 at Snake Pass that's things start to get a bit more interesting...

South Tyne Trail
This flat and pleasant track along a disused railway is a great alternative to the Pennine Way to Greenhead.

St Cuthbert's Way
The lovely St Cuthbert's Way links Melrose and Holy Island, and it's a wonderful walk.

Stoodley Pike
This 125ft-tall stone tower sits high up on a ridge between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge.

Tan Hill
Tan Hill boasts that at 526m above sea level it is the highest pub in Great Britain.

The A635 Egg Van
The junction with the A365 is notable for the van selling fried egg sandwiches.

The Old Nag's Head
The Old Nag's Head in Edale is the official start of the Pennine Way national trail.

Thwaite
I walked 555 miles to get to the pretty Yorkshire village of Thwaite, which makes it the halfway point.

Top Withens
Top Withens may or may not have inspired Emily Brontë when she wrote Wuthering Heights.

Torside Reservoir
It's a long and boring traipse round the banks of Torside Reservoir to get to Crowden.

Turret 37A, Hadrian's Wall
I rejoined the Pennine Way at Hadrian's Wall, just as the Way heads north, away from it all.

Vindolanda
While avoiding the Pennine Way's route along Hadrian's Wall, I skirted round this old Roman fort.

Wark Forest
Wark Forest is a dismal place, being a midge-infested, man-made pine plantation.

Wessenden Reservoir
The Pennine Way winds through seven reservoirs, and goes along the top of Wessenden's dam.

Edale to Jedburgh