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Walking Land's End to John o'Groats with Mark Moxon

Dufton to Alston

Cross Fell and Great Dun Fell
Cross Fell and Great Dun Fell, the latter with its distinctive golf ball radar

I think this is the point where I conclude that I simply don't get the Pennine Way. The journey from Dufton to Alston goes over the highest point of the Pennines – at 893m above sea level, Cross Fell is also the highest point of my planned route from Land's End to John o'Groats – and for most people this part of the walk is a highlight... but I'm afraid it just leaves me cold. It can't be down to the lack of punchlines because last time I walked over Cross Fell the visibility was so terrible I couldn't see my feet, let alone what I was walking across; no, I'm afraid it's just another section of the Pennine Way that fails to light my fire.

A tarn by Cross Fell
A tarn by Cross Fell
Repair work on the way to Cross Fell
Repair work on the way to Cross Fell

Fiend's Fell

The radar station on Great Dun Fell
The radar station on Great Dun Fell

As summits go, Cross Fell is disappointing. The top is large and flat, and the summit itself is only obvious because it's home to a large stone wind shelter in the shape of an X, built to shelter walkers from the high winds that lash the area for most of the year. The views to the west are impressive, though, especially on a clear day like today; the peaks of the Lake District are visible in the distance and they look stunning, but even with such a pretty view the top of Cross Fell is not a pleasant place to be. It's easy to see why people used to call it Fiend's Fell, believing that evil spirits lived here; it's desolate, featureless, unremitting and utterly barren, and even behind the stone walls of the wind shelter it's hardly a relaxing place, so even though our arrival at 12.30 was comfortably ahead of schedule, we hurried through lunch and didn't hang about for too long.

A cairn on the flanks of Cross Fell with Great Dun Fell's radar station in the background
A cairn on the flanks of Cross Fell with Great Dun Fell's radar station in the background
A path on Cross Fell
The start of the long, hard descent from Cross Fell

Sustenance

Mark and his pint in the George and Dragon, Garrigill
Me and my pint in the George and Dragon, Garrigill

It takes hours to walk down the stony track that starts just below the summit of Cross Fell and winds for miles through the moors. It's an awful walking surface, with rocks everywhere and a heather verge that's too thin to walk along, but at least I already knew what to expect, so I just got on with it and walked. Luckily I'd warned Matt about how this part seemed to go on forever, and having company along the way helped immeasurably; indeed, although it took a long, long time to reach the village of Garrigill it wasn't as hard as either of us had expected.

The River South Tyne
The River South Tyne