Friday 20th of June 1975 was my last day at School I was 17 years old ,I had stayed on an extra year to re sit my o levels, as I walked home over the fields towards High Lane It never occurred to me what a big day this was, my school days behind me and new times in front of me. I crossed the road at the kissing gate then headed off downhill in the general direction of Ford.
That evening I sat talking to my dad about how much I was looking forward to walking the Pennine way.
I had planned everything out and was confident that I would easily complete the walk. I was really fit from walking and running, I had played lots of sports at school and my body was in real good condition.
The following day I spent getting all my gear ready, I must have packed and unpacked my rucksack at least four times before I was happy with things, some stuff got left out and other stuff added, most of my things came from the army stores, my boots were Moak with removable and replaceable soles which were held in place by small screws, my rucksack was made of a green type of nylon with a tube frame attached to the outside, the straps dug into my shoulders when it was fully packed so I had to pack under them with bits of cloth or whatever else was on hand. My sleeping bag was a bulky thing which I got from the green shield stamp gift shop in Sheffield, it was made out of the same type of material as my school anorak and a similar blue colour. I had a Karrimore roll mat for sleeping on, my waterproofs consisted of an orange cagoule with blue leggings. I had an Optimus stove which ran on petrol, it was attached and folded into a small metal box, it was a very good stove, the only downside was, you had to pre heat the fuel by placing meta tablets under the burner and lighting them. I had saved my money from paper rounds and window cleaning and had bought a Vango two man tent .
Everything was packed in plastic bags, the food I carried was mainly dehydrated with a few tins , some packets of Cadbury’s smash, packets of Knorr soup, I had sachets of Kellogg’s rise and shine powdered drink, a large bag of porridge, some skimmed milk, sugar, tea bags, and a few chocolate bars, I had 1 set of spare clothes, my cooking utensils, knife fork and spoon set, tin mug, pen knife, first aid bag, water bottle, map book and compass, pen and paper, my washing bag, and that was about it.

Day 1: Sunday 22/6/1975
My Dad dropped off my two mates Peter Senior, John Hayes ,and myself, at Edale village and we set off walking up Grindsbrook, the official start of the Pennine way. The only maps we had were in the Tom Stephenson Pennine way guide book I was carrying. The weather was very warm and hazy different to three weeks earlier when on the 2nd of June an inch of snow fell at Buxton, stopping play at a Derbyshire versus Lancashire cricket match.
Kinder Scout and Bleaklow, areas notorious for getting lost on were no problem to us, I had walked these moors often, wild camping many times on the tops, soon we passed Kinderdownfall and were descending towards where the snake path crosses the Pennine way , we headed north east from Mill hill, fortunately the ground was very dry which made the going easy. We crossed the A57 road, then followed the well defined path up to the kissing stones (wain stones), then onto Bleaklow head.
The day was now passing and the sun starting to drop, we decided to look for a place to camp, unfortunately we did not have a watch so we did not know the exact time, as we were totally self sufficient this did not cause a problem, we made our first nights camp where Wildboar grain meets John track well. It was a lovely evening, and after we had eaten John and I climbed up to Torside castle , where we sat and watched the Sun go down

Day 2: 23/6/197
It was early when we got up, soon we had eaten and taken down the tents, all three of us slept in 1 tent we used the other tent which was Pete’s for keeping our gear in. , It was very warm, and the sky was hazy, soon we were descending down the side of Torside Clough, we passed above Reaps farm which as normal smelt of pigs . After crossing the western end of Torside Reservoir we walked along the main road, then onto a track which brought us out near Crowden Youth Hostel. There was a small shop, which had a bit of a café , we made the most of this by ordering some bread and butter along with a plate of chips a piece.
Soon we were walking again, it was very warm and the sun was now high above us, we kept stopping , stripping off, and splashing around in Crowdon great brook , it must have been late afternoon by the time we reached the top of Black Hill and Soldiers Lump, Pete and I disagreed about which way to go, the way split into two paths here, we took the left hand one over White Moss, it was now getting late in the day and a bit of a mist was dropping, we put our tents up at the side of Black Moss Reservoir. After we had eaten John and I tried rowing across the reservoir in a rotten old rowing boat which was moored up at the side of the bank, it sank right in the middle of the reservoir and we ended up swimming back. The rest of the evening we spent in the tent.

Day 3: 24/6/1975
I was woken by John early the next morning, he was crouched in the doorway of the tent wet through in just his underpants, he had a big grin on his face and was clutching an Oystercatchers egg. He had crawled out over some marshy ground where dozens of birds were nesting and managed to crawl back with his prize.
I blew the egg and John wrapped it away safely, he carried it all the way to Kirk Yetholm and managed to get it home in one piece.
The weather was misty and cooler, after we had eaten and taken down our tents we set off in the direction of Standedge. There was not much of a view off Standedge, by the time we reached the trig point on White hill, you could hardly see in front of you, from here though the mist started to clear, we crossed the M62 Motorway foot bridge stopping for a photo before marching off towards Blackstone edge, we stopped and had a bite to eat at Blackstone edge Reservoir, it was now late in the afternoon , we decided to keep plodding on. Soon the sun started to sink lower in the western sky, the mist had cleared, and by the time we reached Stoodley Pike it was completely dark, and the sky was full of stars .
We sat for a while here, It was decided not to put our tents up but to push on towards Hebden Bridge, we had no idea of the time. I was feeling very tired as we dropped down towards the lights, when eventually we reached the road it was very quite. I asked a man who was walking his dog, the time, it was a quarter to midnight, we walked along the A646 road for a short distance looking for somewhere to camp. We ended up pitching our tents in a small park at the side of the road, we were soon in our sleeping bags and fast asleep.

Day 4: 25/6/1975
It was late morning when we all eventually got out of our tent, there was quite a few people walking up and down some of them giving us strange looks, I managed to get some water from a nearby house and make a drink, I then cooked some rice pudding . By the time we had eaten, washed up, and packed all our things it was well into the afternoon, we still all felt tired but none of us felt like hanging around, so we picked up our rucksacks and made our way back along the now busy road until we rejoined the Pennine way at Charlestown. It was a steep climb up through the woods but eventually the ground levelled out and as we looked South, Stoodley Pike stood out on the distant hill top. It was very warm now infact the hottest day so far, we sat talking for the best part of an hour at the top of Pry Hill, we decided to find somewhere to camp, Pete needed to sort out a blister under one of his feet. We ended up putting just the one tent up in the edge of Foster wood. I fetched water from a small stream, one problem we had was that the midges were biting , we made a small fire and sat around this until darkness fell. It did not take long before we were all asleep, I know I was very tired largely I think to do with the previous day’s effort.

Day 5: 26/6/1975
Once again I had no idea what the time was when we got up, it did not seem late, we had breakfast and then packed up our things making sure to hide any evidence of our campfire. By the time we started walking the sun was well up and the day was once again very warm. We soon picked up the way and it was not long before we reached the eastern edge of Gorple reservoirs, we made a detour here and had a sandwich at the Packhorse Inn near Blake Dean. It was 3pm when we set off back up the road to rejoin the Pennine way.
Our path now went north east past Walshaw Dean reservoirs and uphill to Withens Height, we spent a good 15 minutes exploring the ruins at Top Withens, the old Farmhouse associated with Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Soon after our path took us past Ponden Reservoir then up onto Bare Hill, Cat stones, over Ikonshaw moor and onto Cowling, it was 8pm when we arrived at Cowling. We sat for ten minutes or so discussing whether to camp here or push on. It was such a lovely evening we decided to walk on .
At 9-30 pm we were sat outside the Hare & Hounds in Lothersdale eating crisps and drinking shandy, about an hour later we were putting our tents up by a small wood just north of Lothersdale, another late finish and no tea.

Day 6: 27/6/1975
Once again it was late when we got up, I did not sleep to well, we had put the tent up in the dark on a steep bank so everyone kept sliding to the bottom end of the tent. By the time everything was packed away and we had eaten it must have been near to midday. Pete’s feet were now getting better and he set off at a very fast pace, but this did not last long, after about a mile we had stopped and he was complaining about the tendon in his right heal. We decided to look for somewhere to camp and ended camping in the edge of Riddings wood. I was glad of a short day, and I know John was, we all felt tired, I remember being in my sleeping bag long before it went dark. John was only 13 years old, he carried all his own gear in an old canvas rucksack with a metal frame, it had no waist belt , and the bottom of it seemed to sit on his bottom, all the weight was dispersed completely wrong and this made him walk in a stooped posture with his neck stuck out. He resembled something like an upright turtle, but he never complained.

Day 7: 28/6/1975
An early start to the day. We all felt better for a goodnights sleep, Pete’s foot was still sore , we had our breakfast and in the now usual way packed away our gear. Supplies were getting low and we needed to do some shopping. Soon we were walking over the fields towards Thornton in Craven, and soon after that we joined the Leeds and Liverpool canal we past through East Marton and just before 11pm arrived at Gargrave. I managed to get some more food supplies here, our larder was once again full, or at least well stocked, we decided to push on to Airton, and try to find a café but when w got there, there was only a Post office, all they sold was stationary and stamps. It was once again very warm, we made our way along the river Air and after a while stopped and made a drink of tea, we also ate the two packets of chocolate biscuits I had bought, these were meant to last until we got to Hawes, an hour was lost at a nice cool pool where we tried tickling trout, but ended up swimming instead . It was late afternoon when we arrived at Malham, There was a café at the Youth Hostel so we gorged ourselves on fish and chips.
After our meal we set off for Malham cove, we were soon sat on the limestone pavements looking back down the course of the river Air. The weather was now glorious, not a cloud in the sky, we reached Malham Tarn and soon passed this, the sun was now getting lower in the sky, we decided to push on to Tennants Gill, here we put our tent up just before it went dark, it had been a long day and once more we all felt tired, it was not long before we were all fast asleep.

Day 8: 29/6/1975
I woke up feeling cold for the first time, I unzipped the front of the tent and everything was white over with frost. Pete made a hot drink and we lay for another hour just laughing and talking. It was mid morning before we were walking, the sun was well up and things had warmed up, as we crossed the top of Fountains fell Pen-Y-Ghent came into view, I stood looking and thinking what a marvellous looking hill, we descended In Sleets then looped round before ascending Pen-Y-Ghent’s
South Ridge. We got good views from the top but with the weather being so warm there was a slight haze, it was mid afternoon by the time we reached the café at Horton in Ribblesdale, thankfully it was open, so we went inside and had a good dinner washed down with a pint of tea.
The next part of our journey was the only part we managed to get totally lost on, we had set off in the right direction but seemed somehow get drawn towards the river ribble instead of the higher ground below Horton and Birkwith moor, we were all feeling tired so it was decided after a short discussion to put up the tents and sort out where we were later on. The tents were up in record time largely due to the fact that we were being eaten alive by what seemed to me, to be Highland midges. Soon we were all three of us tucked up inside the tents.

Day 9 30/6/1975
We really did get up early the next morning, it was only just light, we worked out roughly where abouts we were, and decided to walk in the opposite direction to the flow of the river Ribble and hopefully come out at Ribblehead.
We very quickly packed all our gear, did not bother about a drink or breakfast, it was our plan to avoid the midges, this did not work, it was very still and misty, and we just about once again got eaten alive . As we set off walking we disturbed a group of owls ( a parliament or a stare ) they were on the floor at the time, I believe they were short eared owls. It was hard going walking over the undefined ground, after about an hour we were cheered up by the sight of a train , shortly after that Ribblehead Viaduct came into view confirming our position. At last we found a decent track and eventually reached the road, we sat at a large rock at the junction of the B6479 and the B6255, here the stoves came out, we made a drink and ate some breakfast. The sun was now out and the sky was clear, the mist had gone, and there were no midges, we sat here for quite some time, before deciding to walk along the road to Hawes.
It was really warm now , and as we walked, John slowly got left behind, the next thing, a car came past with John hung out of the window waving at us, Pete and I waved back as John and the car disappeared into the distance. After a couple of hours or so Hawes village came into view with John sat on the verge, once more, waving to us. The first thing I did was to buy a drink of pop, we then asked directions to the camp site. After we had put both tents up, I went for a shower, I must have spent a good half hour showering. It was my first shower I since leaving Marsh Lane. That evening we sat outside the chip shop in Hawes eating a good supper, and chatting up some local girls.

Day 10 : 1/7/1975
It was nice to get out of the tent, walk over to the Shower block use a proper toilet and spend another half hour in the shower, after this I made breakfast and the three of us sat in the warm sunshine feasting, it was probably the hottest day so far. We stocked up with a few more bits of food, then set off in the direction of Hardraw. There were drought warnings up on the lamp posts in Hardraw, we hadn’t had any rain since before we set off from Edale. After stopping off at the Green Dragon for a shandy and a view of the waterfall we set off along the track towards Great Shunner Fell. One problem we had was that we only had one water bottle between the three of us, it was not long before our water had gone. It was a hard slog to the top of Great Shunner Fell, we were all ready for a drink by the time we got there. Pete had a drink out of a small pool near the top, this he paid for later. It was not until we had descended Great Shunner fell and reached the village of Thwaite that we got a drink, we were sat outside the village shop drinking pop when a green lorry full of soldiers pulled up . I got talking to them, they offered to give us a lift down the road to the campsite, so we had a lift in the back of there wagon. One end of the campsite field was full of army tents we camped at the other end, that evening the Sergeant who’s name was John fetched the three of us across to their camp and gave us some dinner, afterwards we were given a ride in one of there land rovers to the Farmers arms in Muker.

Day 11 : 2/7/1975
Pete had been up most of the night with sickness and diarrhoea. This I reckoned was down to the water he had drunk on Great Shunner Fell.
Sergeant John came across and gave him some powdered medicine, we decided to have a day off from walking , hopefully giving Pete the chance to get well. The army gave us a breakfast, John and I washed ours and Peters clothes, then hung them on a tree to dry, it was still very hot, we wore only boots and shorts. After washing our dirty clothes we spent the rest of the day messing around in Straw beck, John tickled a nice sized trout around the two pound mark, we cooked that for tea and Sergeant John cooked us some vegetables to have with it. I managed to cut the end of my thumb on an empty tin lid, Sergeant John once more came to the rescue , I ended up with a couple of butterfly stitches. The army had a shower tent and they let us use that, though the water was not all that hot. That evening John and I got took out in the Land rover again to the Farmers arms, Peter who was still feeling rough stayed in the tent. When we got back from the pub we sat around the army campfire with some of the soldiers, it was gone midnight before John and I got to bed.

Day 12 :3/7/1975
It was 9am when we got up, I had my breakfast, Sergeant John came across to make sure Peter was well and that he too had eaten some breakfast. We then packed our gear and around lunch time two of the soldiers dropped us off at the little shop in Thwaite . We thanked them both before once again setting off North along the Pennine Way. Where the way meets the Swale at Kidston Force, John and I went for a swim, and after that climbed up the waterfall. Peter was still weak so we made this another short day and headed off in the direction of Keld. Here we managed to get three beds at the Youth Hostel. It was now late afternoon so we spent the rest of our day just dossing on the grass behind the hostel. That evening a party of about 15 people arrived, mainly lads about our age, the man in charge of them was Alan Binns.
Alan Binns had written a book called Walking the Pennine Way. We spent the rest of that evening talking in the common room, I went to bed at around 10pm.

Day13: 4/7/1975
We were all up around 8am, I showered then went down to the Kitchen we had our breakfast and then each did his allocated chore, mine was to sweep out the common room, after we had all completed a chore we packed our things and left, It was another very hot day. We set off at a good pace, Peter was now fine and we soon crossed Stonedale moor to Tan hill, the Inn there was not open but we stopped for a minute or two to have a drink and take a picture of the highest Inn in England. It was still warm but slightly cloudy, we kept a steady pace all the way across the moor to Trough head, here we went left towards Gods Bridge, we crossed the A66 road and continued North eventually descending to Blackton Reservoir. We were all feeling hungry now so it was decided to find somewhere to camp, we ended up at High Birk Hat farm, I asked the Farmers wife if she would sell us some eggs for our tea, she did one better than that by cooking us a meal of eggs chips and beans. We then put our tents up, her son who was mad on golf came and sat with us until we climbed into our tents, we were all very tired. ( When I got back home I posted two golf clubs to High Birk Hat farm, I had promised to do this, they were what my Granddad had bought me a few years earlier. I was not interested in golf and they were now too small for me anyway.)

Day 14 : 5/7/1995

After we had thanked the farmers wife for yesterdays tea and for letting us camp we packed and were once again on our way, ( she never charged us a penny ). The weather was still fine, and the ground very dry, we climbed out of Baldersdale, then dropped down into Lunedale, it must have been late morning when we reached Harter Fell, Pete & John headed North over Crossthwaite common down into Teesdale, I followed the Pennine way path to Middleton in Teesdale, we arranged to meet up later at Langdon beck Youth hostel . When eventually I got to Middleton it was about 1pm I called and had some dinner in a small café, I then made my way along the river Tees passing first Low Force, and then High Force. i t was early evening by the time I walked away from the Tees to join the Road between Forest in Teesdale and Langdon beck. When I did reach the Youth hostel Pete and John to my surprise had not arrived, they turned up 15 minutes later, I had no idea how this happened, I must have somehow passed them on route. After tea we all showered and then sat playing cards, with some more people who were staying at the Hostel.

Day 15 : 6/7/1975

I was out of bed early, I showered and then packed up my things, we had breakfast before doing our compulsory chore, by 9am we were heading back downhill to pick up our route at the north side of the Tees. The sun was again shinning though it was a little breezier. Falcon clints lived up to there name, we sat here for a good while watching a Peregrine, soon after we arrived at Caldron snout, unfortunately Pete fell in here and we lost two reels of film which had been used and where in one of the side pockets of his rucksack. After sorting out Pete’s wet gear and getting him dry we set off walking once more, it was mid afternoon by the time we reached High Cup Nick The next couple of hours we spent climbing on the dolerite crags, Pete claimed to be the climber of our group, but he got stuck on a couple of occasions , and nearly knocked John off when he sent a shower of loose rock down. It was early evening when we arrived in Dufton, we soon had the tents up, we ate first and then showered, the day was about done by this time, Pete was asleep first, John and I lay talking for a while.
Day 16 7/7/1975
We had a bit of a late start , Pete once again was having problems with his foot, but he managed to keep walking, once he got moving the soreness in his tendon seemed to ease, it was when he first set off it pained him. Today was a hard day we crossed the highest point of the Pennine way “ Cross Fell “ at 2,893 feet. First we had to walk over three other tops, It was a very warm day, which made the steep uphill slog even harder, we had added more weight to our rucksacks by stocking up with food in Dufton. It was mid afternoon when we eventually arrived at the trig point at the top of Cross Fell, we sat there for quite a while eating chocolate , and drinking pop, there was a bit of a haze, but we still managed to get good views over the Eden valley. I had only 2 photos left I took one of the views, and the other of Pete and John at the trig point. Our descent was a lot easier than our climb up, we came across a stone building called Greg’s hut, here we found a visitors book which we signed , I made a drink after which we set off on our journey to Garrigill.
Our money situation was getting low, between us we had about eight pounds left, I managed to ring my Dad from Garrigill, he arranged to get some cash to us . That night for the first time we had a bed and breakfast, we booked in at the George and Dragon Hotel the landlady told me it would cost £2-00 plus vat each . We went upstairs to our rooms, John and me in one room, Pete on his own in another. I cooked us some chicken and rice out of a packet then we had our last bar of chocolate. For the first time in 17 days I had a bath, utter luxury.

Day 17: 8/7/1975
It seemed a shame having to get up, but I did, and also had another bath. we all then went downstairs and had a breakfast of cornflakes, followed by sausage, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, and fried bread,
then as much toast as you could eat, I even managed to smuggle the rest of the variety size packets of cornflakes into my rucksack. I paid the Bill £6-48 and we then set off, on our way. Today even though still very warm we set off walking in drizzly rain, we followed the river out of Garrigill and then headed north to Alston, here I caught a train to Haltwhistle, John and Pete carried on walking, we had got the train times and I was to meet up with them at Slaggyford later in the day. I got off the train in Haltwhistle and made my way to the Midland bank in the Square, I was expected by the manager , who had me in his office, he asked me some security questions, 1. my date of birth, 2. My Dads date of birth, and 3 my dogs name, he then handed over fifty pounds which my Dad had arranged through his own bank, we were rich again. It was late afternoon by the time I met up with John and Pete, they had already put up the tents in a field at the side of the South Tyne River, I had bought a few tins of food, so we cooked 2 large tins of beans and sausage along with Cadburys smash , followed by pineapple chunks. It was still raining when we went to bed, but our things were dry and so were we.

Day 18: 9/7/1975
We were up and walking by mid morning it was cloudy but fine, Our gear was still dry and we had managed to dry the tents. Pete was still suffering a little with his heel but it would take a lot now to make him give up., he did moan a lot though, John and me had started calling him oomi, as in oomi tendon. It was 3 o’clock bang on when we arrived at Greenhead, the Hotel was shut so we sat outside and made a drink, it was still overcast but fine. We decided after a while to push on, soon we were walking east, with Hadrian’s wall at our side, there were lots of little ups and downs, this stage I found one of the most interesting parts of our journey. It was early evening when we put the tent s up, we camped at the side of a small lake at Cawfields. After we had eaten I rigged up a line and we sat fishing at the side of the lake, after a while the three of us headed off to some crags at the opposite side of the lake, I left the fishing line in the water and secured it to a small bush. We had a good hour scrambling about on the crag, when we returned to camp I went to check the line. Suddenly a Moorhen flew up in front of me, it had taken the bate , we managed to catch the bird and carefully remove the hook, fortunately it had not swallowed it. I let the bird go and it flew away I then removed my boots and climbed into the tent.

Day 19 :10/7/1975
I was woken early this morning by the sound of a flock of geese which had landed on the lake, we finished off the last of the George & Dragon cornflakes, fortunately we got our gear packed away just before it started raining. The rain did not last long but it was quite heavy . Soon we were walking again, east along Hadrian ’s Wall, like the previous day it was all little ups and downs . We stopped for a while between Greenlee and broomlee Lough’s and made a drink, our path then climbed uphill, and shortly afterwards we entered the start of Wark forest, it was now drizzling again but still very warm, I put on my waterproofs, these also gave some protection against the thousands of Horse flies that were buzzing around, they were biting , the only problem was you never felt them land on you, the first time you new anything was when you got bit. It must have been nearly tea time when eventually we emerged from the forest, the rain had stopped so we took off our waterproofs, the last four or five miles seemed never-ending, but at last we came out onto the road and walked down hill crossed over a bridge before finally reaching the Youth Hostel at Bellingham. We all showered, then put our wet things in the drying room, it was now half past eight, we decided to walk back into the village and have fish and chips, it was worth it, they were really good.

Day 20: 11/7/1975
I did not wake up while after nine a.m. I had slept well and was ready for breakfast, all our wet gear had dried, so after breakfast we packed our things away then carried out our set chore, mine was cleaning the showers, we then set off on our northern journey. It was fine now and the weather warm, it must have rained in the night for the ground was wetter than normal, in places it was steaming. Our pace was now steady , we were all very brown, Pete gave the odd grumble about his heel, but all three of us kept laughing and joking. After a time we began to feel hungry, we had very little food left, we sent John to a house below Abbey rig to see if they would make him a sandwich, the woman must have took pity on him and cooked him sausage and chips, Pete and me hid outside watching, but we got nothing after a while John walked out of the front door, his belly was full, ours empty. At last we reached Redesdale forest it was mid afternoon and getting warmer by the hour. The Horse flies were about again and I got bit on my neck, apart from the flies it was pleasant walking through the trees. It was six pm when we reached the A 68 road, we called into a petrol station and bought some pop and other food items, we then made our way along the road to Byrness Youth Hostel. The Hostel itself looked like a row of semi detached council houses, they probably used to be for local estate workers. After tea we lounged about in the sitting room part of the Hostel until about nine thirty, I did not feel to well so I had an early night, John and Pete must of stayed up longer, I couldn’t remember them coming to bed.

Day 21 12/7/1975.
I was first up and still did not feel to well, I showered , then got breakfast ready, we ate, then packed up our gear, the warden let us off with a chore, by nine a.m. we were walking. The weather was overcast but fine, it was a long steep haul up onto Byrness hill, we sat at the top for a while taking in the views of Redesdale forest and Catcleugh reservoir, I had read about Ghosts of Roman soldiers, wandering the lonely hills around Chew green and kept thinking it may be as well to get as far past there as possible before we put the tents up. Soon after Ogre hill we turned east leaving the tree line behind us , by the time we got to Chew Green it was raining, we stopped at the site of the Roman camp and put on our waterproofs , we were now walking due north, after about another two mile we came across an empty wooden hut, it was mid afternoon, the rain was now heavy and I still did not feel to well. Pete made a drink and we decided to stay here for the last night . I got out of my wet gear laid my camp mat on the floor and got into my sleeping bag, I took a couple of anadins and never moved until morning.

Day 22 : 13/7/1975 ( Sunday )
I woke up really early, John and Pete were both asleep, having no watch I had no idea of the time, I felt loads better than the previous night, and felt really hungry, I looked through my sack and found a tin of beans & sausage some smash and a packet of vegi rise, I cooked and ate the lot, I then made a drink and woke up the other two. The weather was now fine though overcast Pete and John had breakfast, then we set out on our last stage of the journey. The previous day we had been following the line of the border fence between England and Scotland today we were still following the same. The weather was now fine and the clouds high, the cheviot hill got nearer and nearer, we climbed over Windy Gyle, sat here and ate the last of our chocolate. It must have been mid day when we reached the bottom of the cheviot we left our bags at the bottom and soon made our way up the easy slope to its summit 2676 ft. ( I forgot the camera ). Soon we were back at our bags. It was not all downhill from now on, the way took us over a few more tops, the biggest being the Schil, after that it was downhill, and at last we reached tarmac. As we walked down the track into Kirk Yetholm I think we all felt pretty much the same, pleased but also sad. We had spent the last three weeks and one day together, on what was the greatest adventure of our lives, I was 17, Pete 16, and John 13.

The following reading was taken from the original notes I made as a 17 year old.

As we walked down this last bit of roadway we all felt on top of the world singing one of the songs we sang on our journey ( Three steps to heaven ). Deep down inside me I felt a feeling of sadness thinking about the good times we had experienced on the walk, and now we were at the end. Not many people or boys have done what we did, but I am proud to say that I have.

The same day we completed the Pennine way we caught a bus from Kirk Yetholm into Wooler, we had fish and chips there then caught another bus which dropped us off at the junction of the B6525 and the A1, here we intended linking with another bus which should have taken us to Belford, but this link up bus never turned up. After waiting a good hour we decided to walk South with our thumbs out, after another half hour it was starting to get dark so I walked off down a lane to a large house, where the owner let us camp for the night in his orchard ( I think it was called Cheswick house. ) The following day we hitched a lift with a young nurse who dropped us off at Belford, we then caught a bus to Bamburgh where we camped in the sand dunes for the next few days. On Friday 18th of July 1975 we got a bus to Newcastle, then caught the train to Sheffield , we arrived at 5 pm, my Mum was there waiting for us and our Pennine way adventure was over.