Walking in the North Pennines. Paddy Dillon
on a rotation basis to favour the growth of heather as food and shelter for red grouse. Left to nature, without sheep grazing and interference by man, most of the moorlands would revert to scrub woodland, with dense forests filling the dales. Open moorlands are splendid places to walk, with due care and attention – more cautious walkers may prefer to stay closer to the dales, within reach of habitation.
The dales of the North Pennines are each quite different in character. Teesdale is famous for its powerful waterfalls, while Weardale offers more to those in search of industrial archaeology. Both dales are lush and green, grazed by sheep, with small woodlands and hedgerows providing varied habitats for wildlife. Forty per cent of England’s upland hay meadows are located in the upper dales. The northern dales are charming, but sparsely settled, except for South Tynedale, which is dominated by the remarkable little town of Alston, clinging to a steep slope.
The East Fellside flank of the North Pennines is awe-inspiring, where the Vale of Eden gives way to a striking line of conical foothills, while the Pennine massif rises steep and unbroken beyond, maybe with its highest parts lost in the clouds.
There are few forested areas in the North Pennines. Apart from the forests at Hamsterley and Slaley, which actually lie outside the AONB boundary, only small blocks of coniferous forest are found. The last remaining ‘wildwoods’ are around Allen Banks and Staward Gorge in the north, though there are many pleasant woodlands tucked away in all the dales.
There are no large lakes in the North Pennines, but there are several big reservoirs, constructed to slake the thirst of distant towns, cities and industries. Apart from Cow Green Reservoir in the heart of the North Pennines, there is a reservoir at the head of Weardale, several around Lunedale and Baldersdale in the south, and the Derwent Reservoir and a couple of smaller reservoirs in the east.
It is quite possible to choose routes in the North Pennines that stay exclusively on high moorlands without a break, day after day, but most of the routes in this guide include more variety. The long-distance Pennine Way passes through some of the highest and wildest parts of the region, but also includes visits to villages and has long stretches that stay low down in the dales.
Mining
There are no longer any working mines in the North Pennines, but some of the old lead-mining sites have been preserved. The remains of former industry are best explored around the dale-heads at Killhope, Allenheads and Nenthead, but there are literally dozens of other interesting sites that are encountered throughout the region. The general rule, when faced with an opening to an old mine, is to keep out. These holes, and the buildings associated with them, are often in a poor state of repair and prone to collapse when disturbed. Only explore in the company of an expert.
Some old mining sites have been transformed into heritage features, such as the Nenthead Mines (Walk 50)
Coal mining developed through the centuries in these hills, with bell pits such as those observed near Tan Hill giving way to deeper shafts and levels. Mines in the North Pennines were small compared to the ‘super pits’ that were later opened to the east in County Durham. Some of the coal had to be used to service the steam engines, including locomotives and static winding engines, working the railways that served some of the larger mining sites.
Weather
Some years ago, the North Pennines briefly featured a holiday experience with a difference, called ‘Blustery Breaks’. The idea was not to moan about the weather, but to capitalise on it, offering visitors a chance to understand why the North Pennines is associated with extreme weather conditions. It all comes down to the fact that the region is consistently high, with very few breaks that moving air masses can exploit. Put simply, all the wind and weather has to go ‘over the top’, which results in rapid cooling, leading to condensation, cloud cover, rainfall, and in the winter months, bitter cold and snowfall. There is a weather station on top of Great Dun Fell, the highest of its type in England, and naturally this has logged record-breaking conditions.
The North Pennines are broad, bleak, remote and at times subject to wet and windy weather (Walk 8)
The broad, bleak moorlands of the North Pennines offer little shelter from extreme weather, so anyone walking in the rain is going to get wet. Anyone walking in mist will find it featureless. Anyone walking in deep snow will find it truly debilitating. It’s important to check the weather forecast then dress accordingly. The extensive moorlands are mostly covered in thick blanket bog, great depths of peat that absorb and hold prodigious quantities of water. Sometimes, these stay sodden even during a heatwave. The best time to walk easily across wet blanket bogs is during a hard frost when they are frozen solid!
The Helm Wind
Most visitors to the North Pennines hear about the Helm Wind, but few really understand what it is. The Helm Wind is the only wind in Britain with a name. It only blows from one direction, and gives rise to a peculiar set of conditions. Other winds may blow from all points of the compass, from gentle zephyrs to screaming gales, but the Helm Wind is very strictly defined and cannot be confused with any other. (The last time the author explained how the Helm Wind operated, a film producer from Australia beat a path to his door to make a documentary about it!)
To start with, there needs to be a northeasterly wind blowing, with a minimum speed of 25kph (15mph), which the Beaufort Scale describes as a ‘moderate breeze’. This isn’t the prevailing wind direction and it tends to occur in the winter and spring. Now, track the air mass as it moves off the North Sea, across low-lying country, as far as the Tyne Gap around Corbridge. The air gets pushed over Hexhamshire Common, crossing moorlands around 300m (1000ft). Next, it crosses the moors above Nenthead, around 600m (2000ft). Later, Cross Fell and its lofty neighbours are reached, almost at a level of 900m (3000ft). There are no low-lying gaps across the North Pennines, so there is nowhere for the air mass to go but over the top.
As the air has been pushed ever-upwards from sea level, it will have cooled considerably. Any moisture it picked up from the sea will condense to form clouds, and these will be most noticeable as they build up above the East Fellside. This feature is known as the Helm Cap, and if there is little moisture present, it will be white, while a greater moisture content will make it seem much darker, resulting in rainfall. Bear in mind at this point that the air mass is not only cooler than, but also denser than, the air mass sitting in the Vale of Eden.
After crossing the highest parts of the North Pennines, the northeasterly wind is cold, dense, and literally runs out of high ground in an instant. The air literally ‘falls’ down the East Fellside slope, and if it could be seen, it would probably look like a tidal wave. This, and only this, is the Helm Wind. The greater the northeasterly wind speed, the greater the force with which it plummets down the East Fellside, and if it is particularly strong, wet and cold, it is capable of great damage. Very few habitations have ever been built on this slope, and the villages below were generally constructed with their backs to the East Fellside, rarely with doors and windows in them until the advent of modern draught-proofing.
The air mass now does some peculiar things, having dropped, cold and dense, to hit a relatively warm air mass sitting in the Vale of Eden. A ‘wave’ of air literally rises up and curls back on itself. As warm and cold air mix, there is another phase of condensation inside an aerial vortex, resulting in the formation of a thin, twisting band of cloud that seems to hover mid-air, no matter how hard the wind is blowing at ground level. This peculiar cloud is known as the Helm Bar, and is taken as conclusive proof that the Helm Wind is ‘on’, as the locals say.
Local people always say that no matter how hard the Helm Wind blows, it can never cross the Eden. All the wind’s energy is expended in aerial acrobatics on the East Fellside, where it can roar and rumble for several days, while the Vale of Eden experiences only gentle surface winds. Northeasterly winds are uncommon and short-lived, so after only a few days the system begins to break down and the usual blustery southwesterly winds are restored. In the meantime, don’t refer to any old wind as the ‘Helm Wind’ until