Fri 28th May - Day 42, Cow Green Resr to Alston (22 miles)

There had been no frost through the night but there was a cool south wind as I set off at 07:00, the path crossed over the river above Cauldron Snout then cut across the corner of Dufton Fell to meet up with Maize Beck and I got to the footbridge at Maize Beck Gorge after 2 hours.

The weather was changing with it starting to cloud over.

This area of the Pennine Way is one of the more difficult due to the height and remoteness and so the path drops down into Dufton to break the section but I continued to follow the stream north-west up into the fell to almost as far as it's source of Great Rundale Tarn.

Leaving the stream I carried on in the same direction over the fell to find the path again on the other side of the hill on Green Fell. The path rises to the top and then sticks to the highest ground taking in 4 peaks.

I reached the third one, Little Dun Hill, at 12:00, it was now raining but at least the cloud was high so I could see everything.

There was a stone shelter here I stopped to have some lunch and two hikers went by me but they stopped on the last peak, Cross Fell, the highest on the Pennine Way at 893m, to have their lunch.

From Cross Fell the path quickly becomes a track and descends 7 miles down to the valley at Garrigill, this is an area of abandoned mines, the moor being rich in ores, mainly lead but also the semi-precious mineral "Blue John" which gives the track a purple colour.

I took a shortcut and bypassed Carrigill, the Way then followed the river into Alston, arriving at 17:00, the rain eased while I pitched the tent at the campsite here.

After the last week or so of good weather I had almost forgotten what wet feet and blisters felt like, at the end of 22 miles it's painful. I didn't feel like cooking tonight so I treated myself to a meal in a cafe.

720 miles completed.