Trailblazer Guide Books

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ACCOMMODATION

Places to stay are numerous and well spaced along most of the Pennine Way,
allowing for a modest flexibility in your schedule. Apart from in the high season
(mid-summer), it’s not necessary to book bunkhouses, hostels and B&Bs weeks
ahead but doing so a few days in advance adds to peace of mind (see box below).
 Unless you take the hardcore camping option, accommodation adds up to the biggest expense of your walk.

 

Camping
Campsites along the Way range from a sloping field shared with livestock and a
basic toilet, to offer-it-all caravan parks with widescreen DVDs to rent. Short of
wild camping, this is by far the cheapest option at generally around £5 per person per night although, in these crowded British Isles, for a walker campsites might not be considered the best of all worlds. You lack the freedom and exhilaration of sleeping out in the wilds (see below) and the negligible sound proofing of close-packed tents means a rowdy group can ruin your evening.

Furthermore, many ‘campsites’ these days are just caravan parks with a
small patch of grass allocated to the dwindling numbers of backpackers. You end
up in the corner of what feels like a grassy car park surrounded by static, sat-
dished caravans occupied by weekenders. You’ll spend little money of course, but
the only real advantage over wild camping is a perceived sense of security, the
ablutions block and a pub meal down the road. Compared with B&B-ing, your
rucksack will be heavier and the rub is that the price you pay for good-quality
lightweight gear (4-6kgs for a tent, mat and bag) would pay for a week of B&Bs.

However, as long as you can avoid packed campsites, autonomy in sleeping arrangements lightens the load in other ways; there’s no need to book accommodation, you can change your plans as you

go and so treat yourself to something more comfy whenever it’s available.

As you’ll typically be in or near a village or town, carrying cooking gear
and food is not really necessary; the Pennine Way may be tough but it’s not
remote. Consider making life easier for yourself by combining inexpensive
camping with the convenience of eating in local cafés and pubs.

Wild camping
[See also box p32]  The Scots have a more enlightened attitude but the official
line in England and Wales is that sleeping wherever you like is not allowed
unless you have the permission of the landowner. Attempting to acquire this
permission is in most cases totally impractical and may be fruitless but, up to a
point, in the hills wild camping is generally tolerated on the uncultivated open
fells beyond the last farm wall or fence and well away from any livestock.

And so it should be; if walking along England’s backbone is a great
adventure, in good weather how much better can it be to watch the sun set and
rise in some of these wild places? Indeed, if you’re attempting the walk in less
than a fortnight, some nights in the wild will be your only option. Whether
you have to or you want to, the chance to spend the night out in the Pennine
wilderness cannot fail to make your experience all the more memorable.
 The key to this activity is discretion and respect:

 

• Camp late or out of sight (use green tents or bivi bags) and leave early

• Camp in very small groups; two tents maximum

• Never make open fires

• Bury or pack out your toilet waste (see pp53-4)

• Leave no trace of your passing

If you get spotted by the landowner, as long as you clearly look like a walker
in transit he probably won’t shoot you, but if he asks you to move on, you must
comply. Bedding down late and leaving early should avoid the chances of such
a confrontation.

 As for eating, as suggested on p17, eliminate the paraphernalia and chores
involved with cooking. Eat locally then walk on to your pitch with a back-up
of ready-to-eat foods. Try and plan your camp spot so that you can get to a café
within an hour or two of setting off next day.

In the Pennines one wild camping black spot is the Kinder Scout; the first
day out of Edale. Because of the high peat-fire risk during very dry and always
busy summers it’s not unknown for rangers to set out of an evening to harry wild
campers. Spare the hassle and save your wild nights until you’re over the Snake
Pass, if not the A62. Ever busy Hadrian’s Wall is also a place you’d want to
camp discreetly or just keep going; head for the Wark Forest instead.

Camping barns, bunkhouses and hostels                    [see box p33]
It’s possible to stay in this type of accommodation on almost every night of your
walk, so keeping your expenses to a minimum. However, some nights will be in
basic stone barns and others in hostels that are frequently crowded.

Apart from the good value, the other appeal of this type of accommodation
is the ease of meeting fellow walkers and having the time to get to know them,
rather than a transient ‘ow do’ on the trail. This bonhomie can get tested when
the kitchen resembles Dresden circa 1945 or a snorer gets into their stride
(earplugs are a must), but you get what you pay for.

 The simplest and cheapest of all are camping barns (£6-8 per person)
which, at a minimum, provide a roof over your head, a sleeping platform on
which to lay your bag and mat, a cooking area for your stove and a toilet. You’ll
need to bring full camping gear apart from a tent but some barns also provide
hot water, showers, cooking facilities and a wood-burning stove. There’s also a
bothy on Cross Fell (see p201).

 

Bunkhouses (£8-14) are independent hostels in all but name; they are
sometimes part of the YHA but not always. They are equipped with bunk beds,
full cooking facilities, showers and a drying room. Most assume you will have
your own sleeping bag with you, although it’s often possible to hire bedding for
the night. A few even provide breakfast and an evening meal.

Accommodation is usually in bunk-bedded same-sex rooms; there’s always
a self-catering kitchen. In addition, a good-value three-course evening meal
costing about £10 and a packed lunch (about £5) are available at some places.
 To stay at a YHA/SYHA hostel it is cheaper to be a member (YHA tel
0800-019 1700 or  tel  01629-592700,  www.yha.org.uk, SYHA  tel 0845-293
7373, www.syha.org.uk,or join at any hostel), especially if you expect to
stay in hostels more than a few nights; non-members pay an additional £3 per
night. Annual membership costs £9.95 for under-26s or £15.95 for over-26s
(which includes under-18s travelling with you); 10% discount if you pay by
direct debit. You can either book accommodation online through the YHA/
SYHA website or by phone. If booking less than a week in advance phone the
hostel direct.

The YHA/SYHA hostels along or close to the Pennine Way vary in size and
facilities from simple cottages, as at Mankinholes, to purpose-built buildings
like Hawes or Malham, or former country houses turned into activity centres
where uncorked kids drugged by the country air bounce off the walls; Edale
YH springs to mind. Prices start from £13 per night. All hostels have a self-
catering kitchen and the majority also provide meals for an additional charge
(see p23).

 

Bed and breakfast (B&B)
B&Bs are a British institution, although not always for the right reasons. For
anyone unfamiliar with the concept, you get a bedroom in someone’s home along
with in most cases the legendary cooked Full English Breakfast the following
morning. The main advantage on the Pennine Way is you can travel light, sleep
well and start the day with a good feed. At the more rural places, or those with
friendly owners, you also gain an insight into how the locals live.

What to expect 

British B&Bs in popular or seaside locations can be
notorious for both jamming in beds and crumby facilities; it has to be said
B&Bs along the Pennine Way are of a much higher standard. Tacky or fussy
joints with ‘polite’ notices on all surfaces are far outnumbered by well-kept
town establishments, unpretentious old farmhouses or characterful country
homes with enthusiastic owners.

Any B&B depending on Pennine Way custom can be considered ‘walker
friendly’ and arriving looking like a drowned rat is expected. Some places have
drying facilities and understand that you may well want to do nothing more
than collapse.

 

Some B&Bs offer an evening meal, particularly if there is no pub or
restaurant nearby. Check what the procedure is when you book. Many will do a
packed lunch, too; ask the night before.

Guesthouses, hotels, pubs and inns
Guesthouses are hotel-like B&Bs. They’re generally slightly more expensive
but can offer more space, an evening meal and a comfortable lounge for guests.

Pubs and inns often turn their hand to mid-range B&B accommodation in

country areas and although these businesses are less personal; you may find the
anonymity preferable. They can be good fun if you plan to get hammered at the
bar, but not such fun if you’re worn out and trying to sleep within sound of the
same rowdy bar. In this case it’s best to ask to see the room first or specifically
ask for a quiet room.  Some hotels are fantastic places with great character and worth the treat
– but more likely they are places you’re forced to go to when all the cheaper alternatives are full.