NAV4 Pennine 39

Wild Trails to Far Horizons, and the very best 37 miles of the Pennine Way - Teesdale to Alston. This is the 11th and final Pennine 39 lets go out on a high!

The route is most stunning section of the Pennine Way, passing High Force, Cauldron's Snout and through High Cup Nick.  A major indoor checkpoint at Dufton fuels you up before traversing the mighty Crossfell, and highest point in England outside of The Lake District. The infamous Greg's Hut and The Yellow Brick Road lead to a last checkpoint at Garrigill before the riverside run to the finish at Alston YHA.

If you’ve done any of our events before you will know what to expect; a tough day out, with all the logistics sorted for you.  It's a relaxed event and very sociable.  Entry fee is £80, inclusive of coach transport to the start from Alston YHA, gps Tracking via our friends at Open Tracking, and all the usual NAV4 trimmings.  Yep, there will be the infamous 'NAV4 Soup+'

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The route follows a classic section of The Pennine Way, through the Cumbrian/Durham Pennines.  From Bowlees you pass Low Force and High Force waterfalls on glorious Mid-Teesdale riverside paths.  The amazing cascade of Cauldron’s Snout (CP1) and the high and remote and stark Cow Green reservoir, marks the start of the traverse through to the magnificent geological feature of High Cup Nick. This is quite simply an awesome slice out of the landscape, and leads to a steady descent to the Dufton Checkpoint (CP2). The climb to Old Man Knock follows, and the traverse over Great Dun Fell and Crossfell, the highest point of England outside of the Lake District.  A checkpoint at the iconic ‘Greg’s Hut' (CP3) is a welcome sight before a long descent to Garrigill, (CP4) then riverside paths to the finish at Alston completes an amazing day.  

This NAV4 mountain trail adventure is designed for runners and competent walkers on an amazingly diverse, challenging 37 mile route through an iconic region. Don’t be intimidated by the navigation. The trails are wild and remote, but the navigation is easy. Naturally, you can use a gps watch, and we will issue a gpx file. 

Event Centre

We have Alston YHA block booked for the weekend as our event centre.  Pennine 39 is a linear route, so we bus you from Alston to the start at Bowlees, early on Saturday morning. There will be an 'Early  start at 8am for those who want it, then the 'Standard Start' at 9am.  This also means places are limited to one minibus and one coach; hence 60 places.  This is a very special event!

'Slower' means anyone expecting to take over 11 hours. Please do not book an 'Early' start unless you expect to take 10 hours or more.

Registration

Registration is open at the hostel on Friday from 6pm - 9pm and again at 6am. You can also register at Bowlees if you book that option, for either start time.  You'll need your own transport / logistics to do this, though.

Accommodation

Alston Hostel serves as registration and the finish, as well as accommodation on Friday and Saturday nights, if you choose to stay with us. Alston is a great little hostel, with quality small bunk room accommodation, lounge dining room and kitchen facilities.  The hostel is right next to The Pennine Way, and on the edge of the village which offers a range of shops and pubs, and other accommodation including B&B’s, hotels, etc.

Bunk rooms are small and we don't overfill the hostel.  Naturally hostel bunks are limited, so get booked in early. Alternatively, Alston offers a range of accommodation options within walking distance.

An alternative accommodation option is Garrigill Village Hall / Bunkhouse / campsite, just a quick four mile drive away, which serves as our final checkpoint.  There is no campsite nearer to Alston. If you want to base yourself at Garrigill, please book direct with them, not me or sientries.

Alston YHA Hostel bunks are bookable as extras; 

• A Friday night bunk and a good simple self-service breakfast is just £40 per person per night.
• A Saturday night bunk is £60 but also includes an evening two course ‘Supper’, and a 'recovery drink or three'.  Sunday morning breakfast is a more relaxed affair.  Think a mix of 'Full English' blended with Saturday evening's leftovers to cater for every craving. It's become a bit of an event in itself!

Public Transport

We are very keen for people to use the train to get to us, and the nearest station is Langwathby on the iconic and scenic Settle-Carlisle line. It is ideal for those coming from Leeds / Bradford / Skipton, and well worth considering. 

Penrith mainline station is the alternative, with many more trains.  There will be a shuttle bus from Penrith via Langwathby at approximately 8:00pm. Journey time is around 35 mins.  This time might be tweaked slightly based on timetables and demand. We'll coordinate this during the week before.

The shuttle bus costs just £15, and you can book a place when you enter, or at a later date, by adding it as an extra.  Lifts back on Sunday morning are available too - no need to book a Sunday shuttle bus. In our experience those needing a lift often get one with someone driving their way home anyway.

Please do check out the journey from Leeds, Skipton, Settle and up though the Dales is well worth taking for the scenery alone, on the iconic Settle-to-Carlisle line.

And Finally

All NAV4 events are very friendly, low key and sociable. Pennine 39  is very small, needing dynamic logistics.   For reference,  I anticipate a minibus full for the Early Start and a coach for the Standard start, totally around 75 participants  We are open to all abilities, it is a 'runny route', despite the big climb up onto the Pennines via 'Old Man Knock' . Fast times are possible, but equally so it is open to steady, strong walkers. 

Checkpoints

1) Cauldron's Snout - bridge over waterfall - a remote walk-in for our event Team so only fresh water available

2) Dufton Village Hall - Indoor CP, so hot and cold drinks and a full range of 'nibbles' both sweet and savoury 

3) Greg's Hut - Iconic - just a safe sanctuary from wind rain or sun - and a friendly face.

4) Garrigill - Village Hall - hot and cold drinks. and a few 'nibbles'

Finishers times range from six to fourteen hours. We have no formal cut-offs at our checkpoints, (the two start times makes this somewhat pointless) but we expect everyone to average just under 3mph / 5kmph, and aim to support you to complete the route in daylight.  Experience tells us that you should be leaving Dufton around 2pm Steady, even paced participants are very welcome; our one major checkpoint at Dufton at halfway, gives us and yourself a chance to decide on 'whether' you fancy the 'weather' on Crossfell or not! But, as we know, 'there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing'.  

So, this is your chance to 'do Crossfell and High Cup Nick, Greg's Hut, Cauldron's Snout and High Force...'  with a quality support team. Don't feel intimidated and email me if you have any questions.

Yours,

Joe Faulkner

NAV4 Adventure