G&J's little green van's broken chassis-enforced loan of Judy's dad's van led to plan change for Whitsun 1966. Mickle Fell in, Ben Nevis out. Glen Nevis out, Teesdale in. Kipping in said van of dad of J near Ettersgill, they "did" Bink Moss and Millstone How Hill 28-5-66, Mickle Fell and Cronkley Fell 29-5-66, both involving crossing the River Tees. In fact, not content with fording Maize Beck to reach Caldron Snout post Mickle, they then waded waist-deep across said Tees near Falcon Clints for an unscheduled ascent brought on by the unexpected inviting green path up Yorkshire's Cronkley. Having got(ten) away with this barmy, never-to-be-repeated stunt, they "did" Burnhope Seat 30-5-66. This didn't involve a Tees crossing, but the subsequent drive home to Hull did. Teesdale seemed just the place to live! Fat chance!
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That's what not-longly-wed G&J thought was not-longly-qualified chemist G's chance of finding a job in a Teesdale-type spot. Fat! Turned out to be thin, 'cos while their dotted eyes spotted not the Glaxo factory in drive home's Barnard Castle, (aka Barney), G's dotted eyes did spot a shortly afterwards ad in a chem journal, which led to a Tees crossing of some permanence; Reckitts to Glaxo, Yorkshire to County Durham, Hull to Barney. More important .. thin to fat re fell-walking potential. G&J moved to Barney 3-10-66, just 127 days after barmy stunt.
CROSSING THE EYES
Looking L & R from Barney G&J saw (Hull-initiated) NY Moor's LWW (E) and Lake(peak)land (W) closlier by and grabbed both. 2 LWW's '67, Katherine's 1-8-68 birth preceded by (get this) Blencathra 26-7-68, Great Pinseat 30-7-68, Roman Fell 31-7-68, the last amid fire of the artillery kind! But Teesdale yielded locally (via Baldersdale) Goldsborough and Shacklesborough and un-Balderdalesly too. Citron Seat notwithstanding much else was on offer, including some local blokes of the Bob Hutchinson / Max Gaskin ilk banging on about .......
No sexism here! They really were blocal lokes, not female equivalents and what they banged on about was what should in fact be called Tees Watershed Walk. In more fact even that's not accurateness, 'cos to walk the entire Tees watershed would be a hugely task involving NY Moors as well as Pennines. But restricting it to the Tees above Middleton, (so Upper Teesdale), the undertaking, (abovetaking, in even more fact) is shortened to a manageable 50 miles(ish), the Lune and all other tributaries downstream are excluded, but every contributary 2000 footer is included. The banging on went on banging without result and was still banging on when Gene arrived in Barney in 1966. Time for banging on to switch off.
G was a whippersnapper of the fell-fit kind back then, not just fitter than a fiddle, but fitter than the cat that goes with it too, so he had a dekko at what was required. Cross the Tees twice, once at Middleton, again at its source in the Cross Fell-Dun Fells col, where it would be just a very soggy, peaty sponge. Stick to the watershed's twists and turns visiting all summits, (most of which are at least 2000 feet). Use accurate navigation ... G made it 49 miles, some in darkness, some likely in craply mist/cloud as well.
G's first attempt, 11-5-68 clockwise with Bob Hutchinson in said craply conditions, ended after 30 craply slow miles, but even that was better than the scheduled second try with Max Gaskin, 1-9-69, which was switched to NY Moor's LWW at the 11th hour, craply weather again. 13-4-69 saw G continue clockwise where he and Bob left it in '68, the final 20 miles or so, the excuse; training for Fellsman Hike and it wasn't until 13-6-76 that G at last walked the whole route. Starting late on 12th he and Alan McGlynn clockwised in good weather, witnessing a simultaneous sun rise-full moon set on Mickle Fell, followed by 7 hours of compass work in mist from Little Fell to Round Hill. Alan was succeeded by Chris Burgess at Yad Moss and G continued with new company and in good weather. Gene's overall time was 22hours 40 minutes. 49 miles, 6500 feet of ascent. G believes this was the first completion of TWW and is aware of none since.
1. The Watershed of the River Tees above the Bridge at Middleton-in-Teesdale, crossing the Tees twice; at Middleton and its source
below Cross Fell. Start and finish are at the drinking fountain in Middleton.
2. The watershed is gained by the Pennine Way path up to Kirk Arran and left via the trig point near Raven Hills and the public footpath
meeting the road near Blunt House.
3. The following summits and other points must be visited in order :-
(List 1) Feet Metres (List 2) Feet Metres
Kirk Arran (Kirk Carrion) 1250 381 Round Hill 2249 685
Harter Fell 1577 481 Tyne Head
Point 1756 1756 535 Bellbeaver Rigg 2035 620
Bink Moss 2028 618 Tynehead Fell 2000 610
Hagworm Hill 1950 594 Slack's Rigg 1950 594
Long Crag 2250 686 Yad Moss 1962 598
Trig. Point (E. Ridge Mickle Fell) 2486 758 Burnhope Seat 2452 747
Mickle Fell 2591 790 Harwood Common 2342 714
Point 2252 2252 686 Scaud Hill 2274 693
N. Summit Little Fell 2446 746 Great Stony Hill 2322 708
Hilton Fell 2250 686 Causeway Hill 2100 640
Hilton Beck Head Three Pikes 2133 650
Murton Fell 2207 673 Noon Hill 2072 632
Murton Fell 2206 672 Chapelfell Top 2250 686
High Cup Plain Fendrith Hill 2284 696
Dufton Fell (Seamore and Rundale Tarns) 2293 699 Dora's Seat 2158 658
(Trig Point) 2292 699 Swinhope Head 1992 607
Knock Fell 2604 794 Westernhope Moor 2115 645
Great Dun Fell 2780 847 Westernhope Moor Summit 2215 675
Little Dun Fell 2761 842 Outberry Plain 2150 655
Cross Fell 2930 893 Carrs Hill 1971 601
Fallow Hill 2583 787 Monk's Moor 1854 565
Rake End 2283 696 Monk's Moor Trig. Point 1709 521
Crossgill Pants Raven Hills 1601 488
Distances
Middleton to Mickle Fell summit 10¼ miles
Mickle Fell to Knock Fell/Dun Fell col 10¼ miles
Knock Fell/Dun Fell col to Yad Moss 9¾ miles
Yad Moss to Swinhope Head 10¼ miles
Swinhope Head to Middleton 8½ miles
Total 49 miles
1½ miles are above 2750 feet. Longest continuous stretch .......... 1¼ miles .......... Cross Fell Summit.
5½ miles are above 2500 feet. Longest continuous stretch .......... 4 miles .......... Dun Fell-Cross Fell Ridge.
15½ miles are above 2250 feet. Longest continuous stretch .......... 7 miles .......... Rundale Tarn to Rake End.
33½ miles are above 2000 feet. Longest continuous stretch ..........10½ miles .......... High Cup Plain to Round Hill.
45½ miles are above 1500 feet. Longest continuous stretch ..........45½ miles .......... Harter Fell to Monk's Moor.
48¾ miles are above 750 feet. Nowhere does the route fall below 700 feet. Total ascent is about 6500 feet.
The lowest cols before the Carrs Hill/Monk's Moor col reached at 1750-1800 feet are:-
Tyne Head 1800-1850 feet. Langdon Head 1750-1800 feet. Tees Head is at about 2570 feet.
The moors and fells around the heads of Teesdale and Weardale are more remote than anywhere else in England. The 10½ miles of sustained ridge walking above 2000 feet on the Tees Watershed cannot be matched for distance in the Lake District and is exceeded only in the North Pennines:-
Lake District
1. Loadpot Hill - Wether Hill - Red Crag - Raven Howe - High Raise - Rampsgill Head - High Street - Thornthwaite Crag - Froswick -
Ill Bell - Yoke. 8½ - 9 miles.
2. Loadpot Hill - Wether Hill - Red Crag - Raven Howe - High Raise - Rampsgill Head - High Street - Mardale Ill Bell - Nan Bield Pass
- Harter Fell - The Knowe - Brown Howe - Kentmere Pike - Goat Scar. 8½ - 9 miles.
3. White Pike - Calf Howe Pike - Great Dodd - Watson's Dodd - Stybarrow Dodd - Sticks Pass - Raise - Whiteside - Lower Man -
Helvellyn - Nethermost Pike - Dollywaggon Pike - Grisedale Tarn. 8½ miles.
4. Sleight Side - Scafell - Scafell Pike - Broad Crag - Great End - Esk Hause - EskPike - Bowfell - Shelter Crags - Crinkle Crags -
Cold Pike. 7½ miles.
Pennines
1. Stangend Currick - Killhope Law - Slate Hill - Knoughtberry Hill - Nag's Head - Dead Stones - Burnhope Seat - Scaud Hill - Great
Stony Hill - Three Pikes (Circuit of Weardale Head). 12½ miles.
2. Little Knapside Hill - Melmerby Fell - Cross Fell -Little Dun Fell - Great Dun Fell - Knock Fell - Meldon Hill. 12 miles.
3. Meldon Hill - Knock Fell - Great Dun Fell - Little Dun Fell - Cross Fell - Fallow Hill - Rake End - Calvert End - Round Hill - Paper Hill
13 miles.
The route visits two places where the Tees watershed meets other important watersheds, triple points dividing the waters of three rivers:- Cross Fell divides Tees, Tyne and Eden, Burnhope Seat divides Tees, Tyne and Wear.
The Teesdale Watershed Walk visits four of the traditional (pre-reorganisation) counties, Yorkshire (North Riding), Westmorland,
Cumberland and Durham, taking in the highest summits in Yorkshire, (Mickle Fell, 2591 feet) and Durham, (Burnhope Seat, 2452 feet). Cumberland's Cross Fell, (2930 feet) and Westmorland's Great and Little Dun Fells, (2780 and 2761 feet respectively) are the three highest summits in the Pennines. The county tops of Cumberland and Westmorland are in the Lake District, (Scafell Pike and Helvellyn respectively). County reorganisation gave Mickle Fell to County Durham.
Cross Fell in comparison with the first ten major English mountains.
1. Scafell Pike 3210 feet Lake District
2. Scafell 3162 feet Lake District
3. Helvellyn 3118 feet Lake District
4. Skiddaw 3053 feet Lake District
5. Great End 2984 feet Lake District
6. Bowfell 2960 feet Lake District
7. Great Gable 2949 feet Lake District
8. CROSS FELL 2930 feet Pennines
9. Pillar 2927 feet Lake District
10. Catchedicam 2917 feet Lake District
All bearings in degrees.
8 degrees added to compensate for magnetic variation of 8 degrees west.
Harter Fell to Bink Moss
278 1 mile 309 1.125 mile (to fence) 293 0.5 mile (fence) 270 0.75 mile (fence) 204 0.5 mile (fence)
Bink Moss to Hagworm Hill
285 0.75 mile
Hagworm Hill to Long Crag
276 0.375 mile 298 1 mile
Long Crag to Mickle Fell Trig Point
257 1.125 mile
Mickle Fell Ridge to the Summit
306 0.375 mile 278 0.625 mile 246 0.375 mile
Mickle Fell Summit to Little Fell North Top
233 0.375 mile (to County Boundary) 273 0.5 mile 227 1.25 mile
Little Fell to Hilton Beck Head
332 1.5 mile
Hilton Beck Head to High Cup Nick
251 0.625 mile 340 1.5 mile
High Cup Nick to Knock Fell
311 1 mile 317 0.5 mile (West of Seamore Tarn) 8 0.5 mile (Left of Great Rundale Tarn) 345 1.25 mile (to Knock Fell)
Knock Fell to Cross Fell
349 0.75 mile (to Road below Dun Fell) 329 (Dun Fell Ridge) 299 (Tees Head to Cross Fell)
Cross Fell to Crossgil Head Pants
76 0.75 mile 33 0.375 mile 96 1.75 mile
Crossgill Pants to Yad Moss
96 0.625 mile 40 0.5 mile (to Round Hill) 152 1 mile (to Tyne Head) 88 0.325 mile (to Bellbeaver Rigg)
48 1.125 mile (to Yad Moss)
Yad Moss to Burnhope Seat
49 1 mile
Burnhope Seat to Plantation near Middleton
157 0.75 mile (to Redgleam) 72 0.625 mile (to Scaud Hill) 119 1.325 mile (to Great Stony Hill)
125 0.625 (to Causeway Hill) 171 0.75 mile (to Three Pikes) 44 0.625 mile (to Col) 40 0.25 mile
81 0.625 mile (to Noon Hill) 139 0.75 mile (to Quarries at Road) 134 0.625 mile 78 0.325 mile (to Chapelfell Top)
181 0.75 mile (to Fendrith Hill) 101 1.325 mile (to Swinhope Head) 80 0.5 mile (to Point 2115 feet)
124 1.25 mile (to Westernhope Moor) 78 0.875 mile (to Outberry Plain) 157 1.75 mile (to Carrs Hill) 144 0.75 mile (to Col)
170 0.5 mile (to Monk's Moor) 181 0.75 mile (to Trig Point Raven Hills) 224 0.5 mile (to Plantation Corner)
Imported from Step Two www.thisfamilyrobinson.com Click it
Gene's first (and so far only*) known completion of Teesdale Watershed Walk on 13th June 1976 was then known only to a few. G felt, (though knew not what the few felt even if he thought he knew), that it deserved wider recognition. It's possible that what he really felt was that he deserved wider recogntion and maybe some of the few, or even not so few felt the same. It mattered not, nor does it now. G's smugly written account would have accounted for two entire pages in Climber & Rambler April 1977 if the spread overleaf hadn't featured an ad for overtrousers of wouldn't be seen dead in ilk.
Clickable
1980's Teesdale Mercury publication of G's Feats For Feet gave TWW its second public airing while coinciding with G's wrenching move to orologically challenged Northwich, necessitating photoshoot return of the sort G could have wrenchingly done without. But G's little yellow book hadn't been in the public domain long before there was some local jumping up and down about it and re said piece sharing with dodgy overtrousers as well. G 's all for a spot of flouting and reckons trespass to be one of the arts of fell craft. Flies in the face of advice of the "always wear luminous clothing" sort of course, but trespass is likely a more complex notion than commonly thought. Freedom to roam (responsibly) the upland wilderness though, is far more important than G's naughty nose thumbing. By its nature very little of TWW is a right of way; question is, who's gonna stop you? Answer ... probably no-one 'cos nobody else will be out there ... most of the time. That's most of the point, but not all of it. Uplands aren't just for walkers, they have uses, which have those with interests. Landowners north and south Tees, (Strathmore Estates and ilk) unchuffed re unauthorised boots, weren't/aren't the only prob. Upper Teesdale's Moor House Nature Reserve protecting life, while the Army trains to kill it on the Warcop Ranges, lack chuff too. G's accounts
point out these chuff deficiencies and remind walkers (readers) to take responsibility for themselves. Nevertheless Teesdale Mercury withdrew Feats For Feet despite accessibility to loadsa books etc. describing access to the legally inaccessible, Upper Teesdale included. Well G thought Teesdaale Mercury had withdrawn his book, but 35 years later D&G strolled nostalgically into Barney's Teesdale Mercury and guess what
For all Gene knows there might be anonymous loadsa folk raising money for charity, but most sponsored toenail clippings and ilk seem to end beaming grin accompanied in the media. You name it, it's been done from the seriously barmy, (walking a hugely distance) to the just plain barmy, (how about a sponsored Tees wade?) Motivation? Tons of it about, mostly non-anonymous, so isn't G being a tad hypocritical when he admits to not only agreeing to a sponsored walk, but to actually devising and organising it? Yes he bloody is! Temptation lay in the devising bit. Irresistable! So G just hoyed his principles outa the window!
Back in the '60's Glaxo Ski Club had a titchy portable tow used mainly at Harwood Common/Yad Moss in Upper Teesdale. There were other ski clubs around, (Teesdale & Weardale), but Glaxo pooled with Swaledale Outdoor Club to pioneer Harwood Ski Federation. Teesdale Triangular Trek raised money 50:50 for Glaxo Ski Club and local charities, (through Glaxo Good Fellowship Fund), so had its say in forming a major English winter sports thingy. G devised the route and designed the badge, Max Gaskin made two trophies, shields, one with the Ski Club badge, the other the TTT badge, awarded for most sponsorship to Club member/non-member respectively. Max made a shield for Gene too.
Fifteen participants, eight of whom were non-ski club members, walked the route clockwise 24-8-69. All completed in 8 hrs 47 mins. June Elliott (member) and Terry Thornton (non-member) raised the most and second most sponsorship respectively and received the trophies. Almost £100 was raised and that was in old money, where shillings were s and pence were d and meant something.
Bob Hutchinson, David Knellor and Chris Siggers provided support at Crag Hill, Balderhead and Eggleston Bridge respectively.
Walkers (Members) Margaret Dent, June Elliott, Steve Fairchild, Max Gaskin, Paul Glover, Gene Robinson, Judy Robinson.
(Non-members) Peter Brenkley, Graeme Clark, Pauline Fawcett, Richard Hooper, Ken Lewis, Mavis Littler, Anne Quirk, Terry Thornton.
... in the sense that the walk starts and finishes in the same place, triangular in the sense that the circuit is sort of that shape, but more 'cos it sounds good in the name. Three corners defining the "triangle" ... Barnard Castle Post Office, (the start and finish), Balderhead Dam and Eggleston Bridge. 21 miles just qualifies TTT as a long distance walk. It crosses the River Tees twice, follows it, crosses a tributary, (River Balder) and follows another, (Deepdale Beck). High points are Goldsborough, 1247 ft, Brownberry, 1333 ft. Swarthy Top, 1344 ft. and Percy Mire Rock, which must be under 1000 ft. but its view includes Goldsborough & TTT spectator Shacklesborough.
SIDE 1 Barnard Castle, cross R. Tees by Deepdale Aqueduct footbridge, into wooded Deepdale with the beck always to the left. Keep close to the beck until past The Great Stone, (large erratic boulder of Shap Granite at water's edge), climb to right out of woodland past buttress of former Deepdale railway viaduct and Cat Castle Quarry and find Crag Pond. To Low Crag Farm, Crag Hill Farm then the Bowes-Cotherstone road. To Battle Hill Farm and beyond to turn right on Pennine Way skirting Goldsborough. Detour to Goldsborough summit, (another smaller Shap Granite erratic), rejoin the Way and Baldersdale south road towards Clove Lodge and Balderhead Dam. To the bridge over the river below dam.
SIDE 2 Cross R Balder climb by Birk Hat and High Birk Hat to Baldersdale north road then by Pennine Way to Hazelgarth Rigg onto Lune-Balder watershed. Turn right follow the watershed over summits of Brownberry and Swarthy Top. (Note 1. This 1½ mile section is the only non-right of way stretch of TTT. Permission to cross it was secured for 24-8-69. 2. See note re forestry under "Baldersdale Revisited"). After Swarthy Top follow lane to Romaldkirk then field paths to Eggleston Bridge.
SIDE 3 Cross R Tees turn right and follow the valley of the Tees back to Barnard Castle. Footpaths stiles and gates were in a state of flux in 1969 and probably have been since. Need to be well above river at East Barnley and Raygill Beck to find Percy Mire Rock. Down to river near Cotherstone then above again at West Holme House. Back to riverside for final 2 miles past what was the Tees railway viaduct, (D&G have a small piece of steel therefrom at Croft Farm) through the Wishing Stones to Barnard Castle. 40-odd years on Side 3 appears to have been transformed into a bit of Teesdale Way, so it's probably no problem!
When G reclockwised TTT 23-5-76 with Philip, (unsponsored, unsupported, 8 hrs 35 mins), footpaths by the Tees had already been altered by "tunnelling work". In early Sept '15 G had also been (5-day) modified by tunnelling, enabling him to boast a Binsey ascent sporting a catheter, the only redeeming feature of which was its boy-blue hue. "Baldersdale Revisited" (below) reveals the origin of this blue tube and also G's legs sticking out of his shorts, indicating catheter banishment. Also indicated ... a major route buggering upment.
Gene volunteered to be radiofrequency ablated at UCLH, part of a study trialling a new way of poking prostate cancers in the eye, so 2014 and '15 saw D&J making uncommonly frequent Harlow-based London trips via Scotch Corner. The A66 Pennine crossing with its views of Citron Seat and Barney always stirs nostalgically, which combined with Diane coincidentally reading a book about Hannah Hauxwell, prompted G's revisit and D's introduction to summits unknown. Overnight roadside parking of Croft Van II in Baldersdale was Goldsborough intimate, so the ascent of this little gem with Burners Hills, a tad or two westly, was a doddle. Remotelier Shacklesborough was always a challenge, one which acquainted G with new D expletives at every tussock-high step. Their newest maps showed not a track Water Knott way, nor was it entirely visible upwardly from downwardly and even once met it deceptively turned away, turning out later on to turn back hiddenly onto Galloway Rigg as far as the fold thereon not 400 yards from Shacklesborough. All this was guessable from Shacklesborough summit, obvious from said fold and the tussock/expletive-free descent was on a good track clearly usable to advantage ascent-wise. A loop might be cut through; there's no might about ignoring a "sod off" notice near Water Knott! A bit of a bugger sadness-wise though. Shacklesborough's not as remote as it used to be.
Recent maps and books employ licence in naming relevant farms north of the river below Balderhead Dam. Birk Hat seems to be interchangeable with Low Birk Hat ... Hat appears sometimes as Hatt. Maybe licence is just cofusion, whatever the case Hannah's old farm had Low Birk Hatt on it's wall in 2015 ... G is sticking to the old 1 inch OS map he used when writing Feats For Feet. Hannah must have been in occupation at Birk Hat when G surveyed the bit of TTT between there and High Birk Hat 6-7-69, although he didn't know it; likewise when he et al. walked TTT 24-8-69 and 23-5-76. Changes vis-à-vis road/field path are obvious at Balderhead, but won't affect TTT viability ... D&G were in 2015's Baldersdale for one day only, so significant TTT changes might lurk elsewhere. One poke in the non-prostate eye on the arrival drive in via the Lunedale-Baldersdale Kelton Moss road ... a f-ing forestry plantation smack on the route at Brownberry! It sprawls from the Lune-Balder watershed down the northern hillside and seems to claim Brownberry summit. F-ing forestry!
Galleries left up & down. Also panels below.
Left comparison of Shacklesborough's magnificent summit cairn over almost 49 yrs.
The stones can be matched pic to pic up to the level of G's '66 right hand. Above that the structure is "fluid".
Right D&G slept in Croft Van II on the road to Sleightholme 10-9-15 looking NE across the A66 to a skyline view of the Teesdale Watershed Walk from Harter Fell to Little Fell at sunset. The photo shows L to R Mickle Fell, summit & trig point summit, Long Crag, Hagworm Hill.
G's ken of Citron Seat was a southward heather wade of the D expletive inducing sort, so he sought a map alternative via High Green Fell, which map-adhered to turned out to be a heather wade of the D expletive inducing sort. Descent discovered unneccessarily so too. Ignoring map re path but not re two walls accessed an unerring track to Citron that G didn't know was there, (track not Citron). D cocked up her last few yards, deliberately ignoring the G-used stile, but once expletives had overcome the wall and barbed wire she enjoyed Citron Seat's summit, noting trig point Shacklesborough+1 and the fact that it's on the Tees watershed.
Seven Hills lie with CS south of the Bowes-Sleightholme road. Two features for sure ... there ain't seven! Depends how you count 'em, but there's deffo more ... they're totally, unavoidably clothed in heather, which looked Septemberly purpley beautful, but tended to induce D whatsits! G did 'em all; D missed a couple!
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