My plan was to catch the 9:45 X80 bus from Preston so there was no need to rush. I caught the 8:41 bus to Preston (£3.45 single) then changed to the X80 Skipton bus. This one takes the A59 route through East Marton so that's where I got off at a little before 11am. The bus stop was very near to the Cross Keys Inn by the Leeds and Liverpool canal in the dip. I walked there to get my stuff ready before setting off. It was pleasant weather with sunny spells but the short distance across the bridge to join the canal towpath was very unpleasant as the very busy road has no footpath and 20ton lorries approaching at speed can be quite intimidating. It was nice to see the double arched bridge over the canal again.

The Skipton bus about to leave Preston

The Cross Keys at East Marton.

The last time was when I walked along the towpath from Leeds with Charlie around 1980. I followed the towpath south and was relieved by the contrast of the mad roadside to the idyllic towpath. Quite a few walkers were approaching the other way but I didn't know if they were on the Pennine Way, which is the route I'm now on. The first Pennine Way marker I saw took me off the towpath after a short while and I headed down a dip and up over fields at Langber Hill and Town Hill then joined a farm track to Thornton-in-Craven. I emerged on to the A56 crossed over and headed down the lane. I passed under an old bridge which I thought was the old disused railway line to Skipton. It wasn't and turned out to be a branch line to an old quarry. Once under the correct bridge I followed a farm track to Brown House Farm where I headed d off across fields and up the left side a gulley to eventually emerge on the moors at Clogger Lane.

A young woman was approaching with a bigger pack than mine with tent and all the ancillaries. The road came to a junction where I went straight on to follow a track to Pinhaw Beacon and the trig point. The weather was still good and I had good views all around. Continuing over the moor another walker approached. He asked if I had seen a young woman on the trail. His description of her matched the one I'd seen so I said I had and we continued on our ways. A nice grassy descent took me down to the village of Lothersdale.

Trig point on Pinhaw Beacon

The Hare and Hounds Lothersdale

As I descended more people approached. I reached the road and turned right to see even more walkers. Mostly they were gravitating to the pub, the Hare and Hounds. I didn't stop but carried on then took the path steeply up to the Woodhead Farm track. I'd originally planned to camp somewhere near hear but it was too early and not even 2pm so I decided to continue. I came to a minor road at Over House and soon left it to descend through fields to the deserted house of High Stubbing. There was a nice spring of clear water here but it was still too soon to camp. Ahead I could see the moors and decided to continue. I spoke briefly to a lone walker who was coming up the hill.

Like me he was just planning to do 4 days of the Pennine Way. I came to a road at Gill Bridge and followed it up along Gill Lane to a Church just before the village of Cowling. I was off the official route but was finding interesting things to see. One was the amazing 1875 Wesleyan Chapel of four storeys. The map shows the path heading across a footbridge and up the hill to the A6068.

The old 1875 Wesleyan Chapel, Cowling.

One of several cabins on the moor

The bridge was there but no path. I asked a local who told me of another path and when I got to the main road found the original route had been blocked off. I'd like to know the story behind that one. Across the road and up the field I came to Lower Summer House. Past it a track took me to a waterfall then a path to Eller Dean Hole. This was an interesting abandoned and partially ruined farmhouse. At this point I turned up to head over the moor. I was intrigued by a series of substantial wooden huts complete with chimneys and water butts topped up from roof drainage. There must have been about 6 or 7 as I got higher.

All were locked and I can only assume they are something to do with the grouse beaters. At Higher End Lowe beck I came to highest building but this was of stone. It was 4:12pm and I had a reasonable water supply so decided to make camp. I used my new Vango Helium 100 tent for the first time.

My new Vango Helium 100 at its first pitch.