Day 8 of a Pennine Way thru-hike was supposed to be easy. The walker behind this trail diary set out from Horton-in-Ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dapes heading for Hawes, expecting a relaxed 14-ish miles with only moderate elevation. Instead, the day delivered a reunion, a minor injury, and a lesson in small-town closing times.
First, the good news: the trail delivered a surprise reunion. Back on Day 2, the diarist had met Mike, a sleep-deprived hiker who'd tried to pitch his tent on Torside Castle with a pack so heavy the campground staff at Torside Reservoir asked if he was carrying a body in it. They helped him ship his excess gear home, and Mike had kept going, alternating between wild camping and official sites. Neither man recognised the other at first — the diarist's bright orange backpack rain cover eventually gave the game away, and he notes that high-visibility cover made him recognisable from a distance all along the Way. Mike confirmed that Pen-y-Ghent, one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, is neither quick nor easy with a full pack — useful intel for anyone planning that stretch.
The walk itself was grey and windy, with fog thick enough that the trail climbed above the cloud layer. Feeling strong, the diarist even cooked a hot lunch — maple-flavour instant porridge and cheddar — for the first time on the trail, having previously been blocked by bad weather and exposed ground. Then came the turn: at roughly mile 8, standing up from a break, sharp pain shot through the front of his left ankle. No fall, no roll — possibly a stress fracture or overuse strain. Six miles from Hawes, he laced his boot tighter, took ibuprofen, and limped on.
Hawes provided mixed fortunes. The Board Inn was full the following night, but the innkeeper, who runs three inns in town, sorted him a room at the neighbouring Crown Inn. The pharmacy, however, shut at 5:30 pm just before he arrived, so no ankle brace; he squeezed into the grocer moments before closing to at least buy ibuprofen. The plan: a zero (rest) day to reassess whether the thru-hike can continue.
Why does this matter to travellers? The Pennine Way is a 268-mile national trail, and stories like this show the real logistics: small-town cafés and pharmacies close early, innkeepers in Dales villages often run multiple properties and can rescue your booking, and posting excess gear home mid-trail is a normal fix for overloaded packs. It's also a reminder to build rest days into any long-distance walking holiday — pride, as the title suggests, comes before a fall.
