Hiking the UK's Oldest & Most Challenging National Trail: The Pennine Way

I rarely know what to expect when I set off on an adventure and my trip to the Peak District and Derbyshire in the United Kingdom was no different. I must admit, I may have held a slight prejudice in thinking that UK wouldn't quite compare to the exotic beauty of other locations, but man was I wrong. I was constantly surprised at the amount of natural beauty and stunning views to be found along the Pennine Way, Britain’s oldest and most challenging National Trail. Setting off from the Old Nags Head in Edale, and every step along the 268-mile long trail to Scotland, the trail had plenty of adventure.
There are so many charms to the Pennine Way, it was a pleasure to hike. The day that stands out to me the most was the day we hiked from Low Force Falls all the way to High Cup Nick. This 17-mile day had plenty of beauty, capped off by one of the most stunning campsites I've had the pleasure of camping at. The views there will stick with me for a long time.
Getting to climb on world-class grit stone was quite the experience. I can see why so many climbers migrate to the Peak District. Friendly locals, great local fare, caving at Alum Pot, and the opportunity to climb at Stanage was fantastic-Peak District & Derbyshire offers so much more than just great hiking and I hope you enjoy this episode of Trackin’ Dirt as much as I enjoyed my time in England!
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PLAN YOUR TRIP to Peak District & Derbyshire: www.visitpeakdistrict.com
SPECIAL THANKS to:
Discover England’s Great Walking Trails Project: www.greatenglishtrails.com
The National Trails: www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way
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Sponsored by:
Vasque Footwear: www.vasque.com/
ExOfficio: exofficio.com/
Marmot: marmot.com/
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[@micgent]

The night you spent camped at the head of High Cup Nick. Myself and my mate passed by and had a short chat with you 2 guys. We remember you said you were making a film. We wild camped a little further round. One of us sleeping in a bivvy bag the other a henry shire tarp tent. We also woke up to that massive bank of fog that was in direct line with the valley. Nice film you guys made enjoyed it. Will have to do the pennine way someday.

[@GrizzlyGaz]

Thanks for highlighting England's oldest trail to your followers. You should go to the Lake District if you're ever in England again. Truly magical place.

[@thomaswalton992]

Well done for walking the pennine way, it's a long walk and you have managed to capture this beautiful landscape we call home 🏡

[@WyeExplorer]

Fabulous. I loved the fact you revisited part of your past before heading off onto the Way. They gave it an almost pilgrim feel to it - you know friendships as well as far out experiences. Good going. Mark

[@CharpyTheHedgehog]

I live near the Pennines and my ancestors owned and ran the Old Nags Head in Edale so I was really excited when it popped up at the beginning of the video!! Amazing cinematography 👏

[@BackpackingTV]

No way! That's really cool. I love Edale and the Old Nags Head!

[@tacticalaltarboy5875]

im in process of buying all the kit to start backpacking and this will be my first big goal once i learn all the skills to be safe is to walk this trail

[@wideyxyz2271]

I walked the pennine way when i was 15 years old and had a fantastic time. It took me and my buddies just over 2 weeks. I managed to get lost on the Cheviot but followed a stream down to a place called Wooler and the next day finished off properly at Kirk Yetholm. That was 41 years ago. Would love to do it again someday!

[@rolfenmonster]

Not even close to the same distance but the Shropshire hills are a fantastic hike! Some of the most beautiful scenery and views in the UK!

[@KnightSkyFilms]

just stumbled upon this. REALLY great video. well scripted, researched and the cinematography is outstanding. Really great work.

[@petejohnson8590]

Has a young man I walked the Pennine Way, it was hard very hard to walk, but the sense of adventure was fantastic, thank you you gave me back many wonderful memories Grandpa Pete from France 🇫🇷🙏👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@BASurvival]

"I'm basically hiking in the middle of a dense wet cloud." Yep that sums up my experience of the Pennine way so far. But when its dry its also a very beautiful area. Intresting video nice to see the other activities you can do like climbing and caving

[@BackpackingTV]

It's a super cool area! Great to experience it in different weather conditions.

[@joeseago6837]

I think it's so cool that you get to do little side trips, like caving and rock climbing, as you hike these trails.

[@petersmith6974]

Hi there. I live 20 mins from the Peak District park. Its great. Nowhere like it. Gods own country 👍🏻

[@adventuresbeyondyorkshire3636]

Great video! Been to these place’s individually but never on the same trip. One for the bucket list !

[@BackpackingTV]

Bucket list for sure!

[@1984isHereNow]

Really enjoyed the vid mate, can't believe you didn't include the Tan Hill Inn, Britains highest pub but pleased you called football by its correct title as in foot and ball. Thanks for your kind words about England mate. Make sure you get over to the English Wainwrights at some point. Thumbs up defo.

[@rebeccadees2300]

Thanks for sharing this journey. Most will never have this experience.

[@terrysouthwell2165]

Great video of an area of beautiful scenery in the UK. I ran the Pennine Way about 20 years ago for charity, didn’t have time to take it all in. Would love to do it again and take my time this time!

[@BackpackingTV]

Whoa! That's amazing, Terry!

[@TheSargeGaming]

This video are 10/10!!! I did enjoyed it

[@BackpackingTV]

thank you so much!

[@TheSargeGaming]

You’re welcome

[@Viator19]

I did it back in the mid 1990's. My abiding memory was all that mud and rain. Alfred Wainwright once wrote of it `"You won't find me on the Pennine Way. Ive had enough of it".

[@middleman3165]

Fantastic video, genuinely a great showcase of the British countryside and the Pennine Way. Looks like you had the weather on your side mostly!

[@peterrae6347]

Great video man, glad you enjoyed it. It does look rather fabulous and one in my to do list for sure. 👍

[@joshtheintern]

Beautiful! Never knew the UK could hold such a spectacular walk thanks for sharing

[@joesmith8701]

our countryside is fantastic the fact that amecans dont know how great our countryside is is a real falure of our goverment

[@arthurrsaker8893]

@@joesmith8701 The Pennine Way does fine without Government promo'. Left to the national parks authorities and the folk who live along the way there's a good balance of amenities along the route, and over promotion carries the risk of damage to the trail and it's environment due to an unsustainably higher level of foot traffic inflicted on what is, despite its often rugged appearance, a fragile landscape in terms of its ability to tolerate the erosive effects of a significant increase in traffic. Examples of this are to be found in the Lake District. Whether by wise decision or fortunate happenstance, government is not much involved thankfully. Once government decides its not doing enough, or bows to pressure from anyone who thinks that more government is the answer to their usually imaginary problems, we will be well on the way to having it well and truly screwed by an overload of bureaucracy and regulation which, by the nature of the bureaucratic hive-mind, will extend to every other national trail. We need a lot fewer of the already too many bloated tentacles of government interference, which always brings new burdensome regulation to fk things up, which I have high confidence will happen if things go as you would seem to wish. Best way the government can help is by getting out of the way and staying out of the way.

[@Frostfern94]

I walked some of the Pennine way once, it was challenging but I dont regret it

[@bobbyboombeck]

Nice. Thanks for highlighting an area I haven't heard about before. Well done documentary of your trip. Feels more like a travel channel episode vs a KZbin video. Great work to you and the team. That's Gimbal in nearly every shot. Great attention to the cinematography throughout. One note on your color grading is to have more contrast in the blacks as everything feels a bit washed out/even. But that could just be taste too. Keep up the great work!

[@DanOutdoorsUK]

We've got many great trails in the uk, sure they may not be as long as the AT or PCT but they have their own challenges

[@BackpackingTV]

They don't all need to be the PCT or AT to be epic, Dan! Loved the Pennine Way! Can't wait to get back someday and check out more.

[@DanOutdoorsUK]

@@BackpackingTV the beacons was is a nice one, I'm doing a 300 mile one in the UK next year

[@mikelovesbacon]

@@BackpackingTV Try the Skye Trail

[@jonm4989]

Great vid and respect due for walking the Pennine Way. Not sure how well known Hadrian’s Wall is in the US, but surprised you didn’t include that part of the trail? From your film it looked like you largely enjoyed good weather, which would make a huge difference on a walk like this. Really hope you enjoyed your time in our country and good to see you sampling a few beers. Well done mate!

[@BackpackingTV]

There's a clip of Hadrian's Wall in the intro. We filmed there but most of that stuff got cut. It was a really cool spot on the trail though! And yeah, we got pretty lucky with the weather! And cheers!

[@jonm4989]

BackpackingTV it’s such a huge walk it can’t have been easy editing the film down so much. I really enjoyed watching it and would have gladly watched a lot more if you’d been able to make it longer. Keep up the good work though!

[@finngibson6429]

Happen to live at the bottom of one of the elevations of the Pennines just outside Manchester and it’s beautiful

[@doinggreat9197]

I have done part of this trail. It's truly beautiful.

[@Frostfern94]

Me too

[@crusader7eth163]

I’m from Manchester we very often go to the Peak District to smoke n chill I would love to find a map of it start to finish n do the whole thing at once

[@JG-wu7nx]

Im in bury would love to do it

[@lerianchan]

The American presenting the program comments he's backpacked across the world yet he keeps mentioning that he didn't expect the English landscape to be so rocky and hilly?!!??!?!

[@mikesaunders4775]

I think Americans want to believe that all of England looks like Hertfordshire.

[@golookexplore6154]

Sweet. What will be the next place ;)?

[@Floki1624]

Friend and I are planning either 100 miles of this or...do the Great Glen Way in Scotland...we've done the west highland way already so this is a tough choice!

[@X_explorer]

Fantastic movie!

[@gardevoid8412]

Brilliant video, loved it.

[@MATravel]

Beautiful 😍 tremendous videos and a great inspiration for beginners like us 🥰

[@tom_walsham]

ENGLAND!!!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 I live not far from here.

[@tom7676]

How many miles!!! I'm sat here watching this concerned about a 31 mile hike in a week.

[@mw5360]

I live on this route. Great video.

[@HikingInLondonUK]

Excellent Wqy in UK !!!

[@HikeTheWorld]

Looks like a wonderful trail :)

[@BEACHLIFE78]

Awesome video

[@davidcressey]

Great video - but for the UKs most challenging trail you need to check out the Cape Wrath Trail :)

[@BackpackingTV]

OOOH! Thanks for the recommendation!

[@monkeymox2544]

The CWT isn't a national trail, and it has no official status - its just a popular, albeit unofficial, route. Of course that doesn't mean its a bad recommendation!

[@davidcressey]

@@monkeymox2544 True its not official (& never said it was) but its definitely the most challenging and is an icon amongst long distance walkers.

[@lilromance95]

A nice hike

[@thomasmatthews80]

great video sir

[@craigelliott4338]

Duuuuuuude. You need to come back and let me take you across the Cape wrath trail. Have a look.

[@BackpackingTV]

Oh yeah? I’m not familiar with that one.

[@craigelliott4338]

@BackpackingTV it's a couple hundred miles across the Highlands in Scotland. The most mountainous and wild part of britain. You can often experience all 4 seasons in a single day, and it's a demanding walk, however, short of walking from Lands end to John O'Groats,( the length of mainland Britain, which I'm hoping to do this year in memory of a family friends young boy has passed away last year) which goes through a lot of britains big trails anyway, I'd say it's the CWT and the south west coast path in the south west of England that are the hardest, well known trails to do here. I see you've been to wales and the Pennines. Scotland is where you get the very best views in Britain in my opinion. I know for sure, you'd appreciate it.

[@waynewayoaveyard9397]

pennine mountains?

[@andyc3088]

i wouldn't say it's the most challenging, try doing the south west coast path

[@mikesaunders4775]

Its about three times longer!

[@Themis33]

Can you take your dogs in the caves? Is there signal incase you get lost or eaten by giant bats?

[@BackpackingTV]

Elongated scream is the universal signal for being eaten alive by giant creatures. Also, no doggos!

[@richardhelliwell1210]

The Peak District is in my home county of Derbyshire and England IS beautiful. Plus we have no bears, dangerous snakes or cougars to contend with !

[@wild4fp]

UK is primarily Green land, fields, vales, hills, mountains, streams, rivers etc...England's green and pleasant land...not heard of that saying? Look. London is not England, it is beautiful away from the cities, like in most countries. Rolling farmlands, pastured lands to walk through north to south, East to west, its beautiful and I love it. Not sure what your watching in the US to not think so...

[@kxd2591]

Does anyone know what tent that is (15:11)? Thanks, jwc

[@BackpackingTV]

Hi Joanne! It's the Marmot Tungsten 2p tent! www.marmot.com/tungsten-2-person-tent-29180.html

[@IgnacioGlezCllo]

Hang on, the 2018WC!?? you've taken a year to publish this video!?

[@andrewridgway2824]

Shot beautifully, nice little extra bits, but you barely even showed the penne way itself. Maybe you can show some more footage, assuming you didn't just do a few sections for the camera which could explain all the missing sections. After all, high force, goat fell, black hill etc would have been things I'd of defiantly mentioned for your viewers

[@DerelictChad]

So Stanage Edge is on the Pennine Way now is it?

[@GreenLondonTV]

Dude, raise your expectations ;)

[@joelikesconverse]

RICK STEVES!!

[@basilius7779]

who knows what trad climbing mean? can you help me? does it mean traditional?

[@BackpackingTV]

Bingo! Yep, trad climbing is traditional climbing where you place all gear required to protect against falls (like a camalot) and then remove it when you've finished your climb. Hope that helps!

[@basilius7779]

@@BackpackingTV thank you very much...

[@error-un3fo]

268 miles to the north lol 17:55 XD

[@BackpackingTV]

Just a short jaunt!

[@williambell8282]

No. Nobody sponsors the Pennine Way...

[@joesmith8701]

every amecan who wants to come to england needs to visit our country side i can not stress this enouth rent a car and go on ramdom drives for the love of god dont just stay in my home town of london london is not even a english city no more

[@BackpackingTV]

London is great but there is far more to England than the big city!

[@ritaharris2372]

Too much fluff and bot enough trail..

[@wft15]

What do you mean by that?

[@spiritj7062]

every hiking vlog is now a movie...so annoying,I want to see the scenery not the people doing the video...I cant wait to get back hiking again,will start a channel that focuses on the scenery lol

[@carolinem5515]

patronising

[@johnsmith-rj2nk]

Yes the first 20 seconds are the worst. I certainly don't think of the US when it comes to adventure either. What a chump.

[@Themis33]

Can you do it without Rock climbing? 😳😂😂

[@BackpackingTV]

For sure, you can bypass the climbing if you like!

[@Themis33]

Are there spiders in the caves? Also is there a danger no fat people sign?

[@BackpackingTV]

Didn't see any (spiders or signs)

[@darrenboorman4365]

Love the sentiment for English football fans!

[@BackpackingTV]

they're lovely chaps!

[@donkey392]

😂 I think any walk in Scotland or north Wales is more challenging than this, west Highland way, North coast 500, Cairngorms, Snowdonia, Hebrides even the lake District is more challenging than this

[@BackpackingTV]

Fine. I guess I'll have to go there too!