P.W. Day12- Knarsdale to Greenhead 11miles

  This should be another relatively easy day. It does include a rather harsh section of unpaved moorland which the guide book describes as the "misery that dares call itself Blenkinsopp Common" and the "more arable muck of the Hartley Nurn floodplain" which seems like an "expedition over a country abandoned my man and beast" (Trailblazer- Pennine Way 3rd Edition). After my pleasant experience descending from Tan Hill I was very tempted to trek around on the roads, I even worked out the precise route I'd take.    Finding the Pennine Way from the campsite turned out to be easier than I'd expected. A simple series of farm fields and moor land. The path follows the wall most of the way.  Its not a memorable section and until I crossed into the dreaded moor I can't remember much of it at all. 
  The moor itself came after a run down house with two rather shady characters in the back yard. another style and you're in a very soggy boggy field. Its not easy walking but I'd learned the tricks by this point and a light foot. The fence I'd be following across the marsh was a tad elusive, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into swamp land. In sections my boots were as deep as a foot under water but my ankles stayed strong with the bandage and as soon as I found the fence the course was simple. 

Holmhead Guest House

  Black Hill is invisible to the eye and the decent to the ruin is quick if unmarked and after scaling a fence or two found the correct route. The A 69 is a little scary, very wide and very busy and fast. It took a while to find a section I felt comfortable crossing. Then up the hill again, round and across the golf course and up the stream to Greenhead in time for tea and toast. 
  With the weather forecast to be dire I'd treated myself for the first time to a bunk house. I phoned ahead to book just in case but it turned out that I had the entire room to myself as did the Italian hiker next door. We took each other to the Greenhead Hotel and had dinner speaking a mix of Italian and English. Once back in my room I remember lying in bed shocked at how luxurious it all was after two weeks of sleeping in my tent. Took me twice as long to go to sleep than any other night on the trail. 
  The lack of photographs for this section is that the camera was in my bag due to the weather.