Riding The Pennine Bridleway

In October 2023, Autan and i rode the Pennine Bridleway (PBW) ~ 244kms over 14 consecutive days including 2 days’ rest.

Autan, 13 y o Camargue horse, during a lunchtime break 

Am often asked ~ 'What do you do with your horses?' i train for long riding. Long riding is my discipline of choice.

What is LONG RIDING? long-distance riding, trekking or long riding is a discipline, not to be mistaken for hacking out, Endurance, Techniques de Randonnée Equestre de Compétition a.k.a.TREC or a horse holiday where you are having a natter with your mate whilst admiring the butterflies.

As with every discipline, it follows a branch of knowledge which requires a course of study. Long riding is riding linearly on consecutive days to reach a destination. It is not a competitive endeavour but long riding is a sport.

Do i ride by myself? God forbid my horse and i don’t get separated too often. But yes! My horse and me together. Not everyone rides with the same philosophy. Thus, i keep clear of the ball and chain and tend to ride by myself. Having said that, it is always nice to meet like-minded riders and they are a few around. As it happens, from Malham to Feizor, on day 11, we shared a few miles with Stacey and her Dale pony.

With Stacey and her black beauty

THE PENNINES are a low mountain chain also known as the dorsal spine of England which stretches from Derbyshire, in the south, to Cumbria, in its northernmost part.

It took 5 solid weeks to plan a 2-week trek on the PBW.

We rode from Hartington Station carpark to King Sterndale, then to Rushop Hall, to Diggle, to Warsden on the Mary Townley Loop (MTL), to Hebden Bridge on the MTL, to Lumb on the MTL, to Thursden, to Long Preston, to Malham, to Feizor, to Garsdale and to reach Ravenstondale in Cumbria 14 days later.

Of all the long rides i have been on, the PBW was the most challenging. It is up and down, no flat bits. Moreover, the terrain is hard going particularly on the MTL with big stones for miles. The terrain North of the MTL improves.

To start with, get the Harvey Pennine Bridleway National trail MAP which gives a good overview of the PBW. Then refine your trek using a series of OS Explorer’s maps referenced individually below.

PLANNING is an individual thing. What works for me might not work for you. Look at what works for you and stick with it. Make it your plan. If you are happy with your plan, you can be confident it will be a good support along the way. Planning is essential but be prepared to adjust to fit the situation along the way.

TRAINING FOR TREKKING is essential. i train both myself and the horse, physically and mentally. First thing i do and recommend long-riders-to-be to do is to lose weight! 

For a start, it teaches you to be disciplined. Watch what you do, how you do it, how endurant you are, how determined you are. In practice losing weight will make getting into and out of the saddle easier and it will increase the enjoyment of your sport. Your horse will appreciate it too.

As you are losing the lbs, you are working on your mental fitness. The more mentally fit you become, the more confident you become and the better you are at trekking. Training during winter months will increase your readiness to trek any time during the year. If it is your first attempt, train in winter for your spring trek. If it is not your first trek, train in winter anyway. 

Mental fitness is so important as trekking throws things at you along the way. Namely, the weather, the traffic, physical pain, being alone with your horse in an unfamiliar place, falling off, illness & injuries, having misjudged a situation, an incident with another member of the public, tiredness, darkness ... How prepared am i for the unexpected? Train to increase your ability to endure, to sustain rhythm, to lower your heartbeat, to stay composed, to be decisive, to be pro-active, to be progressive, to plan, to think forward, to look after yourself and your horse, to be accountable and mainly to be happy in the moment you are in.

In moments of duress, it is the mental strength which will make the difference between continuing or giving up.

DAY 1 - 1st October – Hartington Station carpark to KING STERNDALE – OS Explorer OL24 

At Hartington Station carpark, i gave the lorry key to the lovely Claire Miller.  Saddled up and off we went.  King Sterndale near Buxton is about 5.5kms off the PBW. The 5.5kms diversion was on quiet country lanes and cross-country terrain locally known as ‘suicide valley’. To this day, i still can’t decide whether it was when going up towards King Sterndale or going down away from it which was the sportiest! i dedicated this first ride to Malcolm Pollack, my father-in-law, who died the day prior, on the 30th September 2023.

At Hartington Station Carpark ready to ride.

With Claire Miller just before riding off

Going up 'Suicide Valley' 
It was steep & coming from The Fens, it was a shock to both our systems. 

DAY 2 - 2nd October – King Sterndale to RUSHOP HALL was our next stopover. 

OS Explorer OL24 & OL1

It was a long day riding with a fair number of elevations. With hindsight, this second day was a good taster of what the rest of the trek would be like terrain-wise. Started with a steep hill, finished with a steeper one with a lot of challenging hills in between. At The Hall, we were welcomed ‘en grande pompe’. Autan had a freshy made stable with quality hay & Ed and his girlfriend, the alpacas, kept him company overnight. Special!

Going down 'Suicide Valley' was as challenging as going up!

Ed, the alpaca in charge at Rushop Hall

What matters to me when trekking are A- knowing my horse has a dry stable or a small paddock with appropriate equine fencing overnight. Barbed wire must be considered carefully because the horse ends up in a part of the world he does not know. Barbs are in my opinion too risky unless the field is huge. The horse can spook overnight, and you could be left with your eyes to cry in the morning. B- Somewhere safe and dry to store my tack overnight. C- a comfy bed, supper and breakfast. And i always find great generosity from all my hosts everywhere we go. Always! Rushop Hall was all that.

DAY 3 - 3rd October – Rushop Hall to DIGGLE, our next destination, & probably the most challenging day of the whole trek. OS Explorer OL1

i had the bright idea to drink out of a trough the previous day and suffered for the next 6! The weather was pants and the trek route bordered too many urban suburbs for my liking. The only comfort, i suppose, was that it was only 24kms. Autan spent the night in a field with barbs everywhere. In addition to that, the farmer had one of those fanatical & ill-trained sheep dogs constantly herding ducks around the yard. Roll on Day 4!

Torside Reservoir

When long riding it helps to have an open mind and a well-adjusted partner. 
Autan patiently waiting to be unsaddled whilst tied up on a picture hook,
litterally, the only hook i could find. 

When trekking, plan to keep all your belongings together as much as possible. You and your horse end up each night with different hosts in a different set up with different things to remember and adapt to. i personally like the variety of what trekking brings. But with variety comes distractions. And, by the time you have ridden off the following day, you realised you have forgotten something. Stay disciplined.

Tack drying off over night in the motorbike shed

DAY 4 - 4th October – Diggle to WARSDEN on the MTL. OS Explorer OL1 & OL21

It was our next stopover by private invitation. The MTL is a 75km loop of which we rode 60kms over 3 days. The terrain is rough as you can get with stony droves all the way. Our friendly hosts welcomed Autan with a comfortable stable and me with a strong cuppa. Propper Yorkshire welcoming!

On a typical day's riding, we would ride harder and longer to cover about two thirds
of the way before lunch. Lunchtime would be a short 20 mins where i would
eat very little aiming to reach destination and settle my horse for no later than 4pm.
i never unsaddle my horse at lunch time; i learned that from the Camargue. 

That was the face of steepness

A welcome strong cuppa!

DAY 5 - 5th October – Warsden to HEBDEN BRIDGE. Horse Hold Farm was our next stopover. 

The approach to the farm via its cobbled road which is listed on the National Heritage List for England is stunning. And arriving under pouring rain made it even more special.  On arrival, my horse had a freshly made stable with water and quality hay. The family horses spent the night by him for company. The bridle spent the night drying by the roaring fireplace. And i was given a comfortable bed with pretty Laura Ashley bed linen. Perfect!

Wet droves all the way

The approach to Horse Hold Farm via the cobbled road 

Autan was snug as a bug and so was i in Horse Hold Farm.

DAY 6 & 7 - 6th & 7th October – Hebden Bridge to PEERS CLOUGH FARM in LUMB. OS Explorer OL1

Peers Clough farm is located West on the MTL. A must-stop-over for any trekker in this pro trekking equestrian centre where we were greeted by the Thomas family and their Fell ponies. We stayed two nights with a day’s rest in between. Autan had an impeccable stable and a paddock. He had Fell ponies and barn cats for company overnight. As for me, i stayed in the farmhouse with breakfast, supper and packed lunches all carefully prepared for me. My tack was safely stored in a dry place and Suzy even lent me one of her jumpers. Top drawer! But reaching Peers Clough Farm from Hebden Bridge was a hell of a trek, literally!

'Adjust to fit the situation' as Ray Hunt would say.
It was one of those adjustments to make.

On day 6, i realised i had been too ambitious kms wise & with a strong wind and heavy rain,
i had to rethink and fast.

It was blowing so hard on the Moors, Autan did not want to go forward anymore. He wanted to turn his back and stop and i agreed. We found a big boulder for Autan to shelter from the raging rain. i covered him with his light waterproof rug and i squated underneath him between his legs for cover and warmth. We waited for about an hour until the rain subsided a little and carried on for a few more miles to Worsthorne. 

At Worsthorne we managed to get a lift to Peers Clough Farm where we dried up.
Here, Autan was making friends with our hosts.

One of the Fell Ponies at Peers Clough Farm

DAY 8 - 8th October – Lumb to THURSDEN. OS Explorer OL21 

Along the way to Thursden, we met a few off-road motorcyclist and off-road cyclists. i always find conversations interesting with them. Andy, the off-road cyclist, was a pro athlete. He was training for his next competition in Australia. i like to take the opportunity to ask pros what their training regimens are. In Andy’s case, he is in the saddle 5 hours per day, 6 days a week for 5 weeks before the competition. As he left he said ‘catch me if you can!’ Zoooooooom!!! Bye Andy! 

Trekking is full of interesting encounters and the more you trek the better the conversation becomes.

'Catch me if you can' said Andy

At this stage, it is worth talking about how long to trek for? As many days as you can but always more than 3. With experience, i've noticed that at day 3 the horse as well as the rider change mode. You’ll know what changing mode means when it happens. The horse does not ride and rest the same way. The rider gets up earlier despite the muscle pain. Both become calmer mentally, more balanced, freer & everything gets easier. The more experienced the horse and rider are, the faster the change happens. Autan changes after day 2 now and so do i.

Between Lumb & Thursden. Thursden is North of the MTL
& the ground is less stony, much better to ride on.

To be calm and feel free does help with situations. Had we experienced day 8's overnight stopover on day 2, it would have been harder to bear. The stopover was choppy, figuratively. The type of place which had holes in its bucket, and not just figuratively. Autan was stressed so instead of a lonely grimy stable, i opted to let him spend the night in a lonely paddock where, bless him, he called out all night long. But we dealt with it reasonnably well, as we were in the zone, we had changed modes and could face it.  That said, roll on day 9!

DAY 9 - 9th October – From Black Lane End (North of Thursden) to FOXHALL BARN in GISBURN. OS Explorer OL21

On average, i fall off once per year. It happened on Day 9. The landing was soft, so no one got injured. We both recharged our batteries overnight under the good care of our hosts. The countryside from now on is stunning with much better riding ground. 

There is always a lesson to learn when falling off.

My lesson on day 9 was don’t change plans that have historically worked well for me. 

On my saddle, i attach a mecate rein on one side and a long fine string on the other. They are usually neatly coiled. On Day 9, i did not coil the mecate neatly. One end dangled too long. i remember thinking how lousy i was doing it but carried on, not thinking more of it. Next thing i know, my horse and i fell together. During the fall, that long end of the mecate became longer and started flapping in my horse’s legs and one thing led to another, Autan started to run off into the sunset without me! By not sticking to my historically well-proven plan of attaching my tools neatly, i almost saw my horse running off leaving me to walk home. The lesson here is don’t change plans that have worked well for you in the past just because you are tired or because you have almost reached destination. Autan stopped shortly after separation, no one got injured and i did not walk home alone. We were back in the saddle riding off together in no time.

       DAY 10 - 10th October – From Gisburn to LONG PRESTON. OS Explorer OL41

At Long Preston, our host came to collect us in her lorry to MALHAM. Malham is East of the Settle Loop. The Settle Loop is part of the PBW, but Malham isn’t. This stopover was by private invitation. It is also the location of the famous cove, a huge curving amphitheatre shaped cliff formation of limestone rock.  It was formed by a waterfall carrying meltwater from glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age more than 12,000 years ago. The vertical face of the cliff is about 260 feet high. i spent a joyful evening laughing with my lovely hosts. The following day, Autan and i rode with Stacey and Kes, the stunning Dales pony. Special place to be!

Stunning country with a few challenges around Gisburn.
South West of Gisburn, a couple of free range stallions took
a fancy at Autan at Westby Half Farm &
North of Gisburn, the PBW runs alongside a too-close-to-comfort busy A682

Otherwise stunning countryside

At Long Preston, we waited for Stacey in the train station carpark.

                        Day 11 & 12 - 11th October – From Malham to FEIZOR - OL41 & OL2

Stacey rode with us up to Rawlinshaw Farm in Feizor which was our next stopover. Autan and i stayed two nights at the farm with a day’s rest in between. 

From Malham we rode from the Easterner to the Westerner parts
of the Settle Loop

The Settle Loop is wild, exactly as we like it.

... You've got the option too

The PBW is very well way-marked but on a couple of occasions signs were questionable. For map reading, have plans A, B & C before you go. Don’t just rely on your phone. My phone partially broke down halfway and become totally unusable for map reading in the last 4 days of the trek. i had plans A & B on my phone for directions. But also had all my OS paper maps and my compass as plan C in my saddle bag. Plan C was deployed when my phone broke down. You may also use your paper maps for other situations such as making notes at the end of the day for post referencing or to consult with your hosts before setting off the following day.

As seen here on this pic, my trousers were white again. Stacey washed them and
dried them by the Aga over night. Thank you Stacey!

At Feizor, we said goodbye around the obligatory cup of tea. 
Both horses had a poo on the terrace.

At Rawlinshaw Farm, we were warmly welcomed with particular attention to what trekkers need when on the road: a dry stable with a fluffy straw bed for Autan & a cup of tea followed by a large glass of red wine for the cat. Making friends along the way is another aspect of trekking which is worth saddling up for. Thank you Sam!

Day 13 - 13th October – From Feizor to the GOATS & OATS B&B in GARSDALE - OL2 

Accommodation along the PBW can be challenging. This is when one needs to make the correct decision when collecting information. Be very selective on where the information comes from. The more remote from a known source the info comes from, the more you'll need to check its viability. 

Between Feizor and Garsdale, there were a place to stay for both Autan and me. But i was told to be very careful of the busy road going to it by other long riders. When talking to the owner of the place, he told an opposite story altogether. Other info i collected was contradictory. At the end, i decided to bypass this place and to work out an alternative plan. A few days later, when talking to a friend, she told me the place in question had an uneasy vibe about it! What that meant, i'll never know because we did not stayed there. 

Instead of departing from Feizor that morning, we got a lift a few miles up the PBW and departed from a lay-by South of Selside on the B6479 instead. Saddled up from there and off we went.

It was early & the whole place was for us. 100%

Lunch time

At the Goats & Oats B&B, Linda & Graham went above and beyond to help with my broken phone. i even got a knock on my door in place of the phone alarm clock. When technology lets you down, go back to the ol’fashioned way. There is always a way!

Day 14 - 14th October – From Garsdale to STREET FARM in RAVENSTONEDALE - OL19

Last day riding, i was calm & energized but not elated. As with the last miles of any journey, one has to stay extra focused. Besides, there were a few more hills to climb before reaching Ravenstonedale & brother! that last hill was the mother of all hills! The type of hill you drive your horse from the tail end and hold on to it tight.

On this picture, Long Rider Kate McMorris & her mare came to meet us to ride the last 2 miles of our trek to Street Farm in Ravenstonedale where she lives. Kate was also great support before, during & after this trek. She shared some accommodation tips at planning stage, was on Whatsapp every morning and evening to receive our whereabouts & was the perfect hostess at Street Farm, her stunning Cumbrian home, where Autan and i were given the warmest hospitality. Thank you Kate!  

Autan has proven, once more, to be strong physically & mentally.

  

244kms in 14 days of which 2 were rest days. Mathematically, this equates to 22kms per riding day. But on the ground, Long Riders do not think in terms of kms per day. We think in terms of hours in the saddle which takes into consideration the terrain, the weather and all the rest.

To close this chapter, i'd like to talk about what i am looking for whilst trekking.

Often, i hear riders talking about that ‘special’ bond they are looking for with their horses. Any rider has a ‘special’ bond with a horse. Sometimes it looks like the horse is running off in the sunset when separation happens. Other times it sounds like the horse telling its rider who is lying flat on her face ‘get yourself back together & get back on.’ In both instances, there is a special bond, a unique one.

Looking for a bond is not the point because it is there already.

What am i looking for & what my horse is looking for, in my experience and opinion, is the same thing and it is synchronicity. Synchronicity is a concept first expanded by psychologist Carl Jung to describe circumstances that appear meaningfully related yet that lack a causal connection. That is the analytical definition of synchronicity.

Practically speaking, for me and my horse, synchronicity feels like being at the right place at the right time.  

cat & Autan on The Pennine Briddleway