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Pennine Way

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

   View from the Pennine Way, near Marsden
   Enlarge
   View from the Pennine Way, near Marsden

   The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs 268
   miles (463 km) from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District,
   north through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park,
   to end at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border.

   The path was the idea of the journalist and rambler Tom Stephenson,
   inspired by similar trails in the United States, particularly the
   Appalachian Trail. Stephenson proposed the concept in an article for
   the Daily Herald in 1935, and later lobbied Parliament for the creation
   of an official trail. The final section of the path was declared open
   in a ceremony held on Malham Moor on the 24th April 1965. The path runs
   along the Pennine hills, sometimes described as the "backbone of
   England". Although not the United Kingdom's longest trail, it is
   according to the Ramblers' Association "one of Britain's best known and
   toughest".

   The Pennine Way has long been popular with walkers, and in 1990 the
   Countryside Commission reported that 12,000 long-distance walkers and
   250,000 day-walkers were using all or part of the trail per year. They
   furthermore estimated that walkers contributed £2 million (1990) to the
   local economy along the route, directly maintaining 156 jobs. The
   popularity of the walk has caused substantial erosion to the terrain in
   places, and steps have been taken to recover its condition, including
   diverting sections of the route onto firmer ground, and laying
   flagstones or duckboards in softer areas. These actions have been
   generally effective in reducing the extent of broken ground, though
   their intrusion into the natural landscape has not always been free
   from criticism.

   A number of Youth Hostels are provided along the route to break up the
   trek, in addition to many private establishments offering
   accommodation. It is easy for the walker to undertake just a short
   section of the trail, with 535 access points (or one every half-mile)
   at which the Pennine Way intersects with other public rights of way.

   As the majority of the Pennine Way is routed via public footpaths,
   access to those sections is denied to travellers on horseback or
   bicycle. In order to grant them a similar route, a Pennine Bridleway is
   also now under development (as of autumn 2005, two principal sections
   are open); the route is generally parallel to the Pennine Way, but
   starts slightly further south in Derbyshire.

Route

   The paved surface of the Pennine Way on Black Hill
   Enlarge
   The paved surface of the Pennine Way on Black Hill
   An example of one of the many waymarks used to guide the walker on the
   Pennine Way. This particular example is near Airton.
   Enlarge
   An example of one of the many waymarks used to guide the walker on the
   Pennine Way. This particular example is near Airton.

   According to the National Trails agency, a walker covering the entire
   length of the trail is obliged to navigate 287 gates, 249 timber
   stiles, 183 stone stiles and 204 bridges. 319 km of the route is on
   public footpaths, 112 km on public bridleways and 32 km on public
   highway. The walker is aided by the provision of 458 waymarks.

   The route of the Pennine Way passes close to or through the following
   places:
     * Edale
     * Kinder Scout
     * Bleaklow
     * Black Hill
     * Saddleworth Moor
     * Littleborough
     * Stoodley Pike
     * Todmorden (for the Caldervale line)
     * Hebden Bridge (for the Caldervale line)
     * Wadsworth Moor
     * Keighley Moor
     * Elslack Moor
     * Lothersdale
     * Settle
     * Malham
     * Fountains Fell
     * Pen-y-ghent
     * Horton in Ribblesdale (on the Settle-Carlisle Railway)
     * Dodd Fell Hill
     * Hawes (for the Wensleydale Railway)
     * Great Shunner Fell
     * Kisdon
     * Kisdon Force
     * Keld
     * Tan Hill
     * Crosses the A66
     * Middleton-in-Teesdale and the Tees valley
     * High Cup
     * Great Dun Fell
     * Cross Fell
     * Alston
     * Haltwhistle
     * Hadrian's Wall (near the B6318)
     * Shitlington Crags
     * Windy Gyle
     * The Cheviot
     * Kirk Yetholm

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennine_Way"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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