North Pennines
1 NY689250 Turn right along the road (towards Hilton), taking the bend near the church, then out of the village past Brow Farm B&B. Immediately after, cross a stream bridge and take the Pennine Way, rising to the left up a tarmac track. Stay on the main track as it bends right and the tarmac fades to stony dirt.
2 NY714251 Enter access land through a gate; the stony track rises diagonally right across the hillside ahead. At a sheepfold go through gate to cross the drystone wall. This also marks a geological boundary between gritstone below and limestone outcrops above.
the of veering downhill the 3 the rough path, NY722250 Follow wall, off and line pick narrow track. up This a sheep bends left hillside, around then the descends more steeply across the slope. Cross a short limestone pavement boulder field, staying near the wall, before picking up a faint sheep track through short grass. As the wall starts to make its final descent towards the valley floor it’s possible to keep most of your height and follow a series of narrow sheep tracks which descend more slowly across the steep valley sides.
NY744261 Towards 4 the top of the gill, don’t be tempted to follow the valley to the right over a boulderfield. Instead, stay just left of the boulder field on a steep, grassy ramp leading to crags above. Bend gently and diagonally right at the crag line to ease the gradient on the steep (but relatively secure) rocks.
5 NY745262 Enjoy the views all around you, and take a slight detour right to the very head of the gill if you wish. Then head left around the northern edge of the valley.
NY738259 Fork 6 right and away from the edge to stay on the main path. At a second junction, by a low standing stone with a yellow arrow pointing leftwards, fork right onto a faint path, heading gently uphill and around the moor edge. When it becomes clear this has stopped heading uphill, bear right over trackless ground to pick up a faint quad track which bends back on itself and up to a higher moorland edge (Backstone Edge).
NY732259 Bear 7 left along this edge one of a series of raised edges. Aim for a prominent cairn on the skyline, roughly 500m away, then bear right and up across rough heathery/bouldery ground onto a further slightly higher edge line. There’s now a view on the distant skyline of some golf ball radar masts, and you will pass several intermittent cairns near the path. NY727271 Cross 8 a stream bed and continue along the vague edge past a prominent taller, single cairn just right of the path, followed by three small ones right on the edge to your left. Contour gently rightwards with the fading edge line and descend into a deep valley.
NY724282 Cross an 9 (often dry) stream to a rocky track in the bottom of the valley. Head left and downhill on this; at a junction of vehicle tracks stay right and keep descending steeply with the valley floor through some old mine workings.
NY704268 Bend left 10 to contour more gently along the southern side-slopes of the valley. As the track enters enclosed farmland continue ahead through a couple of gates and then follow the track down to a junction with the Pennine Way.
Fork left and rise gently into Dufton. Finally, turn right along the road to return to your starting point.