High Cup Nick

This is one of the Northern Pennines classic walks with the goal being High Cup Nick, one of Northern England's geological wonders. High Cup Nick is a classic U-shaped glaciated valley high on the western flanks of the North Pennines. A deep chasm on the Pennine Fellside resembling a scar that could have been caused by a meteorite this famous place is a dramatic geological formation and part of the well-known Whin Sill. Formed by the sturdiness of grey-blue dolerite the crags are spectacular. High Cup Nick is on the Pennine Way and can be reached from Cow Green on the border of Cumbria and County Durham, or from Dufton in the Eden Valley.

I drove over to Dufton from he North East via the A1 and A66 and as I knew it was a tough start to the walk I fuelled up with a "Full English" in Appleby and I can honestly say that with such nourishment consumed I was ready for anything!

I reached my starting point in Dufton village and quickly changed into my walking gear in car parking area just onto the Town Head Bridleway . It was the ideal spot right at the start of the walk and I was overjoyed at the weather which glorious unbroken Autumn sunshine beaming down from a lovely cloudless sky. Setting off eastward I followed the bridleway past Bow Hall towards Peeping Hill. It was cold but dry and bright and much better than a wet drizzly day which I seemed to have attracted on recent walks.

For an hour it was tough going as I sort out the higher ground. It had been uphill all the way for the first two miles with over 1150 feet of climbing done before the ground levelled off at over 1600 feet just after Peeping Hill From a cairn en route High Cup Nick came into view. The stiff climb up to higher ground had provided great views to hills such as Dufton Pike and Murton Pike as they stood proud in the Autumn sunlight.

The ground was quite level now and the walk along the northern edge of High Cup Nick was undulating, little climbs and little descents with no appreciable effort required. The only company I had were a group of wild looking long haired ponies which grazed contentedly oblivious of human distractions! Reaching High Cupgill Head I commenced the rocky decent to the bottom of High Cup Gill.

High Cupgill Head is an iconic place, the root cause of the deep fissure that is High Cup Gill and I could only imagine what it must have been like in more spectacular geological times. Boulders were strewn all from High Cupgill Head into High Cup Gill and I had to gingerly negotiate my way through the strewn boulder field to the bottom of the chasm.

After the strenuous effort of descent I took a rest and enjoyed some more sustenance , walking builds up an appetite especially when it's strenuous! The decent had been tough , the hardest challenge on the walk, and at this time I was glad it was over!

After eats I set off once encountering another shorter and flatter boulder field before I got to the opening out of High Cup Gill and the beginnings of High Cup Gill Beck.

Following High Cup Gill Beck downstream all the way out of High Cup to Harbour Flatt, not entirely by its side though as I tracked up close to Middle Tongue I had great views of nearby Murton Pike. The walk out of the glaciated valley had been a special experience and I was a little saddened as I left it behind.
Reaching Harbour Flatt I completed the walk navigation the final mile and a bit along the very quiet road between Murton and Dufton and the car.

At just over 8 miles in length with some 1700 feet of climbing this North Pennines walk (see North Pennines OS Maps) will take approx 4 hours to complete. The drive home took two hours and I arrived tired but contented - it had been a good day!