I know exactly when my Pennine Journey started. It was on Thursday September 10^th, 2020 at about 1530. I had just completed the Patterdale to Rosgill leg of the Coast to Coast walk with my stepdaughter. We were both waiting by an old phone box in the village of Rosgill for my wife to collect us. She was running late and whilst we patiently waited by a delightful cottage, a lovely couple who just happened to be in their front garden, engaged us in conversation. I had collected a leaflet about a walk called The Pennie Journey from a strategically placed gate post just outside the village and was casually browsing through it. The gentlemen introduced himself as the person responsible for the leaflet. We then spent the next 30 minutes in conversation with both David & Heather Pitt hearing about their incredible work to bring the ‘PJ’ to life again.

I had always planned to walk AW’s famous C2C as a retirement present to myself after 38 years in the Armed Forces. What to do after the C2C, just like the decision faced by all military veterans when ‘second career’ choices beckon, had been in the back of my mind for a while. I now had the answer.

I finished the C2C later that month, despite the pandemic and I soon set to work to plan my ‘journey’. Unfortunately, I was drawn back into the high-pressure world of defence contracting. I succumbed to the temptation of becoming a Civil Servant and I now had an interesting new project to lead. This constrained my ability to find the time to walk 247 miles, without using my available holiday, assuming that this would be approved by my long-suffering wife. I decided that I had to look for an alternative approach.

Having bought David & Heather’s excellent book and having read and re-read each stage, I realised that I could only realistically undertake this walk if I completed stages on an ‘as and when’ opportunity basis. I would also have to do them in the direction that best suited my accommodation.

The latter decision was necessary as I prefer to use a self-catering cottage ideally close to, or on, the path. I then plan my walking and travel to and from there each day, rather than stay in B&Bs or hotels. I like my creature comforts after too many days without them in my career. I also find the logistics easier. You don’t need to worry about your non-walking accoutrements keeping pace with your progress or paying for the privilege of someone to take on that responsibility. The downside is the obvious one of getting to and from the start and finish. I was confident that I could entice some close friends to join me for the odd day or two, if they brought their car and I knew that one or more of my adult children might do the same. There was also my ever-dependable dear wife and as a last resort, less reliable public transport. In extremist, I could always pay for a taxi.

So, armed with a series of planning assumptions and constraints, I set about generating my ‘campaign plan,’ as we military types call this sort of thing. My ‘end state’ was to complete the PJ, my aim was to do so whilst also enjoying myself, so no silly twenty-five miles stages. My main constraint was not to spend too much money and take so long that I would be confined to barracks for the rest of my retirement by my chain of command, ie my wife.

The plan eventually evolved into four distinct phases, each of about a week at the same location and I eventually competed the PJ in 18 1/2 days. I started in September 21, had another bite in late July 22 and then a final push, over two weeks, in April & May 23. Rather than simply list each day’s activity I’ve tried to show my PJ on the diagram below, with apologies for any infringement of copyright.

I stayed in four self-catering cottages, at Garrigill, Sedbergh, Bainbridge and Rookhope. I managed to use a train on two stages. Firstly by driving to Kirkby Stephen station, heading to Appleby and then walking back to my car. I also used the station at Garsdale, getting off at Kirkby Stephen and, again, walking back to my car. Two excellent days, enhanced by the incredible views from this uniquely beautiful line.

My accommodation was either on the PJ route or sensibly close so that I could walk from it, or back to it, meaning that I only had to concern myself with how to get back from the finish or get to the start point. Thankfully, family/friends obliged. This covered eight stages.

I managed to blag a lift to Garsdale from the lovely owner of the cottage I rented at Sedbergh and I then walked back to the cottage. This was the only time that I would have otherwise needed a taxi. Travel to the start and from the end of five stages used two cars, as I was fortunate to have the company of a very dear walking friend (we were in the same Cub Scout pack in the 1960s and both picked-up the hiking bug from our time together in the Scouts). Travel for the remaining stages was either provided by my wife or by my stepdaughter & son-in-law, who stayed with me for a week, at no cost for the accommodation, but on the strict condition that lifts would be needed.