Feeling like I needed to get away, so left he office, went up into the hills and went for a walk. It was lovely. Exhausting too! About 12km round trip. 2.5hrs. Should have paced myself. But got back to car just as the rain was moving in.

Splendid pics - bring back memories of walking past Cauldron Snout and on to High Cup Nick many years ago. You are lucky to have this on your doorstep

Wonderful that you got to this part of the world (I do remember you mentioning it). The birdlife is amazing here.

I've got the itch now! Planning to do High Cup Nick this week. I'll have to go there and back, rather than walk along it to Dufton, as I need to rejoin the car and do the school run... it's 15miles altogether, so I'll need an early start!

I feel very fortunate indeed. I've been drawn to the High Pennines with a sense of awe and wonder ever since we moved here. When things get too much (as they do very often these days), I just head up there on my own, no phone signal or 4G connection. Though next time, it might be better to tell someone where I've gone, in case I break my ankle en route or something!

Amazing photos Nick.

Looks like a beautiful place - an area of the country I don’t know too well in all honesty. 

Personally I prefer to see a forested landscape on the horizon - which is why I tend to like the countryside north of the border, or the Lakes/Kielder to an extent, but the North Pennines are certainly distinct for their barren and isolated nature. 

Thanks for sharing. 

Thanks, Joe. Forest walks are great - and the Trossachs, for example, are a wonderful area for that. We do have some great forests up here too... though I am a big "barren and isolated" fan. Desolate is very much not a negative word for me when it comes to landscapes.

Great photo's Nick.

Overall I think I'm more a fan of woodland but there is definitely something special about "desolate" places. I enjoy making field recordings and recently I drove over the tops from Garsdale head towards Dent. I stopped to make a recording and found that beyond the odd very slight breath of wind there was nothing to record, no humans, animals, insects, birds. Nothing but silence. It's quite extraordinary to encounter that, given that most of us live constantly surrounded by sound.

I expect it would be very different on a windy day!

Around where I was on this walk, I know from locals there that in the winter (it may have been 2 winters ago), when we had a tremendous storm with huge winds for several days, it was brutal to venture out. The windchill was around -25°C.

The silence you describe is one of the main reasons I love the High Pennines. It's also why, much as I love my kids, sometimes I'd rather go there by myself!