TWO friends have come together to walk one of the most famous trails again… and have written a book about it.
When Duncan Say, of Colchester, and Chris Priest, of Saffron Walden, decided they would return to the Pennine Way, little did they know that it would spark the creation of Forty Years, Sixteen Days.
The duo have known each other since they were photography students and in their early twenties they decided to walk the Way together.
The trail which stretches over 268 miles, follows the hills of the Derbyshire Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales, right through the Swaledale Valley.
It continues across the North Pennines and over Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland to the Cheviot Hills, ending in the Scottish Borders in Kirk Yetholm.
40 years later, Duncan and Chris decided to walk the Pennine Way again and capture all that is glorious (and isn’t) about it.
Duncan said: “People don’t think it’s normal behaviour to want to walk this long distance footpath once, let alone twice “ I have strong memories of floundering through peat bog so I wasn’t keen to return but Chris can be very persuasive.”
Their book is an account of both trips and is full of photographs which could serve both a “seasoned walker or Sunday stroller”.
Chris said: “‘We are co-authors but we didn’t write together, instead we chose parts to write.
“For me there was a very particular family issue that put the completion of the walk in jeopardy.
“And there was an extraordinary period near the end of the walk when we benefited from the kindness of strangers - which we decided became my story to tell."
During their second walk, the two friends realised the Way flagstones have been laid to protect the moorland, a Herculean task Duncan thinks should be recognised as ‘one of the wonders of Britain’.
He added: “We’d look at each other’s writing and if we’d both covered the same topic decide which version we liked best or how to adapt the piece so we didn’t repeat ourselves.
“Then I put together the final layout.”
The book is available at Colchester’s Red Lion Books and on amazon.co.uk.
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