Penshaw Monument

We went to Penshaw Monument, stopping off in the café for pie first. We also got some cake for later.

Me and my sister went up the 132 steps to the top of Penshaw Hill and looked around. Not a bad view. Once on the monument itself, we noticed that the door was open. We decided to do it.

We got a head torch each and ventured through the door into the column, where a spiral staircase awaited us. The steps weren’t very wide, maybe a foot and a bit. It was awful dark, apart from where there was the odd small air hole in the column wall. With my left hand, I clung to the newel and my right followed the wall. It was unbelievably scary.

I had gone first, and I had to keep stopping every so often because it was so scary. My sister asked if I wanted to turn back, but I said no because I’d feel like I’d bottled it. I bravely climbed on.

Eventually, I saw daylight and heard the lady at the top telling me to mind my head on the grate that partly covers the hole. I crawled out of the hole. I was at the top of Penshaw Monument.

The view was magnificent. You could see the North Sea to the east, Scottish mountains to the north and as far as Redcar to the south. We couldn’t decide whether we were scared or not up there, but we were less scared of being up there than going back down again.

We waved to our mam, who was half-way up the hill, and she took a photo of us waving to her. You have to look closely to see us (in the first extra).

After a few false starts, we somehow made it back under the grate and down the steps. It wasn’t as bad going down as it had been going up. We decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.