Pennines in Scotland. Pennines The Pennines , also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of mountains and hills in England separating North West England from Yorkshire and North East England. Often described as the "backbone of England", the Pennine Hills form a more-or-less continuous range stretching northwards from the Peak District in the northern Midlands, through the South Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines up to the Tyne Gap, which separates the range from the Cheviot Hills. Some definitions of the Pennines also include the Cheviot Hills while excluding the southern Peak District. South of the
Backbone Mountain Captain Charles Hoye, founder of the Garrett County Historical Society, has a marker and offers a view of the North Branch Potomac River valley to the east. The location is accessible via a path leading from U.S. Route 219 to the west. The southern end of Backbone Mountain was the location of West Virginia's first fire tower. The first tower was built in 1922 by the state and subsequently transferred to Monongahela National Forest. In 1963, the original tower was replaced with the one currently on-site and named after Ernest B. Olson in recognition of 28 years of service in