fleetfootkath

Today was so varied. We started in the forest on the edge of the Cleveland Hills which are supposed to have the most famous 12 Miles on the North York Moors. The escarpment that we cross has amazing views over the lowlands below but also across the moors. We could even see to the North Sea! To the left of the plain a pall of smoke hung over the countryside from a fire near Leeds/ Manchester. It was extensive and apparently is a huge fire fuelled by the extreme heat. (31C)

It is a roller coaster today up 1000ft to Beacon Hill, down to 500 feet then up again to 1250 then up and down four times! We are crossing moors but close to the edge of the escarpment so the views are great. Our track is visible ahead most of the way. The area has prehistoric burial mounds and was mined for jet and alum.

We descended to a cafe at Carlton Bank and enjoyed cold drinks amongst a huge crowd of day walkers and their dogs! We filled up with cold water. It is here our party splits. Paul is still unwell from the food poisoning and is unable to continue. Moyra and Stuart don’t want to walk the 32 kms and this is the only spot they can exit as Paul has asked Mal from Ingleby Cross (our hosts from last night) to come and collect them and drive them all to the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge. Kathy ( Turner) wanted to continue to the Wainstones but would then be stranded so she has to miss that part of the walk. Paul was anxious about the heat and us getting sunstroke.

Paul getting ill has highlighted some shortcomings in the organisation. There doesn’t seem to be any back up for him (though his boss did say he would come and continue the walk apparently. Paul said we were competent to continue unguided because we had Sarah and Dennis who know the area and we were strong walkers.)

Dennis , Sarah, Kingsley, Debra, Colin and I decided from the beginning we would do the whole walk. Debra has been raising money for the hospice she works in so she felt she couldn’t shirk any part. I wanted to support her and I am committed to doing the whole walk. Dennis and Sarah have done a stirling job as our guides and we have all worked as a team. I have found the last few days most enjoyable because we were able to spread out more and the path signs have been better this side of the walk.

The climb up to the Wainstones, a group of huge boulders sitting on the edge of the escarpment that stand out on the moors like a castle, was very steep and hard. They are often used by climbers fo training and when we arrived we prevailed on a young climber to take a group photo.

After a rest we pushed on across the Cold and Hasty moors looking for a train track. This old track now a road was used for the mines. We had been told it was the hardest part of the walk and it was. It was 12 kms of endless winding track bordered by beautiful moors where we saw, sheep( of course), grouse and shooters hides. The game keepers spread food for the grouse and pheasants to assist them and ensure plenty for the shooting season!

Towards the end we were all over the track, sore of foot and tired but we kept on( no alternative!) until we saw the turn off to the Lion Inn on the hill. Bruce and Paul were waiting for us so we wouldn’t miss the turn off and clapped us in. We were very relieved. We arrived at 6.30, a nine hour walk of endurance!

These are the hills we walked up and over from left of picture to right. It looks flat but between each was a deep descent and ascent. Tough but rewarding.

Debra and I were so pleased to see we had a bath in our room even though there was no time for one right then. We enjoyed it later. After a quick shower we felt revived and went to dinner.

It was a very warm day so we all felt it was quite tiring. Bees buzzed slowly and sheep lay in the shade beside the stone fences with their faces close to the cool stones. The walk took us past the old Marrick priory which is now an outward bound school and up into a forest. The stone path underfoot was laid by nuns from the priory! It is from the 12 th Century.

We left the river and headed towards the forested hills which provided welcome relief from the sun. We walked near the cliff where in 1606 the owner of our guest house rode his horse off the edge, killing his horse and mangling his leg but remarkably, surviving the fall to live on to be mayor of Richmond. Then as we crossed a field being mowed by the farmer his little dog, a patterdale terrier which is a local breed, rushed up to us and ran around our feet. He was like an enthusiastic little black eel with a shiny black coat and short muscular body. High energy and good natured he halted once , fully alert when he heard a whistle from the farmer then raced off to the fence.

This little rabbit just sat panting in the grass.

It was a fairly uneventful day. Just hot. British summers do exist!

At Richmond the group split. Half decided to stay( the injured or really tired) and the other half stopped for lunch and ice creams then continued to Boulton on Swale where a bus waited to return us to Richmond where our accommodation was. This extra walk was to break the two days into even distances of 17 miles otherwise we would be doing an 11 mile day and a 24 mile day.

Dennis and I were the only Aussies to keep walking. Alan was in difficulty with his pulled calf muscle, the other Kathy has nasty blisters, both Lyn and Bruce are blister affected and Moyra is still getting her fitness back after her cold, Stuart found the heat was sapping his energy too. They had a pleasant afternoon looking around Richmond which is a very pretty town. It has a history as a military town and nearby Caterrick is a military base. The sculpture along the river was to commemorate the military history.

By the time we found our lunch spot, the old Station at Richmond, I was thinking I wanted to stop too. We had walked past all these people splashing and giggling in the river which made me want to jump in and cool off. We found a cool spot under the trees and I lay with my feet up hill. An ice cream completed my recovery and then we were off.

Again it was un remarkable walking, skirting the villages until we arrived at Boulton and sagged onto the bus. I didn’t know if I could haul myself off at the end. It was only a ten minute bus trip back to Richmond! The motor car is a wonderful invention. I am always amazed at how a journey is so dramatically shortened.

We all went for dinner at an Italian restaurant around the corner where the food was good and Sarah was presented with a mini dessert birthday cake.

After dinner when we returned to the guesthouse, Kathy and Moyra took their staircase to their room and we took another to ours only to find we were facing each other at the top with rooms side by side. We all cracked up. It was so unexpected.

I couldn’t write the blog last night because I kept falling asleep. I gave up and crashed, sleeping soundly.

Keld to Reeth was a beautiful walk beside the Swale river which alternated between gentle babbling and quiet pools. The water is a reddish colour from the peat moors. On this warm day it was so enticing.

Swaledale was once a thriving lead mining area and in the surrounding hills are the remnants of that activity. Sarah and Kingsley opted for the high route which passes old mining debris but the rest of us took the lower river side route of the Coast 2 Coast and it was an interesting change. We passed through a few small villages, numerous stiles (which are so narrow we are rethinking our generous breakfasts and dinners!), fields of wildflowers, sheep and cattle.

It was a perfect summer day, about 24/25 degrees. The sky was blue with only the barest wisps of clouds. Most of the group found it a bit too warm but I felt quite comfortable except for a stiff knee towards the end of the day. The riverside was often shady and at one stage we walked along a retaining wall, several feet off the ground. It was so narrow that people coming in the opposite direction had to hold onto trees as we passed!

The weather is perfect for hay making so several of the fields have been mown ready for hay baling. The farmers can’t mow the wildflower meadows till the flowers have died because they are important for the bees and butterflies to thrive.

Lots of young people doing their Duke of Edinburgh award scheme were walking our route. Many looked hot and tired but they were also having fun.

We lunched beside the river where there were casts of badgers and otters. It was so relaxing sitting in the sun listening to the gentle rush of water over rocks.

When we arrived at Reeth it was a shock. The town is quite quaint and a tourist mecca so the village green was covered with cars. It has three hotels and some pretty shops and galleries. We feel like we have come out of the wilderness to a metropolis!

Our accommodation at the Manse is delightful and our hosts very welcoming. Our bags are in our rooms again (the best thing ever after a days walk!). We are given afternoon tea in the garden and some delicious different choices for breakfast.

Debra and I get organised then head for an ice cream and meet Lyn on the village green before heading off to The Buck hotel for dinner.

Bruce and I try a local Yorkshire ale.

A few people are really carrying bad blisters or sore legs and tomorrow is a big day. My legs were weary and the side of my left knee is a bit tender but otherwise I am holding up well. It is going to be another hot day so it could be a tough day. After dinner and wine I felt very refreshed!

I had a bad night with indigestion from the Tandoori meal so I sat up to sleep half the night. Deborah slept soundly but woke up feeling stiff until she started to move around. We are all feeling stiff. Our pace is consistently fast but we are all getting fitter. Our breakfast at Croft house was delicious and presented so attractively with fine china and silverware. The breakfasts are generally very hearty so I suspect I am putting on weight even though I am doing hard walking.

The way markers for our track are few and quite arbitrary as to where they are placed. Our guide has helped several independent walkers to take the correct path.

We set off for Keld with a sharp, steep incline towards the 9 Standards. These are curious stone cairns that nobody seems to understand who, or what they were meant for. They are the border between the Lakes district and the Yorkshire Moors.

From the top of the hill( after about three false tops!) you can see how far we have come and how far we are going! Then we plunged into the notorious bogs. Some parts were so deep and mucky you could lose your boots. We had to be careful not to lose our footing. They have put in a new slate path, at great expense, over the worst of the bog but I still managed to drop my foot into a few. We are also walking across incredibly soggy grass which oozes muddy water with every step.

Finally we reach the end of the bog and are overlooking the valley with sheep and farmhouses. We are very happy to find ourselves at the Shepardess’s for tea and scones soon after. The Shepardess is Amanda Owen, from Ravenseat Farm. She is a real entrepreneur and has written two books about life on the farm with her 8 children, sheep and Cream teas business. She is friends with Paul our guide and brought out our scones and cream personally. Lyn bought her first book. It was then only a few miles to our hotel. On the way we saw two girls swimming(!) near a waterfall, some Yurts in a camping ground and a lot of campers beside the Swale river. This is a popular place for camping and walking but it seemed too cold for swimming!

Our hotel, Keld Lodge is very charming with good facilities (drying room) and a large bedroom. No more falling over our bags.

The weather is fine but cloudy and is supposed to get hotter over the week.

Dinner at the hotel needed to be preordered, so you have to remember what you ordered! Kingsley told us about his wife’s love of ice cream and decided to honour her by having a three scoop dessert.That was his excuse anyway!

Another successful day. It is hard to believe we have been walking for 7 days and will finish next Saturday. It has gone so fast. Alan and Stuart are resuming the walk tomorrow so all the South African contingent will be back.

A glorious wet start. The rain filled all the streams( Becks) to overflowing and created spectacular waterfalls. The ground was weeping water so the paths were shallow streams too. A wet walk especially for me who misjudged a crossing and plunged in with both feet! Wet socks and boots for the rest of the day.

You can hear the water thundering down the steep hill so it is no surprise they have a small hydro scheme Tongue Gill. Last week you could walk across, today we are

needing help at every crossing!

The path is shorter today but just as steep and rocky. We were going to climb Hellvellyn but the clouds rolled in and it got colder and there was no chance of seeing the view for the effort it would take. We took the way down to Patterdale ( with some relief as we are all a bit tired from the first few days efforts) that ended in a beautiful view over the town and lake. The lake was blue! The sun had come out. This town was obliterated by a flood recently and seeing the force of water from the last few days I can understand how it happened. They are building a high wall along the banks now to protect the town.

I have never had a g&t like this before!

The weather is so changeable and this is summer!

The group was divided between two B and Bs in Stonethwaite and the other group consisted of ( the other) Kathy, Denis, Colin, Maura, and Sarah who had to walk around to us ( Allen, Kingsley, Bruce and Lyn, Deborah and Me), as we were staying closer to the path. By all accounts they had been fed with a fantastic full breakfast, had baths and WiFi and the

best sandwiches they have had so far and cake. We had only had showers ( water restriction) no wifi, and a continental breakfast. The group kept going on about their fabulous food etc and it became a game of one upmanship but our group were never able to score any points because our host was very warm and friendly but limited in what they offered. In the end we came up with the fact that the house was 500 years old and they came back with ‘oh, ours was 501!’. We all just cracked up. It became a running joke all day, about what Rachel had provided at their place.

Our path was very steep and involved quite a bit of clambering up rocks. As we climbed higher the views were wonderful and you could see lakes in different valleys. I had never realised there were so many mountains in the Lakes District.

Our first mountain was Greenup Edge about 1000 metres straight up. Then we walked along a ridge to Calf crag, across boggy, peat marsh to Gibson Knott and on to Helm Crag before steeply descending into Grasmere. Every summit or pass I thought was our last but we just kept climbing because the weather was so good!

The views were worth the effort but my legs were feeling the strain of climbing up and down and struggling with bogs and creeks and rough rocky terrain. Despite that effort we were all feeling pretty good. Even though the distance wasn’t so far the climbing made it a tough day.

Maura had come down with a cold and had not felt up to the days walk after struggling yesterday. She was taken to the local medical facility for a check up by the saintly Rachel and opted to take the luggage transfer to Grasmere. We all felt it had been a good decision because Paul had opted for the three summits/passes because the weather was fine. A few people took tumbles, Colin broke his walking stick and Kingsley had a blood nose. An eventful day.

When we arrived at our Hotel we were delighted to find a pool and a jacuzzi. Deborah and I opted for both after getting settled. Then washing. The hotel has a drying room which was soon full of everyone’s clothes! What a shame there was no washing machine. We have a late start tomorrow because it is another arduous climb.

Dinner was delicious. I lashed out on the lamb and a winter berry pudding, scrumptious! Lyn and I have been having gin and tonics and I am completely bewildered by the range of gins. I have tried a local Lakes gin which was light and fragrant but I am intrigued by the variety. Bruce and I have also been trying the whisky as a night cap with a different one each night. We need a whisky tasting as well as gin!

We are all disappointed that the wifi is rubbish because we can’t post any updates or even use the phone for calls. The irony is we are walking to enjoy the quiet but still want some of the convenience of wifi!

Today’s walk was fantastic. An easy walk around the lake then a steady climb initially and very fast walking until we arrived at Black Sail Youth hostel where we were able to make hot drinks to accompany our lunch! What a treat. This is a busy place because it is at the foot of Loft Beck which is a mountain about 680 metres high and an important staging point for the walks in the area. There are all these wooly sheep, Herdwick breed that apparently have been here for at least. 1000 years. The name comes from old Norse. They are very untidy and straggly looking, starting out black as lambs and getting greyer and light as they age.

After lunch we started to climb Loft Beck or Loft Craig, straight up! However it had stone steps most of the way and was pretty easy except for the wind which threatened to blow us off the mountain. The wing was really strong and constant so you needed to keep your balance and focus. The views from the top were fantastic though somewhat softened by a haze.

From the top we walked across alpine type grass to then descend. On the far hill was the Hontess slate mine and at the foot of our mountain they have a slate mill and shop for tourists, and a cafe! It was a very steep descent again and Kathy the retired Maths teacher took a tumble on the grass, jarring her shoulder. We were all impressed with the slate products, even slate art was quite fabulous. From this point the walk into Stonethwaite was about five kilometres but some was very rugged and at one point a chain was fixed to the rock wall to help you avoid slipping into the river.

We are staying in two BnBs in the village and they are a good 15 mins to the pub for dinner. Fortunately although we are staying the furtherest, the owner of our BnB gives Paul, our guide, his car to drive. As it has started to drizzle we are very happy. We go off to the riverside bar but find the bistro full of footy fans because it is the only place with reception for the World Cup. England is playing Tunisia.

We are so amused by the intensity and crowd participation as the game is played. Lots of ‘ oh!!’ Then ‘no!!’ The whole time we are eating. The atmosphere was thick with emotion. Because of the crowd we were all squeezed around a small table and eating with our elbows tucked in! We were inspired by the crowd and had lots of playful leg pulling of each person. It was a fun evening?

we are a group of 6 women and 6 men. Lyn and Bruce are the only couple. 3South Africans, experienced walker, 4Aussies( we three and Dennis an English man who has lived in Sydney for 30 years; he speaks so fast we can’t understand him sometimes!) the rest are Brits. We are all easy going and an interesting group.

Woke to a glorious sunny day. They do have them! Our B&B was very good, efficient, well organised and spotless and she made great breakfasts too. Today is the shortest day of the year- summer solstice but one of our longest walking days. We have a 9 hour walk ahead of us. We are walking up to Kidsty Pike(2559 feet) and High Raise (2631 feet) which mark the edge of the Lakes district. The going will be steep and the descent long so a few of the group have opted to spend the day doing alternative activities such as taking the oldest steam driven ferry in working order across Uldswater and back, then catching a taxi to meet us for a flat five miles walk to Shap. Moria was still struggling with her cold, Lyn was anxious about the descent ( that it the guide book looks straight down!) Dennis and Stuart wanted to see something different.

The walkers set off and soon encountered a rough path that was being renovated by the parks authorities with huge boulders. They fly them in and lower them alongside the path with helicopters. We made jokes about every walker carrying a stone up! It would make it a more arduous and slower walk! The scenery is spectacular and we can look back to many of the fell peaks we have crossed. Unfortunately the wind picks up as we climb and soon it is buffeting us around. The Romans made a road across this pass called high street which linked a fort near Brougham near Penrith, with Ambleside. It was their highest road in the country.

It is getting really cold now and Allen pulls a muscle on the last reasonably flat stage near the top. He is in a lot of discomfort. We have a group photo at the Kidsty Pike before heading to High Raise. It isn’t far but by the time we stop for lunch and shelter out of the wind my hands are frozen. It is supposed to be about 6 degrees up here but the wind chill must make it less.

With Allen injured Paul decides to take a different descent across the alpine meadows for which we are all grateful. A 5 km slog over steep rocks would be miserable! The ground is boggy and spongy to walk across so it is a test for ankles but easy underfoot. Allen starts to fall behind so Paul rings for a car to meet us at the bottom. It is slow going and by the time we get to the bottom we are an hour late. Allen is collected( wish we were too) and we meet the others for the last stage. Now we are walking through cows, sheep, and even horses through paddocks and over stiles- about 8. Having to climb some was a real effortbecause everyone is tired. Shap still seems a long way off! We pass the ruins of Shap abbey built around12 th Century. Finally at 6 pm we arrived at The Kings Arms Hotel.

After all the walking I have done I hoped to be not so tired but we are walking at a very fast pace and Bruce remarked that he had done 3900 steps but I have to do double that because my stride is short. I think it is the pace. We are averaging 4.6 kms per hour ALL the time. We only have short breaks too. I am fine but it is strenuous and I wake feeling ready to go in the mornings so that is the main test of fitness I think.

Yesterday (16 th) we arrived in St Bees after travelling from London to Carlisle and being met by my friends Peter and Monty. They had generously offered to drive us to St Bees so we could have a real catch up.

We were extremely grateful because it had turned cold and wet. They have been travelling for a few months so it was a perfect opportunity and the only opportunity to meet in our travels.

We had our meet and greet and then dinner in the local hotel. There were two weddings so the pubs were so-o busy!

Next day, Sunday was our first walking day. Our guide had put the fear of god into us over the supposed difficulty of the walk so everyone was s bit apprehensive.

We set off to the beach to collect a stone, the traditional offering to be left on the beach on the opposite side of the country,

There was a stiff wind but it was good to be walking again. We cut a pretty fast pace and our guide Paul is very good.

We climbed the Dent a hill of about 300 metre but the weather has turned wet, cold and windy. I decided to take out my new Poncho and even if I look like Quasimodo it was fantastic. Much better than my cost!

With no let up in the rain we hurried on to Ennerdale and the Shephards Arms. We arrived very bedraggled and dripping water everywhere. Debra, my room mate had a message that her bag was overweight so we went through her bag to reduce it.

Some of the others have overweight luggage too and they have pooled their excess and put it into storage till the end but sharing the cost.

Great dinner tonight.