Day Seven - Kirkby Stephen - 30 April

We all had a lovely rest day starting off with a relaxing breakfast at our B&B. It was good to know that we didn’t have to rush off from the table and get ready for a day of walking.

By nine thirty we were all heading off to the laundrette to give our walking clothes a decent wash. Neil, Henk and I put all our clothes together in one wash but Chris and Ron being proper English gentlemen kept their clothes separate! We spent the time reading the paper whilst the clothes went around.

Morning tea was at the Mulberry Bush Café where they served our favourite cakes of Coffee and Walnut and Victoria Sponge. Between morning tea and lunch we all went our separate ways having a look around the lovely little town of Kirkby Stephen. It promotes itself as “A Walkers are Welcome Town” and is an ancient market town between the Lake District and Yorkshire National Parks. Monday was a good day to visit as it was Market Day and the Auction Mart which was selling cows.

Chris and Ron went to the auction and recommended it so Henk and I ventured into the cattle and sheep yard hall to watch the auction after lunch. It was a noisy and busy auction with many farmers bidding on the cows. The cows all seemed to sell between eight hundred to a thousand pounds. I took some photos from the stalls but no-one noticed as they were too intent on the auction.

We visited the Parish Church which is known locally as the “Cathedral of the Dales” and it was looking particularly lovely on this sunny day with daffodils growing in the grounds.

It has an attractive sandstone cloister entrance which was built in 1810 to provide shelter for churchgoers and market people. We regrouped at six thirty and walked the one block back into Market Street and High Street for dinner. We had drinks at the White Lion but there were no ferrets!

Day Six - Orton to Kirkby Stephen - 29 April

Time Departed: 9.00am Time Arrived: 3.40pm Distance: 21.5kms Cumulative Distance: 133.7kms Percentage Completed: 42% Weather: Very cold, windy, hail and rain Accommodation: Redmayne House B&B We were all at breakfast at eight o’clock sharp as we were keen to get away as soon as possible due to the poor weather forecast. The maximum was to be about six degrees without taking into account the wind factor. As I was wearing all my gear I didn’t need to take my daypack and Henk carried my lunch and water in his large backpack. When we set off the weather was very overcast and cold. We enjoyed our last look over Orton before continuing on the road out of town and headed towards farmlands.

We passed many farms with sheep and newly born white and black lambs. One farmer was giving her flock nuts to sustain them whilst the grass improved. She said the lambs born in early March would be off to the market as early as June and she would keep supplying them until October.

By eleven o’clock the winds started to pick up and we found a spot near a dry wall fence to have our first break. Not long after this a light rain came then small hail and this lasted for quite some time. We covered our faces as much as we could as the hail could sting quite hard. Neil and I donned our sunglasses to avoid being hit in the eyes. Overall, the walk today was quite an easy one with the maximum height of three hundred and forty metres five kilometres from Kirkby Stephen. The path was also easier to walk on as it was mostly flat and grassy.

We had our second break at Smardale Bridge and went underneath to avoid the rain. We didn’t stay too long as we could feel we were getting colder. For the remainder of the afternoon we had light rain with intermittent hail. Visibility to the far mountains was poor.

Considering the conditions in which we walked we made good time and were pleased to arrive at the B&B and get out of the rain. Our B&B host showed us our rooms and made us a huge pot of tea and toasted tea buns which we had in the guests’ lounge. We relished it. When we headed out for dinner at a local pub at six thirty we were all very cold. Despite having hot showers to warm up it was insufficient. Our rooms were still gradually warming up as we had to turn on the radiators when we got to our room. Thankfully, the pub was very cosy with a fire going in the bar area. Tomorrow is a rest day for us and we are looking forward to taking it easy for the day and catching up with some washing. I’m staying in the same place Carol and I stayed when we did the Coast to Coast in 2000. It’s also the same very pleasant B&B lady.

Day Five - Shap to Orton - 28 April

Time Departed: 10.30am Time Arrived: 3.30pm Distance: 13kms Weather: Sunny and chilly Accommodation: Mostyns B&B Yesterday was the first time that Henk and I have had an ensuite in our room since leaving St Bees. We took the opportunity to catch up with our washing. I did the washing machine part in the bathtub and Henk did the rinsing in the basin. There were two large oil heaters in the room and we managed to dry our the clothes very quickly. When we came to breakfast this morning we had mostly clean walking clothes on.

Chris, however, outdid us and won the fashion stakes looking very smart in Plus Fours. We were in no rush today as we only had to do thirteen kilometres. We wandered down the very long main street of Shap calling into the Co-op to buy lunch and try and get some cash as we were running very low. We had planned to take out extra cash from the one and only ATM in Gracemere but the ATM was in the Post Office and it shuts every Thursday afternoon. We tried to get cash at the Shap Co-op but our cards didn’t work so we paid for our lunch with a credit card. Fortunately, Henk found an ATM in Orton and we are solvent again.

As we strolled down the main street of Shap we came across an old market hall which is over three hundred years old. This is probably the only redeeming feature of Shap. Moving on from Shap we firstly had to cross the very busy M6 using an overhead foot bridge. This is the main motorway between Manchester and Glasgow. After an hour of walking we had morning tea sitting on limestone rocks overlooking Oddendale which is a small farming hamlet hidden in trees.

We could see Kidsty Pike in the far off distance and it was hard to believe that we had walked so far in one day. Further around we could see High Cup Nick which is very dramatic from the top. Ron, Henk and I walked around the top of this three years ago. From Oddendale we had to do a bit of walking through peat and heather before getting onto a wide, green path. We had another break at one thirty near a plantation and we enjoyed sitting in the sun. We slowly made our way to Orton.

We passed a stone built lime kiln in a farmer’s field on the path down into Orton. The kilns were used to burn the locally quarried stone to provide fertiliser to enrich the land, mortar and whitewash for the traditional buildings. Alfred Wainwright the man behind the coast to coast walk described Orton as “enjoying a quiet rural life in a setting of unique charm and ranks amongst the loveliest villages in the country.”

As we walked through the village to our B&B we could see it was indeed very pretty with stone-walled buildings, daffodils growing everywhere and a pretty little stream flowing through it. After we settled in Neil, Henk and I braved the cold and toured the little village. It has only one post office/shop, a pub and curiously a very popular chocolate shop. We ventured into the shop and tried a few chocolates.

They were divine! We are now between the Lakes District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. Tomorrow night we will be at Kirkby Stephen and then we have a rest day but we first have to contend with tomorrow’s weather which is looking dire.

Day Four - Patterdale to Shap - 27 April

Time Departed: 8.45am Time Arrived: 6.30pm Distance: 26.5kms Percentage Completed: 31% Weather: Sunny and chilly Accommodation: New Ing Lodge What a difference a day makes! We woke to a sunny, chilly day with a maximum of 9 and we only had to complete one summit today, Kidsty Pike. It is the highest point on the Coast to Coast walk at 780 metres. The path was much easier as it wasn’t so stony and there wasn’t flowing water running through it. The path quickly rose out of Patterdale and as we climbed higher we started to have stunning views over the village, the nearby Ullswater Lake and the surrounding mountains.

We could see Helvelyn in the distance and it had quite a few snow patches on its ridge. This confirmed for us that we had made the right decision and not attempted to climb it the day before. At ten thirty we took a break at Angle Tarn and had morning tea overlooking the very dark lake. We had a packed lunch from our B&B and as they were different I horse-traded my biscuits for chips from Neil.

Food becomes very important for walkers! Numerous walkers passed us while we sat in the sun and many were also undertaking the Coast to Coast walk. When we started again the path sat high above the tarn and we had stunning views over it and the surrounding mountains. The path became steeper as we neared the summit. We stepped over a stone plaque on the path which was in memory of a Dave Roberts and was partly covered with water and mud. We wondered what Dave would have died from and decided probably a heart attack! Before we reached the summit of Kidsty Pike we came upon the High Street Roman Road which is a legendry highway linking Penrith to the north with Ambleside.

Many walkers make the mistake of continuing up the Roman Road rather than taking a sharp left turn at a cairn to walk along the ridge that leads to the summit.

It is said that Mardale shepherds met on the Roman Road to reclaim sheep and once this was done horse racing would take place. We wondered how they would have got the horses up the incline. When we reached the top it was twelve thirty and we had lunch overlooking the Haweswater which was converted into a reservoir sixty years ago.

The village of Mardale was lost to the reservoir and in drought thousands of people come looking for the lost village. We were very fortunate to have a sunny day and we could see for miles. Ron pointed out Cross Fells to the north east and it had snow across its top. We walked across this three years ago on a very cold, windy day. The descent from the summit was very steep and took us straight down to Haweswater. There were some considerable rocky outcrops we had to get through.

I had told the team that it was all flat walking once we got to the bottom but my recollection was completely wrong. There was quite a bit of up and down as the path followed the edge of lake. We had afternoon tea at three thirty. Ron and Chris stayed longer and Henk, Neil and I pressed on as we were getting cold. The remainder of the walk was around the end of the reservoir and across undulating farming land.

We passed Shap Abbey on the way but as it was getting late we kept on walking. It’s very close to Shap and we may revisit it tomorrow before setting off to Orton. Our B&B was at the end of the road on which we had been walking and we walked straight into it.

Last orders for dinner was six thirty and we made it in time. Ron and Chris arrived at seven thirty and after a thirst-quenching beer went off to the pub for dinner. The B&B was formerly a working farm and is run by two young enterprising brothers with lots of energy who obviously love the outdoors and walking. It was a good place to stay.

Day Three - Rosthwaite to Patterdale

Time Departed: 8.45am Time Arrived: 7.00pm Distance: 25.8kms Percentage Completed: 22.8% Weather: Overcast at first, driving rain, some sleet, cold Accommodation: Home Farm B&B Today was even a greater challenge than yesterday. Neil, Henk and I were keen to try and do an alternate route to Patterdale along Helvellyan range if the weather improved. Ron and Chris did not want to do this route and so we set off in two groups from Rosthwaite. We were keen leave as early as possible to put us in a good position to choose whether we would do Helvellyan or not. There was a long, steady climb out of Rosthwaite up Greenup Valley alongside a fast flowing beck, Greenup Gill with numerous waterfalls.

We had the wind on our back and we were grateful for that. The challenge came when we started ascending Lining Crag. It was a long, steep rocky climb to the summit and we were pleased to get to the top. It was here that we farewelled the very wet Borrowdale.

The weather had turned worse and we had rain, hail and sleet as we climbed higher and higher and this came and went throughout the remainder of the day. The climb down wasn’t easy as most of the path was stony and water was running down the paths. We decided to have lunch at twelve o’clock as it had been sometime since breakfast and we needed to keep up our strength. We only stopped for about fifteen minutes as we became very cold particularly our hands. The walk into Grassmere was stony all the way which made the walking slower.

We reached Grassmere at two o’clock and we headed for the first tearoom. We tried to be as quick as possible as we knew we had a further 12 kilometres to go and another summit to climb. The tea hit the spot. Henk took the opportunity to ring our B&B to let them know that we would not be in until about six or six thirty. The climb out of Grassmere was even more difficult than the climb out of Rosthwaite. We passed a young couple whom we had named “The Yellow Group” as we could see them way in the distance with their yellow backpacks. They led the walkers in the morning. They were returning to Grasmere for the night as they felt they didn’t have the stamina to get to Patterdale. After completing the walk it was a wise decision. Neil led the way to the summit at Grisedale Haus, Henk was second and I tagged along at a flagging last! The wind now hit us head on and there were times I couldn’t move forward because of the strength of it.

When we reached the summit I was in need of food but Henk and I had eaten our supplies. We still had about eight kilometres to go. Thank goodness Neil had a packet of nuts and seeds which we readily gobbled up whilst slumping down behind a ledge to get out of the wind. When we moved from the summit we came across Grisedale Tarn which is a particularly dark lake. We walked passed it and started the descent into Patterdale with Grisedale Beck keeping us company all the way down.

It was not an easy descent with a very stony and wet path for the majority of the way. By the time we reached our B&B we were exhausted but pleased that we had done it against the challenges of the weather and the ascents and the descents. We also were pleased to hear from our B&B lady that Ron and Chris had decided not to walk the Grasmere to Patterdale section as the time was against them as they had started later than us. They spent more time in Grassmere having a good look around. This included a large cream tea! They caught a taxi to Patterdale and went straight to the pub. The B&B lady’s husband had met them there and word had got back to our B&B. We quickly showered and headed into the small village with the clock striking eight as we walked through to the far end to the pub. Ron and Chris were looking very refreshed after sitting in the pub for a few hours. It’s not how we could have described ourselves. As we left the pub the clock was striking nine thirty as we walked our way back to the B&B in the dark showing Ron and Chris the way.

Day Two - Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite

Time Departed: 9.50am Time Arrived: 6.30pm Distance: 23.5 kms Percentage Completed: 14.7% Weather: Overcast at first, driving rain, some sleet, cold Accommodation: Gillercombe B&B. When we arrived at our B&B at the late hour of six thirty our B&B lady said, “Where have you been? I expected you hours ago.” It was a very challenging day. We set out later than planned as Ron and Chris had to walk two kilometres from their B&B to join us at Ennerdale Bridge and they were sidelined on the way trying to rescue a lamb which had wandered out of its paddock. The lamb wouldn’t cooperate and they had to leave it. We walked a few kilometres from Ennerdale Bridge to Ennerdale Water along a tarmac road and we were immediately hit with a strong headwind which stayed with us for the entire length of the lake. It took us about an hour an a half to walk the five kilometres along the edge. The walking was slow with the strong headwind and the path was mostly stony which made for difficult walking. The views over the lake and the upcoming mountains were lovely. We could see that the weather was not looking good. We had early lunch at the end of the lake eating the goodies put together by the Fox and Hound at Ennerdale Bridge.

When we started walking again we had only gone a short distance and realised that the time had come to don our wet weather gear. The path took us through Ennerdale Forest and alongside River Liza. The further we walked up the valley the worse the weather became.

By the time we reached the YHA Hut, Black Sail which was a former shepherd’s bothy we were ready for a break from the weather. There was no-one at the hut however instructions told us we could make a cup of tea or coffee and pay through their honour system.

We spent an hour at the hut warming up and it was a welcome reprieve from the weather and a chance to gather our strength. When we left the hut to start climbing Moses’ Trod it was particularly gloomy with strong winds and some rain. The climb up Moses’ Trod took some effort as we were in our rain gear which hampers climbing. Moses’ Trod climbs steeply to 610 metres over distance of one kilometre.

The surrounding mountains shielded us from the nasty weather whilst we climbed over many rocks but when we hit the summit the rain and wind came in full fury and we walked straight into it. We could barely see Buttermere Valley which was a pity. It was very difficult to walk. The rain stung our faces and we all kept our heads down trying to avoid the stinging rain. At some stage it started to sleet and the temperature dropped even further. When we reached Honister Pass the weather grew particularly nasty with very strong winds. We were keen to get off the mountain and headed down towards Borrowdale which is apparently one of the wettest areas of England. We were very pleased to get to our accommodation. Our B&B lady was an experienced older walker and she was set up for walkers with hooks for drying our gear. It took us no time at all to shower and change and meet up with Ron and Chris at the cosy Scarfell Pub. They stayed at the YHA close by to us. The pub was packed with many walkers.

St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge - 24 April

Time Departed: 9.30am Time Arrived: 5.20pm Distance: 23.6kms Percentage Completed: 7.4% Weather: Overcast, patches of sunshine and cold Accommodation: The Cloggers B&B. We had a very good first day of walking. We met at the teahouse overlooking the beach at nine o’clock. Neil’s B&B lady had made his lunch and the rest of us bought sandwiches from the teahouse. A number of older locals were coming to the shop to collect the paper and would pass us joking that they’d just finished the walk overnight, were buying the paper and should be back in Robin Hood’s Bay by nightfall!

The lovely stature told us that we had already walked 7 miles and only had 184 to go! At Cleator we came across a café called Walkers Pop In Café and how could we resist? The elderly lady running the café was very supportive of walkers. She made us pots of tea and didn’t mind that we ate the remainder of our sandwiches under the covered picnic tables in the garden. Some of us couldn’t resist her cakes either! From Cleator we could see Dent in the distance and this was the challenge for the day. It rises very quickly to 345m over one and a half kilometres.

The path is different from when I did it with Carol twelve years ago as pine forests have grown around the original path. It was nevertheless slow going as I had remembered and we were pleased to get to the top. A couple of other walkers kindly took a photo of the five of us to prove we had reached the top of Dent. Descending the final part of Dent to Nannycatch Gate was also as steep as I remembered and we took it slowly and often zigzagging to reduce the steepness.

Nannycatch Gate is a very pretty little area at the bottom of Dent and we chose a spot to have another break before we did the final stretch into Ennerdale Bridge. Ron and Chris stayed at Low Cock How B&B which is two kilometres from Ennerdale Bridge. We left them at their turnoff and agreed to meet them at the pub at seven thirty for dinner at the village‘s only pub, The Fox and Hound. Neil, Henk and I walked to the far end of Ennerdale Bridge to our B&B.

It was built in the 1600’s and it was very tiny and quaint. The owners are very friendly and gave us local milk with cream on the top for our tea. We have a shared bathroom and being a girl I had the luxury of having the first bath. The Fox and Hound was busy when we arrived and we were pleased our B&B host had booked a table for us. The pub was closed at the end of 2010 and the people of the village banded together to open it again. It now has 200 shareholders and seems to be thriving. Chris and Ron walked back to their B&B, uphill and in the dark. They were very brave!

St Bees - 23 April

It has been a day of travelling to get to St Bees for the start of our three hundred and twenty kilometre walk across England. Ron, Henk and I caught a taxi from Ron and Remy’s home at Timperley, Outer Manchester to Piccadilly Station, Manchester for the eleven fifteen train to St Bees. It took us about three and a half hours to arrive at St Bees quickly changing trains at Barrow on Furness along the way.

We had good views over the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man as we drew closer to St Bees and finally the St Bees headland came into view. This is the westernmost point of England outside of the southwest peninsula. Neil and Chris were waiting for us on the very small platform. They had introduced themselves after realising they may be waiting for the same people. Neil had travelled down by train from Glasgow after arriving from Australia last Saturday and Chris, Ron’s walking friend from Cambridge had been spending a few days in the Lakes District before meeting us. Neil and Chris had already checked in to their accommodation. Neil is staying in the main street of St Bees whilst Chris and Ron are staying just around the corner from us near the beachfront from where we will start our walk tomorrow. Our room has very good views over the headland and Isle of Man. After checking-in to our B&Bs we met at a teahouse overlooking the beach. We were all needing a large cuppa after the train journey. The weather was chilly on arrival but thankfully the sun came out and it was a lovely afternoon and evening. Looking at the BBC weather forecast it looks like we could be in some patches of wet and cold weather over the next few days. When we returned to our B&Bs Ron and Henk individually decided to walk around St Bees and met up along the way.

They visited the Priory Church which has a stunning Norman west doorway which is still largely intact. They also visited the famous local Grammar School which goes back over four centuries. We quizzed Ron and Chris’s B&B lady as to where the best place was to eat and after dismissing quite a number of places she came up with two pub options on the main street. We met Neil at seven thirty at his B&B and his B&B lady confirmed that “The Queens” was the best option. I had stayed there with my friend Carol when we walked the Coast to Coast in 2000. We had a lovely first evening together getting to know each other. Neil chose the most English dish on the menu, “Cumberland Sausage Toad in the Hole”. It was enormous but he bravely finished every mouthful!

Henk and I have repacked our bags for the Sherpa van. One of our bags will be taken directly by Sherpa to Robin Hood’s Bay, our final destination. Our other bag will be taken to the next B&B on our walk and will be waiting for us on our arrival.

Photos: St Bees Headland; Priory Church with Norman doorway; The group - Henk, Neil, Chris, Ron and me; Neil’s dinner!