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.