Day 11. Lovely Day in the Dales

Day 11.  It is Friday evening at the Three Tuns, a small pub in Osmotherley.  Standing at the bar are several local gents, two in tweed jackets and formal English hunting attire and another in kilts.  They are jovial and obviously enjoying their pints. Fellow traveler Dave has joined them and learned that they have just returned from hunting pheasant and grouse (at a cost of £600).

We walked 16+ miles today.  We began at The White Swan, a small pub in Danby-Wiske where yesterday's walk concluded, and walked along roads and lanes for a while until the path took us back into the pastures.  We've walked through many farms, observed farmers hard at work, haying, tilling, rounding up their sheep.  As we walked down a dirt drive toward a farm, we noticed a massive black hulk of a bull on the ground in front of us.  The farmer and his daughter were just leaving, but stopped their car to chat with us.  Seems that some of the farmer's herd had gotten loose earlier in the morning and the farmer had rounded them up and brought back in.  In all the commotion, this bull had become overly stressed and had had a heart attack and dropped dead, all 800 pounds of him.  A big loss to the farmer.

Onward.  The footpath brought us out to a busy, nine-lane highway.  There is no pedestrian crosswalk.  Nada.  The cars zoom by.  We wait for an opening and "sprint" across the first set of lanes to the median, then wait, and sprint again.   With all the C2C walkers -- 10,000 per year -- one would think a signal might be installed!  Onward.  My blister began to sing so I broke down and asked Liz to tell me about episode one of Downton Abbey.  The diversion worked and I settled back in.  One step at a time.

Mount Grace Priory was our lunch spot.  Ruins of an 11th or 12th century priory where monks lived in isolated cells are the backdrop to a stately manor that was restored in the 1700-1800's and used as a wealthy business man's residence and is now a museum.

With a mere 3.5 miles ahead we all opted to continue on, leaving Dave to drive to our day's endpoint alone.

There was a steady climb from the priory that took us through a lovely wood of silver birch.  Not much elevation today for our daily "high point."

We heard wood pigeons cooing; we saw them in New Zealand, too.  I heard another bleating sheep behind a dense hedgerow.  Ben stopped to investigate -- its head was stuck in the wire fence.  A few snips and off it went to rejoin the flock.

We have begun to leave the Dales.  Our path today took us into
Scarthwood Moor.

Dave was waiting for us at the car park.  He drove us to the village of Osmotherley where we're staying at a small pub known for its beer and delicious food called The Three Tuns.  16.5 miles today.  The same tomorrow.  The body is growing a bit weary but I'm not ready for our journey to end!!

Day 13. Glaisdale Grosmont & Goathland

Day 13.  Went to bed last night with a scratchy throat.  David's cold had made its way to Jim and I was not volunteering to be the next recipient.  In the morning, the scratchy throat's still there.   I am not to be deterred.

We left from Blakeley Ridge and trooped single file along the road, stopping to photograph the stone markers that denote the boundaries... no more stone walls.  Some of these markers have names -- "Old Marjorie" and "Fat Betty" were on this morning's route.  We took a group photo at the last cairn we'll see on the C2C; it was our high point as well.

The wind had come up and much like the first days of our journey, it was our companion for most of the day.  Clear, sunny skies.  No sheep in distress although Ben spied two stoats cavorting in the heather.

Having left the moors, we walked through quaint villages as well as a lovely wood outside of Glaisdale where centuries old stones had been laid as the foot path.  They were well-worn and are now concave.  The stories they could tell!  One of the day's high points.

Arriving in Grosmont (the "s" is silent), we went to the train station where several old coal-fed, steam trains operate as locals.  The air was thick and smokey.  We hopped on board and rode the train to Goathland where we are staying tonight.  As we were riding along, David pointed out that one could hear the train making that "chug-a-chug-a" sound.

Although tomorrow will be our last day, it won't be a walk in the park!   We have 16+ miles to go before reaching Robin Hood's Bay with 1700 feet of elevation.  Bogs along with a couple of steep descents are ahead.  We're nearly there!

Day 12. Weekend in the Moors

Day 12.  We left The Three Tuns after a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, fried eggs on thick brown toast (no brown sauce for me!) and my first latte on the trip and picked up where we left off.  Our walk today along the Cleveland Way segment of the C2C trail was nearly 17 miles -- up and over five "bumps" as Ben referred to them.   A bit more than bumps, I'd say. 

 As we crested one bump we came upon a group of hunters who were just finishing their morning's pheasant hunt.  All the men were appropriately dressed with ties and jackets.  They were accompanied by their hunting dogs -- several springer spaniels, a yellow lab and a clumber spaniel .   The gents were an amiable lot and agreed we could take their photo.

  

Our high point today was 1250 feet although most of the bumps were this high.

Moving on, we stopped for lunch at the fourth bump as the mist dissipated and the sun appeared.  We had a spectacular, panoramic view of the Dales below as we enjoyed our goat cheese and chutney sandwiches on brown bread.  Yum!! That's Ben, Peter and Jim getting ready to eat lunch.

After the fifth bump, we climbed down a long stone-stepped path -- a knee killer -- and connected with a old railroad track.  We walked the track through the moors filled with ling heather, grouse and sheep for nine miles.  Then it was up a hill to Blakeley Ridge where we met up with Dave.  A pint for most and a cup of tea for me before we headed on to the Fox and Hound where we will spend the night.

Knees are stiff and hurting; legs are solid and sore.  Glad to have a stretching regiment -- thank you, Laurie and Tucker!  (We won't even discuss the state of my feet!)  We've walked over 160 miles.  Fourteen miles tomorrow!

Day 9. Reeth to Richmond

Day 9 - 25 Sep.  Peter and I are sitting in the lounge of The King's Head, a hotel in the center of Richmond.  We walked only 11 miles today.  Two shorter walks have followed our 18-miler on Monday.

We began today's walk with a stroll through the community-owned garden in Reeth.  Along our way, we have passed through several villages where many of the homes have small gardens. Both Helen and Liz -- like me -- know our flora so it's been fun to spot and identify familiar flowers and trees.

We continue to walk through sheep and cow pastures that have indiscernible paths and only occasionally do the gates have coast-to-coast postings.  We would be continually befuddled and lost without Ben.

Walls.  Have you noticed the stone walls in the photos?  They are everywhere, dissecting the landscape, keeping the sheep and cows where they belong in the pastures, defining boundaries in the villages and towns.  Each is a work of art and the result of deliberate, tedious toil.

We ascended a mere 900 feet to a knoll in a pasture that was today's literal high point.

Descending, we arrived in Richmond early this afternoon.


Walking into town, we passed a lovely community garden.

 After showering and dropping off our dirty clothes at a cleaners who will have everything washed, dried and folded for us tomorrow, we walked around town and explored the Richmond Castle that dates back to the 11th century. Climbing to the top of the "keep" (tower), we had spectacular views of the town and countryside.

Blisters and hot spots are appearing on the feet of others so I don't feel like such a dork.  The toe ones are beginning to fade, although a new one popped up a couple of days ago.  The group is impressed by Dr Pete's bandage techniques, and I am grateful for his skill with moleskin!

Day 8. In the mist.

Day 8.  We've been walking for seven days.  This morning marked our halfway point of our journey.  Over dinner Ben will describe the next day's walk.  He is a typical Englishman -- always understating!  "Tomorrow, guys, we've got a bit of a climb...." "The path can be a bit wet so you might want to wear your gaiters."  Try as we might to nail him down, "What does a bit of a climb mean exactly, Ben?", he's been sticking to his ambiguous descriptors.  Dave is no better when it comes to the weather forecast.  "We're going to start out misty then by mid-morning it could be cloudy and later on becoming overcast."  What?!?!  Lest there be any doubt, we are very fond of both men -- each is a ray of sunshine.

Today's walk was through the moors and, of course, in the fog.

We couldn't see much.  We enjoyed, however, hearing the grouse calling and fluttering about the heather.

Our literal high point was a sledge heap of lead tailings discarded by abandoned lead mining operations.

Today's walk was only 11 miles and we arrived into Reeth just before 3 o'clock.  I opted for a long, hot bath while Peter explored the village.  We're staying at The Buck, a small pub, just outside town.  This is a view from our room.

Meals have been well beyond our expectations.  Tonight I had haddock atop asparagus and pea risotto.  Last night I ate a creamy fisherman's pot pie.  Salmon has been on the menu most nights.  Our single complaint is that the portions are rather large although Ben and Dave have no difficulty polishing their plates!

On our first day Ben told us there are three kinds of fun: (1) the type you enjoy while you're doing it and when you think back on it; (2) the type you don't enjoy while you're doing but do enjoy retrospectively; and (3) the kind that's no fun whatsoever.

Am I having fun?  Absolutely!  And so far it's been the first kind of fun, despite the pesky blisters!  Each day is new and different; the geology and topography continue to change; our walking companions are interesting and easy to be with.  We wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Day 7. Mist, Sun -- Welcome to the Dales

Day 7.  A long day!  18 miles over 9 hours.  And I walked every mile!!  We set off from Ravenstonedale a bit after nine o'clock and walked along pasture walls and the road until we came to the town of Kirkby Stephen. There we stopped to use the ATM, get more moleskin, buy new and improved socks and enjoy the local bakery's scones.  Then it was time to ascend the hills and begin our entry into the Dales, James Herriot country.  Yesterday as we traipsed across the undulating hills, we tried to recall all the characters on Downton Abbey.  You see, the first episode aired here last night.  Peter and I restrained ourselves but the others did not.  They have been very considerate not to give much away.

Often we will stop for "elevensies" -- yes, at 11 o'clock -- for a biscuit or special treat.  On the first morning as we stood on the bluff looking back at St Bees and tried not to be blown over, Ben distributed Kendale mint cake, a sugar candy to give us a kick.   On day three, he handed out Eccles cakes, a mincemeat pastry, that was delicious.  On day five as we took a break on a rather cool, windy and showery ascent toward Kidsty Pike, Ben shared the "original Grasmere gingerbread."  We look forward to our elevensies!

Back to today.  We climbed what seemed to be an endless hill, the fog closing in as we trudged higher up.  Our destination was the Nine Standards Rigg, a series of stone formations at the summit of Hartley Fells of the Pennines.  Its origin and age are not known but it is thought that the nine stone cairns were designed and positioned to look like English sentinels and fool the Scottish army.

Once our daily high point photo was taken it was time to descend the other side.  This meant slogging through peat bogs of an indeterminate depth.  The sedge grass and star moss grow on the surface layer that floats on top of the bog.  If you pause and take deliberate steps -- and put your poles down -- you can sink in quite deep.  The trick is to spring nimbly across.  Not so easily executed!  All of us managed to cross with only sinking down to our ankles until we came to a low bog that had formed when part of a slope had eroded.  The banks were quite high and were eroding underneath.  As I stepped down from the near bank, I slipped on the mud and slid partway down.  Fortunately, I caught myself so I was none for the worse. At the next crossing, Dave who often makes his own paths chose to cross at an untested spot and found his boot swallowed up in the muck -- he took a step and his foot came right out while his boot stayed.   Oh dear!  He is a trooper - he extricated himself, put his boot back on mud soaked and all, and slogged on.

We do not whine (or "whinge" as the English say) on our walks.  During the more challenging parts, we often are silent.  Conversation will break out again once the challenge has been met.

Today driver Dave was waiting for us at a picturesque farm with extra water and bananas and to transport anyone who was ready to call it a day at 14 miles.  My "dogs" were yipping but not yet barking, and the late afternoon sun was wakening all the hues of green of the fields.

 After making our way through pastures, we came to the lane that took us to Keld Lodge where we spent the night.

Two high points for me today -- the beauty of the Dales and the realization that we really are walking step by step across England!!  Wow!

Day 6. A sunny day!

Day 6.  Sunday, 22 Sep.  I am sitting in the pub of The Black Swan, a lovely pub hotel in the quaint village of Ravenstonedale.  We began our day at Shap Abbey, a 13th century abbey of the Premonstratensian order, as the clouds parted and the sun came out.  Leaving Shap, we made our way up hills through pastures, crossed the highway and traipsed through more pastures as we began our journey out of the Lakes District.  The geology has begun to change as well -- limestone predominates in the stone walls and the pastures.

Our literal high point at 1200 feet seemed tame in comparison to yesterday's, but today the sun was shining and the view was spectacular.

We descended into the town of Orton where we treated ourselves to a hot chocolate as we scarfed down our sandwiches.  I've been consistent in my order of tuna fish on brown bread.  Today my sandwich was thickly buttered.  A couple of days ago, corn was mixed in.  On the first day, the tuna salad included chunks of tomato and herbs.  I have gladly eaten each one!  Leaving Orton, my blisters began to speak up so when we met up with Dave four miles later, I opted to call it a day at 13+ miles.  (Peter continued on for the remaining five miles.)

Having showered and put on my flip-flops, I wandered out to the local gallery where I bought a painting by a local artist.  Then I meandered back to the pub where I have been enjoying a pot of tea and a slice of chocolate and banana cake.  Life is good. Today's panoramic views and spending a couple of delightful hours this afternoon in Ravenstonedale are my figurative high points.   Tomorrow's walk is 18 miles with 2300 feet of ascent  as we head to the Pennines and the Dales.

Day 5. Kidsty Pike in the Fog

Day 5.  I faced this morning with trepidation.  I did not sleep much last night and today we're walking 16 miles with 2800 feet of elevation.  A few days ago, I developed a blister on the side of each big toe which are pesky and make themselves known toward the end of the day.  My legs feel like concrete.

We left the elegant Inn at the Lakes located at the southern shore of Lake Ullswater in Glenridding and picked up the C2C path a couple of miles down the road in Patterdale.  After a short 500 yards we began our ascent into the hills.  A rocky track straight up -- no switchbacks.  Over and down and around hill after hill, each with a splendid view of the valley below... unless the fog hasn't lifted!

Even though I am the youngest in the group, I am usually the slowest.  Peter and I bring up the rear.  I am able to trudge up the hills -- the rocky stream beds are easier than the grassy slopes -- it's the descents that I take slowly and can feel my knees.  At the end of the day we're all nearly the same speed.  I am appreciative of Dennis's advice to take it one step at a time.  I marvel at how far we travel step by step.  We are called "walkers."  And that is what we do.

Back to today's walk, the fog and mist became quite thick so we had limited visibility, especially as we neared the literal high point of today's walk, Kidsty Pike.  At 2558 feet, it's the highest point of the C2C walk.

We couldn't see 5 feet beyond us so missed what I can only suspect are spectacular views!  I'll never know.  As the saying goes, what goes up must come down.   Descending from Kidsty Pike was a knee killer -- the descent was straight down through grassy pastures where rocks lay in wait for some unsuspecting ankle to be turned or worse.

Once down, we walked along Haweswater Reservoir until we reached the other side of the dam where Driver Dave met us with late afternoon snacks.  I decided at 14 miles to call it a day (my knees had had enough) so I hopped a ride with Dave to our hotel just outside Shap.  We're walking 16 miles tomorrow with only 1200 feet of ascent.

The figurative high point for today, I hope, is a full and restful night's sleep.

Day 3. Wind, Rain and Muck

Day 3.  Days one and two were 14+ miles each.  We were up and on the path right after breakfast.  Day 3 began a bit later - we breakfasted at 8 (scrambled eggs on brown toast) and left shortly after 9.  The skies opened shortly thereafter.  We wore rain gear all day -- pants, gaitors, hat, rain flies on the day packs.  Today's trek took us up 2200 feet straight up -- again no switchbacks -- to Greenup Edge, the literal high point.

As we're climbing up to the top, the wind picked up and the rain began to pour.  (Notice the rain drops in the photo of our climb up!)

The paths are rocky; sometimes they are constructed of large stones and other times they are the beds of streams.  Another feature of today's hike was crossing through peat bogs.  The object is to step on the rocks if there are any ; otherwise, to step lightly to minimize sinking in.  Amidst the bogs were numerous fast flowing streams.  Guide Ben and Peter have been helping me across; I don't trust my footing on the wet rocks.  At one stream through one of the peat bogs, we were to cross by a peat-covered log.  (After my falls this summer, I wasn't too keen to chance a fall in the bog.). Fellow walker Dave spied a crossing with a solid layer of rocks that faced a 4.5 foot bank.  After Dave and Peter crossed and hoisted themselves up, I went across and they pulled me up until I was sitting up on the bank.

Once up and over, we made our way down the valley walking in the stream beds.  Rocks and more rocks; a lot of focusing on each foothold and step.  At a dodgy stream crossing just below a waterfall, Dave lost his footing and fell in.  Ben wasn't going to take a chance with me.  He grabbed me from a mid-stream rock hoisted me over to the bank where we both slipped but did not fall!  The figurative high point of my day?  There are two: (1) I made it across all streams without slipping and falling in! and (2) the spectacular view of the valley behind us as a rainbow appeared!  Breathtaking.

Anything not covered by Gortex was soaking wet by the time we reached our destination of Grasmere, another scenic village here in the Lakes District.  Driver and weather forecaster Dave told us tonight at dinner that tomorrow will be "bright."

Days 1 & 2. Rain, Wind, Hills and Rocks

Greetings!  We have walked 30 miles these past two days.  We began our journey with the requisite rituals at St Bees -- each of us choosing a sandstone pebble from its beach that we'll toss into the North Sea when we arrive at Robin Hood's Bay.  That's a photo of the Irish Sea at St Bees.

When we got underway, the rain hadn't started.  The wind, however, came up as we made our way from the beach up to the top of the bluffs.

Gale force gusts stopped me in my tracks; several times I nearly lost my balance.  The wind was exhilarating, raw, powerful.  It was today's figurative high point.  The path led us through the heather, gorse, ferns, and pastures of sheep.  It became clear early on that we would have lost our way...  We are walking through pastures and fields and often with no discernible path.

The literal high point was Dent Hill at 350 m high.  I was so relieved to make it to the top that I forgot to take a photo!

Our group is solidifying.  Jim is a retired attorney from PA.  He is over 75 and is trying out his new knee.  He is the one in front who charges on ahead.  Helen, his wife, is an outdoor enthusiast who is quiet but knowledgeable about many things.  David is a retired educator from Brighton MI.  He downloaded books on quantum physics on his iPod, along with Judy Collins, James Taylor and Gregorian chants.  His wife, Liz, just retired after 37 years as a 4th grade science teacher.  She's just a couple of years older than me.  Ben, our guide, is 35 and an outdoors man who leads treks in England, Nepal and Thailand.  Dave is our driver  who picks up our bags and transports them to our next stop.  He also dries our boots, an invaluable service.  And, he is our weather forecaster.  He is the one who lets us know if it's a rain pants day.   (He's a retired police inspector.)  Dave took this photo so isn't in this one.

Day 2.  We started off the second day in Ennerdale Bridge in Cumbria.  Rain greeted us as did the wind.  Today's walk was 14.5 miles which began in a long valley.  The paths on this day were rocky so lots of energy was focused on footing.  I've been wearing my contacts with sunglasses so I can see everything clearly so long as it's at least two feet away.  This has been good because we've been climbing up and down rocks and across streams.  Today's high point was the Haystacks.  It was a steep trek straight up, no switchbacks.

The scenery is spectacular.  In between rain showers a rainbow appeared.  My figurative high point for this day.  Our walk took us through a blue slate quarry and down a stream bed full of slate shards.  It was tough going -- no blinking or spacing out!  We ended up in the small village of Borrowdale.  Because of a snafu, we ended up walking an extra 2+ miles to our hotel.   A warm shower and fine dinner ( I ordered a local white fish called coley that was delicious -- I was told it's like a cod or haddock.) ended our second day.

I have shared that I am writing a blog and posting photos of my high points.  For the past two evenings when we're having dinner, we have gone around the table and said what has been our figurative high point.  Sometimes we  name the same experience and other times it's unique to the individual.  It's been a good way to get to know one another.

WiFi at our lodgings has been spotty and the ability to include photos is frustratingly limited with on-and-off again signals.  I will insert photos when I can.









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Rainy days in London and cloudy skies for Shakespeare

We are now in Stratford-Upon-Avon, having left London by train early Saturday morning under dark gray skies.  We arrived in SUA under rain clouds, walked a half mile to our B&B, dropped off our bags and briskly walked into town for the matinee performance of "All's Well That Ends Well" that was outstanding.  One theme of the play is the role of the military in men's lives -- the calling, the camaraderie, the escape from civilian reality (in this case, an involuntary marriage). This production was set in current times.  It is always amazing (although eerily so) how true in today's world rings the words of Shakespeare! 

Today it's cool, windy, overcast with intermittent showers.  We've opted to spend a quiet afternoon at the B&B.  We take a train bright and early Monday morning for Penrith where we'll meet up with Ben, our Mt Travel Sobek guide, and the two couples who make up our walking group.  Understand that thunderstorms and windy conditions are forecast for St Bees and Ennerdale on Monday and Tuesday.  

Before it gets lost by our coast-to-coast adventure, I should relay that we found London to be an interesting city.  We took a four-hour walking tour with Joe Morris, the owner of City Detours.  Joe guided us around Westminster up Fleet Street to St Paul's Cathedral via alleyways, showing us sights unseen by most tourists.  We learned why the story of Sweeney Todd is unlikely to be true; why the Roman bath was more likely a Tudor structure (it's the bricks); and that the underground portion of the Bank of England is larger than London's tallest office tower (40+ floors).  There are as many coffee shops as tearooms.  Starbucks is everywhere as are McD's and Subway.  

This is St Paul's taken from the terrace of a nearby modern mall.  Olde and new are side by side.

With both eagerness to get underway and trepidation about what's to come, we will commence our C2C walk on Tuesday!

The countdown has begun!

Greetings!

As a "test" blog posting, I am sending this out to those of you who have expressed interest in tracking our upcoming adventure.

We've been hiking nearly every weekend for the past several months.  Peter's been the one in charge of selecting our hikes and has done a stellar job.  The views as well as the progressive levels of difficulty have been spot-on.  I thought I'd share a few photos of recent ones to Mt Rainer National Park and the Olympic National Park.  
 

That's me leisurely strolling along the trail.  Mt Rainier rises in the distance.  (Meanwhile, our older son, Eben, and friends, Ryan and Ted, were hard at work cycling around the mountain on RAMROD -- Ride Around Mt Rainer in One Day.)







The photo (at right) is from our trek from Deer Park to Obstruction Peak in Olympic National Park.  We hiked past Maiden Mountain (in the foreground) to Elk Mountain (in the background) and then back again for a total of 14.6 miles.  (That's the average mileage for the 14-day, 192 mile C2C hike.  8.5 miles is the shortest day; 19 miles is the longest!)

Well, then!  Looking ahead, we leave Sep 11 and arrive in London on Sep 12.  Our C2C adventure officially begins on Sep 17 with the ritual of dipping one's toes in the Irish Sea at St. Bees.  If there is wi-fi access, I intend to send out an end-of-the-day posting with a brief description of the day's adventures and two pics of the day's "high points" -- literally and figuratively!  I'll leave it to you to determine which is which!