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!