Coast to Coast – Richmond to Danby Wiske

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July 2 – Back on the road this morning for a long slog (either 14 or 16 miles depending on which book you believe) that our guidebook says is the most uninteresting of the entire walk. Oh boy! At least it’s flat, the sun is shining, it’s not as hot as last week, and a breeze is promised. Who could ask for more?

We started confidently out of Richmond. So long Castle!

So long city!

Following the guidebook, within two miles we found ourselves off the trail and walking along a highway. Drat! Nothing worse than adding miles to an already long day. We walked to the next town, and saw some folks standing at a bus stop. Where’s your bus going? Back to Richmond. Drat! A little old lady asked why we were walking through town. She pointed us at a farmer’s field, and said we ought to be heading that way. Okay. As we opened the gate to walk through through the field, the farmer jumped out of the barn and yelled, “whoa!” He pointed to another track, and told us to follow the power lines through the wheat fields until we saw the sign for the Coast to Coast. It worked! Nice People of England!

So what did we see today? A beck and an old bridge:

A rock quarry with an unnaturally blue pond:

A church where the world’s oldest man lived (and that offered cold drinks for hikers)

And a long road walk into town. Total miles: 16.

Our supper tonight was at the White Swan, where you had to sign up for a time slot at which you would be fed. We were assigned 6:30. We were careful not to be late! Looks like we have 60 miles to go to complete our Coast to Coast Walk .

After supper we walked down the street to see the Danby Wiske Church, parts of which date back to Saxon times.

Over the door is a Norman tympanum made around 1090. It depicts three figures, almost worn away, that are said to depict the Angel of Judgement (in the middle) weighing the soul of the figure on the left. On the right, the Angel of Mercy puts a hand under the scale to reduce the weight of the soul’s sins.

It’s easier to see in the sketch below.

There is also part of a cross thought to date from the 8th century, and an effigy of Matilda, widow of the Lord of Bedale that dates from 1340. We just don’t have things that old back home.

A Day in Richmond, North Yorkshire

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July 1 – We’ve been looking forward to a full day of relaxation, and spending two nights in the same bed. We are staying at the Willance Guest House, the former home of Roger Willance, first alderman (mayor) of Richmond. The House was built in the 1500s, but is totally modern inside.

Yesterday, we walked past Willance’s Leap and didn’t even know it. When he and his horse went over the cliff, the horse died, and Willance broke his leg. He cut the horse’s stomach open and thrust his leg inside for warmth, waiting for the townspeople to find him the next morning. He had to have the leg amputated. Hope you’re not eating while you read this. Here is his gravestone, in the cemetery of St. Mary’s Church, right behind the house.

What do walkers do on their day off? They walk around, of course! First we visited another B&B just down the street, Millgate House, that boasts an award winning garden. The photos can’t convey the scent of roses and honeysuckle, or the hum of the bees.

Then we walked to the Richmond Covered Market, a combination book store/antiques/flea market. Would you like a doggie greeting card, magnet, mug or calendar?

Next up was Richmond Castle (this one’s for you Mom!) The castle was built starting in 1070, and was used by the military through the Great War.

Views from the Tower:

The castle had a garden too.

In 1916, Richmond Castle was where the Richmond 16 were imprisoned. This group of Quaker conscientious objectors was sentenced to be executed for refusing to take up arms during an era of mandatory conscription. Their sentence was commuted to hard labor, but many died before they were released. The castle preserved some of the graffiti on the walls of their cells.

We explored the town center, called Market Square. Do you know what neeps and tatties are? (Rutabagas and potatoes).

Here are some signs we haven’t seen before:

Walking home, we found the Friary Garden, which contained a bird and bunny sculpture carved out of an old tree.

We ended the day with an absolutely delicious supper at the Bangladeshi Indian restaurant on the corner. What a lovely day off!

Coast to Coast – Reeth to Richmond

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June 30 – Hard to believe that it’s the last day of June. Our time in England is flying by! Ten miles today and we’ll be out of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and on to Richmond.

Lovely walk out of Reeth.

Always nice to start the day on a marked path. We’re on the right track!

Mostly flat terrain – my favorite!

Still near the Swale River.

Morning cows.

An old priory, viewed as we passed, then again from the hill above.

A little town along the way.

In Marske, St Edmunds Church was open, and offered drinks and snacks for hikers. It had boxes for congregant families, instead of pews.

Above the baptismal font, a palindrome that reads, “wash my sins and not my face only.”

Walking through freshly mown fields. You can tell where the trail is by the green stripe.

More teens setting out on their Duke of Edinburgh challenge.

A walk through a shady wood…

…and there’s Richmond!

Looking forward to a quiet day off in town. Details tomorrow.

Coast to Coast – Keld to Reeth

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June 29 – We bade farewell to Neil, Karen and Jess, and started the long walk down from Frith Lodge in the cool of the morning. Yes, I am wearing my long pants! The Dales look especially pretty today, with walls and farms and stuff to look at.

We met the folks from California again, as well as four Australians we had spoken to several days ago. The River Swale burbled nearby on our right as we walked along.

This holiday cottage just needs a little TLC.

The trail is mainly grassy and flat. My kind of trail!

This farmer is, quite literally, making hay while the sun shines.

This type of stile is called a squeeze. I’d like to be nearby to watch how some of Aussies with their beer bellies get through it!

After lunch, the trail joined the road, and in a matter of minutes, a couple on holiday from Kent pulled over and offered us a ride into town. Nice People of England! It’s always a pleasure to save those last few miles into town.

So here we are at the Kings Arms, in a tiny room over the pub. Fish and chips and a pint of Coast to Coast ale for supper!

Coast to Coast – Orton to Kirkby Stephen to Keld

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June 27 – Twelve miles planned for today. It is supposed to be just as hot as yesterday – getting up to 79 degrees! No joke though, when there is not a spot of shade all day, it feels hot enough.

The Yorkshire Dales have been low rolling hills, fairly tame and feature free for the past few days. Not that I want those Lake District mountains back! We met three men from York today who declared this the most gorgeous scenery on God’s green earth, so I guess it’s a matter of opinion. Here are the remains of a stone circle. I told Jim if he could get the sheep to sit properly, the circle would be easier to see! Also the remains of an old school.

Our sunbrellas were up by 10am.

We ran into Becky and Jerry from California again, and also three New Zealanders we met in the pub a few days ago. Not everyone has passed us by! Here is an empty lake (tarn) bed.

A reservoir.

Sheep looking for some shade.

By 2pm, I could feel that my legs were sunburned, despite repeated application of sunscreen. I guess my stride was too long for the shade of the umbrella. Why didn’t I wear my long pants today?

Kirkby Stephen (pronounced by the locals as Kirby Steven) is one of the bigger towns we’ve visited, so Jim was able to go to the chemist’s and got me some aloe vera gel and some stronger sunblock for my poor red legs. There is a very nice old church here, (kirkby means by the church) built by the Normans in the 1100s, but it’s called St. Lukes, not St. Stephens – a mystery!

Rules for the marketplace 1302!

June 28 – We’ve been contemplating taking a day off, and today seemed like a good day to do it. Following a lovely breakfast at our B & B, we waited downstairs with the baggage, and when the van came to transport our bags, it transported us too!

Up fell and down dale we went – some very pretty and hilly country. Bill, the van driver, told us about grouse and curlew and the red squirrel, which is trying to make a comeback if only the grey squirrel population can be kept down. Here’s a grouse hopping along the ground:

In a half hour, we reached Frith Lodge, where we will spend the day and the night. It is so high up that the van dropped us at the edge of the property, and our host met us and drove us (and our packs) a mile further up the hill. Totally isolated, with nothing else about.

Our hosts Neil and Karen made us feel very welcome, and their dog Jess checked us out to see if we’d be dropping any food her way.

They maintain a lovely garden.

A quiet afternoon and a nap made me feel so much better, although my legs are still awfully red. When it was time for supper, Neil let us know that there would be a delay, as the other couple came in late suffering heat exhaustion and the husband had to be put to bed. Unprecedented heat for this part of the country!

Coast to Coast – Shap to Orton

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June 26 – If you want to know how the empty hotel saga ended, we went downstairs for breakfast at 7:30 in the morning (the time we were told), and found no one in the kitchen or the bar. There was, however, a trucker delivering sinks, who needed a signature on his manifest. He was wandering about, shouting hello, just like we had done yesterday. I offered to sign. We found the coffee machine, and sat down for a nice chat. There was a chicken wandering outside. He suggested we go see if she had laid any eggs, so we could make ourselves some breakfast! He was from Worcestershire, where the sauce is made. Nice People of England! At 8:00, a lady came to cook our full English. Off we went!

Only 8 miles today, still clear and sunny. We have officially left the Lake District, and are now walking through the northern part of the Yorkshire Dales. Signs of civilization.

Scary signs too. Beyond, there be dragons!

We passed a double stone circle, that our guidebook says has been there for 8000 years. Behind it is a copse – another word we don’t use every day.

Then there was a boulder, as in “go straight on past the boulder.”

Before very long, we arrived at Orton, a sweet little village.

All Saints Church was open for us to see.

They have some big old bells.

And a bell ringers band!

Colorful pipes.

We’re staying at the historic George Hotel.

The shop had some products we don’t see everyday. Love chutney!

Coast to Coast humo(u)r:

Patterdale to Shap

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June 25 – Today we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, then walked down to the pier to catch the morning Ullswater steamer.

As always, dogs are welcome on board!

The ferry took us about six miles, on a clear, gorgeous morning.We got off at a dock called Howtown. If there was a town there, we didn’t see it. From the dock, we had a steep hike up along the Ullswater.

We planned an eleven mile walk to get us to the town of Shap. Yesterday, I considered not doing this walk at all, as I was pretty exhausted from all the mountain climbing. It turns out the bus to Shap only runs once a week, and today was not the day. So up we walked!

This gives a different meaning to “walking the dog”. The owner said this old gal recently had a stroke, and they couldn’t bear to leave her at home when they were going out walking.

Here is Wainwright’s Stone, where the founder of the Coast to Coast Walk liked to sit and gaze out on the Ullswater. It is inscribed with his words, “that loveliest of lakes, curving gracefully into the far distance”.

After a couple of hours, we reached the top of the Arkham Fell, and the land flattened out. Here is an ancient stone circle, called The Cockpit.

Today was the hottest day of the year so far, (it got up to 77 degrees!) so we brought along our hiking umbrellas, which gave us our own little bit of shade. This terrain reminded us of walking in Spain.

Before we knew it, we were getting close to Shap. The postman stopped and offered us a drink of water and a tract about Jesus. We talked to a man who was a dry wall builder, which means that he builds the stone walls back up after a car or a cow knocks one down. All the walls around here are “dry”, meaning no mortar is used. He got to knock off work early today on account of the heat!

The town of Shap was a one road town that looked pretty deserted. We got to our hotel, The Greyhound, which looked closed. Turns out, the hotel, which has been around since 1680, had been closed for renovations for a year, and just reopened. We tried all the doors and eventually got in through a service door and shouted to no avail for attention. None of the rooms are labeled yet, there is construction dust and materials all over, and we kept getting lost. We finally found a door that led to the bar, where one person was waiting for us. After she checked us in, she left! Worst of all, the WiFi doesn’t work. Oh, holiday horror!

Coast to Coast – Grasmere to Patterdale

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June 24 – Okay, I’m getting bored with these mountain climbing adventures, and I bet you are too. I can’t help it – every day there’s another mountain!

Grasmere was the birthplace of the poet William Wordsworth, and his childhood home is a museum here. Many of his poems were created as he ambled among the very same mountains that we are walking. I wandered lonely as a cloud, that floats on high o’er vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils.

Wouldn’t you like to live right here by the quiet mountainside?

Today was more of the same, only a bit easier, as the walk had some switchbacks and we got to contour along the side of the hill instead of climbing straight up along the steep sheep paths. Or maybe I’m getting stronger?

We met a couple from California, Becky and Jerry, who were actually walking as slowly as we were. We took turns passing each other all day.

Today was the warmest day so far, and sunny. Hey, what is that? A crop circle?

At the top of today’s crag, we found a tarn! I didn’t realize I’d have to learn another language to do this walk. A tarn is a small mountaintop lake. See the campers at the shore? I wonder how they got there.

Not pictured are some others who passed us on the trail: two mountain bikers who skidded and fell down the stony paths, two joggers who literally bounced down over the rocks, a couple from Spain and another couple from Belgium, who had both done some of the same Caminos that we did.

Walking into Patterdale, we spotted this sign. Somebody please tell Pat she could be monetizing her weekly practice time!

Now the good news. This is the last mountain climbing post, for a while at least. Tomorrow, I promise something different!

Seatoller to Grasmere

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June 23 – We had a lovely dinner last night with a room full of retired Brits on holiday, who wanted to know our thoughts about American politics and education. The only topic they all agreed on was that they were against vegetarianism. Lucky for me, I could speak knowledgeably about the current seasons of The Crown and Call the Midwife, so conversation never flagged.

Yesterday was only the second in a series of horrendous mountain adventures. I apologize in advance if I resort to more whining today.

We picked up our path at Stonethwaite, where many people were camping. Today is Saturday, so the trail will be busy.

Up we go!

Drat! Those big rocks again!

Gaining altitude. Don’t these sheep have the sweetest faces?

Lots of waterfalls today.

Getting higher!

The first summit!

I thought we were done, but there were two more summits to climb. One of them was called Lining Crag. Don’t ask me which one.

My lunchtime view. Note that one of my boots got stuck in the muddy bog.

On our way down, we met about 50 girls climbing up with full packs. They were all on a four day expedition to qualify for their “D of E”, the Duke of Edinburgh Award for all around achievement in creativity, community volunteering, physical skills and leadership. Very impressive!

Baa baa colorful sheep, have you any wool? Silver, black, brown or white, what color sweater would you like?

When we finally reached the road toward Grasmere, a mum with two toddlers immediately pulled over and asked if we needed a lift into town. Yes! I must have looked as sorry as I felt. I climbed in the back between 6 year old Robert and 4 year old Stephen in their car seats, and we had a lovely chat. Nice People of England!

Coast to Coast – Ennerdale Bridge to Seatoller

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June 22 – Approached today with a little trepidation. We are looking at a 14 mile day with a whopping big climb in the middle, to Grey Knott, part of the Haystacks range, I think. There are lots of mountains, crags, fells and hills in this area of the Lake District National Park, so it’s hard to know which one you’re climbing. Luckily we have another sunny day.

Because our B&B is on the north side of town, we walked on the north shore of the Ennerdale Water, and got to see Bowness Knot, where the locals say that a young Bill Clinton proposed to a young Hillary many years ago. A pretty place.

After walking the shoreline for several pleasant miles, the Water became the Liza River, and we started to gain some elevation. We’re using two different guidebooks for this hike, and they both cautioned that today was a climb where many people get lost. We looked for the Black Sail Youth Hostel, which was far beyond the middle of nowhere, then searched for an almost invisible path that followed a stream bed. There are NO markers to guide us. We got it right on the second try!

Now, remember how yesterday’s climb was an easy up and a difficult descent? Today was an absolutely impossible climb, that took us so high that I got nauseated looking down. So steep! Pictures just do not convey, nor can I adequately describe, how high up we were. This was the path up with no discernible trail – scrabbling up rocks and more rocks!

Once we got to the notch, I was able to look forward without getting dizzy. The most horrific climb of my life. It felt like we were on the moon. When we got to the top, there was no breathtaking vista to see, only more mountains all around.

The descent was gentle by comparison, but was comprised of uneven rocks all the way. Still no trail, but our instructions said to walk from cairn to cairn. No fun for my poor ankle, which was screaming for relief by this point. Hello, Uber?

Here’s the Ennerdale Water that we walked along this morning, way down below.

More uneven rocks, all the way down.

Happy to say that we eventually made our way back to terra firma, and I’m now snuggled in at Seatoller House, with my ankle elevated and ibuprofen close by.

Tonight we have a set communal dinner with the other residents of this B&B. Should be fun!