Tag Archives: Yorkshire Dales

Coast to Coast – Reeth to Richmond

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

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

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

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: