When I mentioned to Bob, the proprietor from Cocketts Inn in Hawes that we were walking to Keld today, he raised his eyebrows at my response that it was only 12 miles, and replied, yes, but 12 miles up hill . . ..
Really, how bad could it be?
Ho, ho! Pretty darned demanding. We started out in wet weather gear ("waterproofs" as they call it here), took it off after an hour (hot from walking uphill) and had donned it again before noon. The walk up Great Shunner Fell (at 2,349 feet) was a long slog through the rain, the wind and the bog. Miraculously, atop the Fell, someone (many years past) constructed a brilliant shelter in the shape of a plus sign, providing walkers the opportunity to shelter from the wind in any of four directions. We huddled there eating our sandwiches (a rare opportunity to perch instead of stand (or completely skip) through lunch) at the day's halfway point.
As we made our way off the Great Shunner Fell, we found one of the more striking cairns of the walk and snapped a quick photo on the iPhone. Note our dress and the background (or lack thereof as we were surrounded by fog):
Navigating the bogs and traipsing through trails that have become streams, characterized most of the day. The absence of fellow hikers was notable. Just after leaving Hawes, we passed (going into town as we were leaving) a group of eight English school girls. And after lunch we passed a single English walker heading up to the Fell as we were coming down. We have yet to meet any other American hikers -- and only tonight as I sit and type the blog in Keld (the crossroads of the Coast to Coast and the Pennine Way) are we sitting with a hiker not from the UK (three Aussies are here).
The sights and sounds today were of the curlew trying to distract us from their marshy nests, the wind (of course), rabbits hustling to their warrens and of course, the many ewes with their spring lambs.
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| And now from the front |
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| Check out the horns on this ewe |
Rather late in the walk, the mist thinned and we were able to capture a few shots of the Yorkshire landscape. We both agree that these agricultural areas straight out of a James Herriott novel make for some of the most beautiful views along the way.
The treat of the day was the opportunity to enjoy a long visit last evening with our friends Chris and Jacqui, owners of the Butt House. We stayed at the Butt House in 2015 when we walked England Coast-to-Coast along the Wainwright Route and so loved the charm and hospitality of Chris and Jacqui (and the sheer joy of their pup, Scamp) that we asked to lodge here again (where the two paths cross). Last night will surely be a highlight of our walk this year -- and a much cherished memory of an evening with friends.
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| You know it's a very wet climate when so large and complex a colony of moss and lichen thrives on a fencepost! |
"See" you in Bowes!
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