The breakfast at the Blue Bell Inn was ok, but the fun and games started when we couldn’t get into our room after breakfast. The key just getting stuck. Some time later a member of staff managed to sort the issue out. Eventually we got going, but not until Tricia changed boots for walking shoes. We run into the Sybille and Cornelia the Swiss Ladies, and walked with them for a while, as we climbed. They detoured into Osmotherly, Tricia and me just headed on the Cleveland Way, which the C2C had joined up with. Up to Beacon Hill, and then out onto Scarth Wood Moor. Onwards we  went up Knolls End, sat and had some lunch, and pressed on to Lordstones Cafe.

A lovely cafe, we caught up with the German couple (Stuttgart), and two ladies from Perth, Aus. Then the Swiss Ladies turned up. After catching up on what we had all been doing we were back on for the last leg of the day. Up Cringle End, and some stunning views, then up Coldmoor, then down and up White Hill, then down and up Clay Bank. Despite the previous day’s walk it was good to get some climbing in, the weather was good, the views fantastic… probably for me the most enjoyable section of the walk.  It was a descent down to the car park and a call to the B&B to be picked up.

Dave turned up… a very old, dusty Merc, Dave looked like he was one of the road crew for Neil Young, jeans, t-shirt, long hair with a band. Dave took us back to his B&B, an expansive place stuck in 1980 decor. After freshening up Dave took us to the local for a meal… steak night! The steak was good, and the bottle of red wine.. and the puddings were great. The football was on and the place erupted when England went one up against Croatia.

At half time Dave dropped us back. He went back to the pub… I watched Englands World Cup demise before turning in. We were the only guests in the house. Dave was pretty much running the B&B on his own. I figured he was most likely an axe murderer, even though he seemed a nice bloke, so I bolted the door.

oo’er…. Today was the day of the big hike. 23 miles today. Tricia checked out the terrain, and it looked mainly flat. We breakfasted early and got on the road around 8:30. We joined the C2C, and started out along the River Swale. Tricia had wanted to see Easby Priory, but it would have meant a few miles to detour, so we decided to press on.

The going was indeed pretty flat and we made reasonable time, up to Catterick. A Roman garrison in its time, and still a military garrison today. We caught up with a couple and a dog doing the C2C. We stopped at Bolton on Swale for a break, before pushing toward our lunchtime destination of Danny Wiske… this was one of those frustrating walks across fields where we felt we were close than we really were. Eventually we arrived on the village green where we had lunch. We were somewhat bemused to find others ahead of us… seems they took a shorted C2C route (you would think there was only one, but it seems there are alternatives)… We took the route that avoided the roads. We enjoyed lunch… boots off and aired our feet. We had done 14 miles approx, 9 left to do.

It was nearly 4pm by the time we set off for the last 9. But refreshed from the lunch and the intake of calories we went off at good pace. A couple of cold cokes from an honesty box supply of the route helped. Over a railroad, and then the A19, and we walked down into Ingleby Cross and the Bluebell Inn for the night. Footsore, tired but pleased with our trip, we showered and enjoyed an excellent meal.

There was no trouble going to sleep!

Reeth was a pleasant village for our stop over. It was a bit noisy outside overnight, people sat outside the pub late talking, and then the noise of the air con machine outside, but it was too hot to close the window. We enjoyed a good breakfast… I had the unusual option of having a gluten free cereal. Tricia had gags benedict, one of her favourites. There was a piece of classical music playing over and over again… when the lady serving cottoned onto the fact it was looping she changed the cd. First track was Only You by The Platters… it was also the second and third track. We made our exit.

We left amid roadworks, and walked for some way with toothless Carl (no front teeth) who had been doing the C2C. We passed an interesting police armored vehicle! We were then redirected by a farmer across some fields whilst he herded cattle along the track. We arrived at Marrick Priory, Tricia took a quick photo. We then had our first climb of the day, Carl fell back and had a rest, he was carrying the kitchen sink on his back (tent, camp gear etc). We proceeded across fields before joining a a road, where we descended into Marske. We stopped for a drink and a banana. We looked in on the Church of St Edmund, nice little church.

Through Marske we over on towards Richmond, we crossed ‘Paddy’s Bridge’. I don’t think my Dad knew that he had a bridge named after him! We walked through a wooded area, emerging near a farm we encountered the Sydney Trio. After a chat we pushed on, stopping on the outskirts of Richmond for a late lunch. Then we were down into Richmond itself. A place seemingly built on a few hills… after a steep climb we found our lodgings for the night. We dropped bags and went straight back out to visit Richmond castle.

In the Castle we bumped into our Swiss lady friends… and then the Sydney Trio again. Once finished I was allowed a Costa coffee… a flat white that seemed a cross between a latte and cappuccino. Worst flat white ever. We stocked up on a few provisions from the Co-Op before traipsing around to find a pub to eat in. Then back to the lodgings… and a brilliantly comfortable bed and a deep sleep.

A prompt start as we had to have our cases ready for collection at 8am… which we managed. A good breakfast with the Swiss ladies, and then a farewell to our splendid hosts Barbie and Ken. Into the taxi and off to Keld where we finished yesterday. Our taxi arrived at the same time as the Swiss ladies, Sibylle and Cornelia. We set off walking with them for the first hour. They were good company, but were on a longer walk today than Tricia and me, so we let them press on, whilst we took a bit of time. Particularly as we were mainly climbing, and I was finding it hard work :-).

We stopped at Blakethwaite Smelt, something of a ruin, but a beautiful spot with water running down the hill. We then set off again…. climbing. We got a little confused with the direction of the C2C, but sorted it out. We were then up amongst old lead mines… quite barren and somewhat grim. We followed Hard level gill, passing old smelting mills long out of operation. We went past the Sydney trio, Natalie, Jim and Tom, they were having lunch… we got to talking about grouse, Tricia and me said we had not seen any. Of course this meant that we continued our walk we started to see loads!

We lunched at ‘Surrender Bridge’, then continued the walk down towards Reeth. Somehow we missed a turning on the C2C, and ended up in a village called Healaugh. We adjusted by joining the ‘low level’ C2C route and walked into Reeth alongside the River Swale. We found the Hotel Buck, both hot and ready for a cold drink. The walk was only 11-12 miles, but I found it hard going today… yesterday I felt great… not sure why I was so fatigued today.

We had a good meal in the bar, sat on the table next to the Sydney trio, and chatted with them. A walk around Reeth in the cooler evening after was nice.

A lovely breakfast, we sat with two Swiss ladies who are also doing the C2C, and had some laughs with them. No packing the luggage today as we were going to be returning back later… there was no accommodation available in Keld when we booked the holiday. We were on the road just after 9, and after some checks and re-checks with the map and the gps, we got on the C2C path. And then started the gradual 4.5 mile climb to the ‘nine standards’.

The ‘nine standards’ are located on the summit of Hartley Fell, and refers to a group of standing stones or cairns (nine of them), near the summit. The original purpose of the ‘nine standards’ is not entirely clear, but one possibility is that they marked the boundary between Westmorland and Swaledale… but who knows. The walk up was a good workout, we rested at the top and enjoyed the cooling breeze.

The walk thereafter was pretty much across moor land. There were differing seasonal routes, designed to reduce erosion, so we did the right thing and followed the appropriate trail, even though we would have preferred another. We arrived at the farm of ‘Yorkshire Shepperdess’ Amanda Owen, seen on TV in ‘Dales’. They do cold drinks / teas, and we got a couple of cold drinks, and sat with some fellow C2C’ers.

Back on trail we arrived in Keld at just before 3pm. A few years back, when we did the Pennine Way we passed through Keld going south… in very different weather conditions. We were supposed to have been doing 13 miles today, but we reckoned it was barely 12. I sat in the bar at Keld Lodge, where we had stayed when doing the Pennine Way, and watched the first half of the England v Sweden game, whilst Tricia went off for a look around. At just before 4 the taxi turned up to bring us back to Kirkby Stephen, we got back in time for me to watch most of the second half, and Englands victory.

In the evening we went and enjoyed a meal at the Pennine Bistro… a bit noisy with half drunk England fans, but the food was good.

A good nights sleep at the George in Orton, and a decent breakfast (poached eggs slightly overdone) and we were on our way. Out of the village and our first port of call was a stone circle, about a mile out of the village. It wasn’t exactly Stonehenge, but Tricia was pleased to have found it. We made our way across fields, and when we reached Sunbiggin Farm, we took a planned detour, up onto the limestone pavements (Ashby Scar).

We came back down, and rejoined the C2C. It was then across Ravenstonedale Moor, until we did another detour off the trail, going up Bents Hill instead of around it. As we came down we went slightly wrong around a disused railway line, but corrected ourselves, and then had lunch overlooking Smardal bridge.

Once over the bridge, we went up Smardale Fell. From there it was a relatively uneventful walk down until we arrived in Kirkby Stephen. Our B&B is lovely… we were greeted with tea and squash, and gluten free biscuits! In the evening we had a curry in a (recommended) local Indian.

The bells… the bells. The church bells that is. The church across the road had an automated chime on the clock, every 15 minutes. So it gradually woke us in the morning. Up at 7:30, breakfast at 8, and we left at just before 9. The Mitre and Crown in Brampton is to be recommended, lovely bed, spacious room. We left across a public footpath through the church and headed out to pick up the C2C trail, and then went on towards Shap.

The landscape was significantly different. The peaks of the Lake District clearly behind us. Rolling fields and moor in front, much flatter. We arrived at Shap Abbey… well, what is left of it after Henry VII had his way. Then onto Shap itself, a visit to the shop to pick up some drinks and fruit, and on our way again. We exited left at the bottom of the Main Street, across the railway, and then after a brief stop to take on water, up and over the M6. We were able to walk at a goodish pace, and as we went across the moor, we went off track for a while as we just followed a straight path. We got ourselves back on C2C trail, and stopped for lunch sat on some limestone.

Then it was back onto the moor, passing various boulders, as you do, and one of Robin Hood’s numerous graves. Clever man, he is buried in many places. The sun was now behind some dark cloud, and as we approached the final walk into Orton for the day, we even experienced rain! Not much, just a few drops, but yes, rain still exists.

We followed a stream down into Orton… what a lovely place! Beautiful. We stopped into a cafe, tea for Tricia, coffee for me. The lady seemed to be confused between a cappuccino and a latte.. I asked for the former, and got the latter. But I didn’t really care. There was even a piece of gluten free cake for me. We then checked into the George Hotel, our stop for the night, and enjoyed a good meal in the bar. 12 miles walked and pretty easy going. Tomorrow we go onto Kirkby Stephen.

Tricia was on a mission today… no faffing about, get up, get on with it. The alarm went off at 7 and I was supposed to be ‘getting on with it’. Doesn’t she know I am on holiday? Anyway, somehow I managed to get on with getting ready. Nice breakfast, poached eggs not watery today, but a little overdone. We were away at just after 8:30… the odd part owner, Lurch, only deciding now to be sociable and ask where we were off to. We exchanged a few comments and then he went shuffling off back to Dr Frankensteins laboratory or wherever it is he spends his day.

We set off back towards Patterdale. A brief stop when I remembered (or rather Tricia did for me) to put some sun cream on. Then we found our route and started going up. Again… you can’t go anywhere in the Lake District without going up. Pop out to get a paper and you probably have to climb 200m. I don’t think the locals go up the mountains here, they just look in awe at the idiots who turn up to do it for ‘fun’. As we started our ascent I could be heard by all in the north of England muttering under my breath, ‘another bloody hill’. This was one was assisted by some nice chaps from the National Trust who seem to spend their day making rather nice and helpful stone steps.

Up Stony Rigg, and some oddly named Crags, or Brows or Pikes etc, and we were up at around 530m. We stopped at Angle Tarn, Tricia to look at the scenery, and admire the geese. Me too get my Hankie soaking cold wet and put around my neck… nice, and to have a word with my legs… come on chaps, got to keep going. We had a word with a nice couple, who were English…not too many of those so far. We set off again, and went up another Crag, but went slightly off trail in doing so. Coming down we realised this and adjusted our route, not realising the couple had followed us thinking we knew where we were going, and didn’t see us adjust our route. Whoops.

The next thing to do of course was go up. This time up the Knott. This was a bit of a slog, but ok. Then it was down a little from the Knott, 739m, and up to Kidsty Pike, 780m, which is apparently the highest part of the C2C trail. A rest and a drink and the English couple caught up and explained they had gone wrong on account of us :-).

We started down… from a distance this looked gentle, but wasn’t completely, quite steep in place. At the bottom we stopped for lunch by a lovely little stream and waterfall. The job then was to walk around 3 miles along a reservoir. Even this wasnt entirely flat. We stopped at one point to assist a lady with blistered feet, giving her some tape to help. We arrived in Burbanks, and caught up our Melbourne friends. They were staying at the same place in Brampton as we were and so we walked the last few miles with them. We are in the Crown and Mitre. A lovely room awaited us. We sat with Stephen and Cathy (from Melbourne) for our evening meal before retiring to write blogs and go to bed.

The record for July 3rd, is a dayy late, due to two reasons, the first being that we were in the highest room in the guest house, and the wifi didn’t reach, and also because having watched England finally beat Colombia on penalties I was too tired to walk down to the guest sitting room to blog.

Tuesday July 3rd started with an ok breakfast, the poached eggs were a little watery, but I will get over it. We walked back down into Grasmere, a lovely Lake District village, and stocked up on some items for lunch, before setting off to get back on the C2C trail. We started a long and gradual climb along Tongue Gill, which was hard work in the morning sun. Today I had my new strategy of putting my hankie into each stream we passed, soaking it with cold water and tying around my neck… very helpful in keeping me cool. As we approached the top of the climb there were some wonderful waterfalls, and the march up became a little steeper. The top was ‘Grisedale Hause’ at about 582m, and just over the top was Grisedale Tarn. A lovely spot where we rested, and talked with two other couples doing the same, one from Melbourne and one from Florida.

After resting up we continued, what was now a very long descent into Patterdale. This was gradual, and not so jarring on the knees as the previous days descent into Grasmere. Whereas yesterday we were on top of the peaks, today we were walking along the valley, following Grisedale Beck all the way down. We came off trail at Patterdale, and walked the road, which was almost melting in the heat. Our stay for the night was at Glenridding, neighbouring Patterdale. Glenridding is on the southern end of Ullswater… famous for Donald Campbell  setting the world record for a speeding boat back in the 50’s. We sat looking at the lake whilst consuming ice cream… perfect for a summer afternoon.

Then we went and found our guest house, where we were greeted by an odd chap, who seemed reluctant to want to admit guests, even those who were booked to be there, like us. Tricia named him Lurch. Harsh but pretty accurate. Anyhow, we got in. After cooling showers to try and shake off the heat of the day, it was off to the Travellers Rest for an evening meal. After which I went back to the guest house to watch the football. Tricia went to the lake. The evening ended with Jordan Pickford making a fine save, followed by Eric Dier scoring the winning penalty. Nice.

The schedule for today didn’t seem too daunting. Only 9 miles if we wanted. But we didn’t, we wanted some of the peaks on offer, so took an alternative route which added about an extra 4 miles. We had a lovely breakfast, but took some time to get ourselves together and out. We immediately set off incorrectly and had to double back, but this was only minor. From Seatoller we walked through to Longthwaite,  taking in a YHA cafe along the route for some cold drinks…. it was warm already. Into Rosthwaite, and then we started walking alongside Stonethwaite beck.

We followed the beck up Greenup Gill, a long gradual climb over a few hours. There were some beautiful waterfalls along the way. We climbed Lining Crag, and had a small break before going up to Greenup Edge.

It was then that we could have diverted to take the lower valley walk to Grasmere, but took the alternative route to walk the higher line. Gibson Knott, Helm Crag, High Raven Crag. The last Crag felt daunting… it was hot and I have to say I found the heat somewhat sapping. But we did it and then started the sharp descent, which took its toll on the knees. Once down we had about a mile walk into Grasmere, and the luxury of a couple of cold cans of drink.

The B&B is right on the edge of Grasmere and on the main Keswick road. We are hoping the traffic won’t keep us awake. We ate in the Travellers Rest… the cider was good, and the food was excellent. In theory tomorrows walk should be the shortest of our trip.