We didn't have much of a sleep last night, mainly because we were kipping underneath a railway bridge (not advertised). When I did stick my head out of the tent I was greeted by the sight of a frost filled field and a handful of chickens mooching round. I had no objection to the chickens other than they were allowed to roam everywhere, which in turn meant the outdoor shower and toilet were now filled with what can only be described as chickenshit! Undeterred though, we cracked on and got ready, today was to be another long day.
Mark and Jackie were walking with us today and were also ferrying our gear to tonight's stop in Kirkby Stephen afterwards. They arrived in good time armed with sarnies/pies/sausage rolls and more, all ready for the day. We had now left the Lake District and were going through our second national park - the Yorkshire Dales. I then made what I think was my first mistake of the walk (apart from starting it obviously) in that I turned right out of Shap instead of left. It was 3/4 of a mile or so further down that we realised, but instead of turning back we decided to head towards where we should be and meet the path at a later point. We crossed over the M6 motorway and through a series of farm tracks. At one point we seemed to be looking for a stile where there wasn't one. According to both the GPS and the book there should have been one into a field. Fortunately for us a local farmer seen us musing and came over to help, pointing us in the right direction and advising us that the route had been redirected to the new route, ahhhhhhh that explains it.
We encountered plenty of fields today, with plenty of sheep in. A couple of times we noticed a lamb had gone astray into an adjacent field, so our resident sheepdog Mark done his best to reunite them with their mams. It was like watching Hugh Hefner run round the Playboy Mansion trying to grope his bunny girls. It did the trick though!
The heat was pounding down on us today, we could have filled one of the disused quarries with sweat! Mark helped me out by carrying my pack for a while, it was nice to be able to air my back for a change.
It was great to have Mark and Jackie out with us today, it was a hard day. I think terrain-wise it was my least favourite, it was quite a lot of the same all of the way through. Ged was suffering with his blisters on this day more than any other, and I felt quite dehydrated with a combination of the heat and the fact my water pack had now sprung a leak.
We seen our fair share of wildlife today and even watched Mark try and catch a lizard - he's a spritely one that one (Mark, not the lizard!). Despite the same terrain we did come across the ruins of an old Roman road, and (whether you believe it or not) Robin Hood's Grave, although there wasn't a marker as such, it was just, in some quarters, presumed his body was laid to rest there.
We were lucky enough to come across one of the main characters of the walk today as well, although we never found out his name, but this is more or less how the conversation went. (You must say his part in a high pitch voice with a broad Yorkshire accent for full effect.)
Him: "Aye up"
Us: "Afternoon, you see any dead bodies up there?"
Him: "Ain't seen no dead bodies but I seen trig point - is that a dead body?" (pointing to Ged laid out on the verge)
And so it went on, I realised as I was typing that it's not as funny as it was on the day, but we certainly won't forget it!
We thrashed on with the day, every step becoming a slog (for us 3 anyway - Mark and Jackie were masterful at this walking game). Ged had become acquainted with a number of trees throughout the day with his now infamous 'Papa Shangos'.
All of the pain of the walk was instantly relieved though as we approached Kirkby Stephen, and our host for the evening, Mrs Graham, came onto the High Street to meet us. I had read great things about Mrs G, and we were not disappointed. She welcomed us into her dining room where we met by a great big piece of cake each, "I always look after my walkers" she proclaimed, and instantly became Col's new hero. She seemed genuinely interested in us and we drunk tea and exchanged stories. She told us her husband had died only 2 months ago and she was just getting back into the swing of things businesswise. It was a piece of cake and 4 cups of tea later before I was able to get up to my room. After the last few nights of camping and double beds it was a joy to have our own bed, and when we tried them out they seemed to gobble you up whole like a giant water bed.
It was Champions League Final night so I had a walk into the town with Dad while Ged stayed and bathed his aches and pains away. We had a good night in the local pub, and managed to even grab a bit of tea on the way back to the hotel.
Today was a struggle, helped massively by Mark and Jackie, thanks. I wouldn't recommend anyone to do that leg of the walk, but I would 100% recommend that you stay with Mrs Graham at the Lockholme B&B, a truly fantastic lady.
That's now 5 days down, with only 7 to go, and another 20 miles clocked up.
Mark and Jackie were walking with us today and were also ferrying our gear to tonight's stop in Kirkby Stephen afterwards. They arrived in good time armed with sarnies/pies/sausage rolls and more, all ready for the day. We had now left the Lake District and were going through our second national park - the Yorkshire Dales. I then made what I think was my first mistake of the walk (apart from starting it obviously) in that I turned right out of Shap instead of left. It was 3/4 of a mile or so further down that we realised, but instead of turning back we decided to head towards where we should be and meet the path at a later point. We crossed over the M6 motorway and through a series of farm tracks. At one point we seemed to be looking for a stile where there wasn't one. According to both the GPS and the book there should have been one into a field. Fortunately for us a local farmer seen us musing and came over to help, pointing us in the right direction and advising us that the route had been redirected to the new route, ahhhhhhh that explains it.
We encountered plenty of fields today, with plenty of sheep in. A couple of times we noticed a lamb had gone astray into an adjacent field, so our resident sheepdog Mark done his best to reunite them with their mams. It was like watching Hugh Hefner run round the Playboy Mansion trying to grope his bunny girls. It did the trick though!
The heat was pounding down on us today, we could have filled one of the disused quarries with sweat! Mark helped me out by carrying my pack for a while, it was nice to be able to air my back for a change.
It was great to have Mark and Jackie out with us today, it was a hard day. I think terrain-wise it was my least favourite, it was quite a lot of the same all of the way through. Ged was suffering with his blisters on this day more than any other, and I felt quite dehydrated with a combination of the heat and the fact my water pack had now sprung a leak.
We seen our fair share of wildlife today and even watched Mark try and catch a lizard - he's a spritely one that one (Mark, not the lizard!). Despite the same terrain we did come across the ruins of an old Roman road, and (whether you believe it or not) Robin Hood's Grave, although there wasn't a marker as such, it was just, in some quarters, presumed his body was laid to rest there.
We were lucky enough to come across one of the main characters of the walk today as well, although we never found out his name, but this is more or less how the conversation went. (You must say his part in a high pitch voice with a broad Yorkshire accent for full effect.)
Him: "Aye up"
Us: "Afternoon, you see any dead bodies up there?"
Him: "Ain't seen no dead bodies but I seen trig point - is that a dead body?" (pointing to Ged laid out on the verge)
And so it went on, I realised as I was typing that it's not as funny as it was on the day, but we certainly won't forget it!
We thrashed on with the day, every step becoming a slog (for us 3 anyway - Mark and Jackie were masterful at this walking game). Ged had become acquainted with a number of trees throughout the day with his now infamous 'Papa Shangos'.
All of the pain of the walk was instantly relieved though as we approached Kirkby Stephen, and our host for the evening, Mrs Graham, came onto the High Street to meet us. I had read great things about Mrs G, and we were not disappointed. She welcomed us into her dining room where we met by a great big piece of cake each, "I always look after my walkers" she proclaimed, and instantly became Col's new hero. She seemed genuinely interested in us and we drunk tea and exchanged stories. She told us her husband had died only 2 months ago and she was just getting back into the swing of things businesswise. It was a piece of cake and 4 cups of tea later before I was able to get up to my room. After the last few nights of camping and double beds it was a joy to have our own bed, and when we tried them out they seemed to gobble you up whole like a giant water bed.
It was Champions League Final night so I had a walk into the town with Dad while Ged stayed and bathed his aches and pains away. We had a good night in the local pub, and managed to even grab a bit of tea on the way back to the hotel.
Today was a struggle, helped massively by Mark and Jackie, thanks. I wouldn't recommend anyone to do that leg of the walk, but I would 100% recommend that you stay with Mrs Graham at the Lockholme B&B, a truly fantastic lady.
That's now 5 days down, with only 7 to go, and another 20 miles clocked up.
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