Saturday, June 10, 2006
Retro post: Patterdale to Shap
We left Patterdale early in the morning, and climbed up a nearby ridge to see mottled morning light cover Patterdale like little spotlights. On the way over the ridge we met Peter and Margaret, two walkers from Australia. Demonstrating the small world that we're in now, it turned out that Peter knew Tristan Lawrence from work, and we had quite a good chat as we walked along --- Peter and Margaret pointed out the 1500 year old Roman road that we saw as we went along.
After some pictures, we got separated from them and got ourselves lost. We did find ourselves down to Hawsewater reservoir, however, by following some sheep-trails towards the water. Hawsewater itself was a boring up and down again with stone-strewn trails but the woods along Hawsewater Beck after the dam was nothing short of beautiful --- bluebells lay alongside trees with a stream running through it, with sheep grazing peacefully alongside.
The last bits of farm trekking was wearing, however, and we arrived at Shap Abbey tired and cursing the last driveway out of the Abbey towards Shap. We reached Shap to run into Peter and Margaret on the way to dinner, and we joined them before going on to our guesthouse, the Brookfield Guest House at the end of Shap.
Our hostess there, Margaret Brunskill was extremely helpful, and offered to do our laundry the next morning! When she could not dry the clothes in time, she hand-delivered the laundry to our next B&B in Orton the next day! We cannot recommend the Brookfield Guest House enough --- the facilities are amazing, the breakfast she made for us amazing, and her company was excellent.
After some pictures, we got separated from them and got ourselves lost. We did find ourselves down to Hawsewater reservoir, however, by following some sheep-trails towards the water. Hawsewater itself was a boring up and down again with stone-strewn trails but the woods along Hawsewater Beck after the dam was nothing short of beautiful --- bluebells lay alongside trees with a stream running through it, with sheep grazing peacefully alongside.
The last bits of farm trekking was wearing, however, and we arrived at Shap Abbey tired and cursing the last driveway out of the Abbey towards Shap. We reached Shap to run into Peter and Margaret on the way to dinner, and we joined them before going on to our guesthouse, the Brookfield Guest House at the end of Shap.
Our hostess there, Margaret Brunskill was extremely helpful, and offered to do our laundry the next morning! When she could not dry the clothes in time, she hand-delivered the laundry to our next B&B in Orton the next day! We cannot recommend the Brookfield Guest House enough --- the facilities are amazing, the breakfast she made for us amazing, and her company was excellent.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Reeth to Richmond
It would hit 84 degrees F today, prompting British authorities to declare a severe weather emergency: a heat wave. Wanting to see the castle in Richmond, we asked for an early start and got underway by 8:45am. The hike in the early morning light was beautiful, nothing short of gorgeous, and the walking easy. Given how dry it had been recently, I opted for running shoes over boots, which would work well for a 10 mile, 1200' climb walk to Richmond.
We made excellent time over hills and dales, and then ran into Andy and Bey, who had a GPS united which meant that I didn't have to navigate any more.
Happily, we made it to our B&B by 1:30, and since Richmond does not have a laundromat, were very thankful that our hostess agreed to do our laundry for us. We spent the afternoon shopping for nutrition bars, visiting the castle, eating, and hunting down Aloe Vera cream for sunburn and more moleskin for Lisa's blisters and in case my heels act up again. Weather allowing, though, I should be able to walk the rest of this trip in running shoes.
We made excellent time over hills and dales, and then ran into Andy and Bey, who had a GPS united which meant that I didn't have to navigate any more.
Happily, we made it to our B&B by 1:30, and since Richmond does not have a laundromat, were very thankful that our hostess agreed to do our laundry for us. We spent the afternoon shopping for nutrition bars, visiting the castle, eating, and hunting down Aloe Vera cream for sunburn and more moleskin for Lisa's blisters and in case my heels act up again. Weather allowing, though, I should be able to walk the rest of this trip in running shoes.
Keld to Reeth
The book describes this as an easy day, and it was indeed easy at first, a gentle descent into Swaledale from Keld. We opted out of the high route, which took us over lead mine country, and then saw beautiful buttercup and grass fields next to a stream. By lunch time, however, things had heated up dramatically, and we were baking in the heat.
The climb out of Gunnerside and the descent into Kearton through an unmarked footpath, however, was more taxing than expected, and to walk into Reeth at 5:00pm after a 10:00am start was a relief. We definitely considered this not an easy day, beautiful views notwithstanding.
The climb out of Gunnerside and the descent into Kearton through an unmarked footpath, however, was more taxing than expected, and to walk into Reeth at 5:00pm after a 10:00am start was a relief. We definitely considered this not an easy day, beautiful views notwithstanding.
On top of Richmond Castle looking at the Market Square
Richmond's market square is supposed to be one of the largest in England, but we were there on a Friday, not a Saturday, so it wasn't filled with stalls...
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
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