Price comparison - multiply by 2.08 for 2023 equivalent
The Westmorland Heritage Walk was devised by Mark Richards and Christopher Wright and first published in 1987 by Cicerone Press (ISBN 0902363 94 8). It is an attempt to approximately circumnavigate the old county of Westmorland and, in doing so, take in some of the best scenery that Westmorland had to offer. It, therefore, does not stick strictly to the borders, but deviates, where appropriate, to take in some of the best viewpoints. The walk has no official status and, to date, has not received any wide publicity to bring about much degree of popularity, although it certainly rates highly in terms of scenery when compared with many official walks. There are several places where there are optional high or low level routes to cater for the weather and/or the relative fitness of the walker. I set out with the intention of following all the high level routes as I always feel that this gives the best views, if the weather permits. By taking all the high level routes, the walk measures 200 miles on the map and considerably more on the ground when all the twists and turns of the many steep paths are taken into account. The total amount of climbing, if all the high level routes are taken, is in excess of 33,000 feet, which is a little more than the Pennine Way but in a shorter distance. It is, therefore, not a walk to be undertaken by the fainthearted, although there are several low level alternative routes available.
It has now become a problem trying to find new walks around Britain that suit me. There are many walks to choose, with new ones coming along at a regular rate, but most of these do not qualify as suitable for one reason or another. Many are too short for a main walking holiday, being only a few days to a week at most. Others follow lowland or valley routes, rather than taking to the high hills and mountains that I prefer. There may come a time when I am not able to cope with the rigours of high level walks, so I can save some of these others until then. Therefore, I was left with few alternatives but to repeat one of the walks I had done before. Of my favourites, the Pennine Way and Cambrian Way were rather too long for the two weeks I had available, so I was left with the Coast to Coast or the Westmorland Heritage Walk, both of which I had not walked for ten or more years. On balance, I considered that the latter had better scenery, though there was not a lot to choose between them, so I decided on that one, leaving the Coast to Coast for another year. One advantage of the Westmorland Heritage Walk is that it is a circular walk, so I would be able to park my car at the start and return to it at the end, thus saving a lot of difficult travelling by public transport.
Planning and Preparation
There were a few aspects of my previous walk of this route that I thought could be improved upon. I would start and finish at Arnside, which makes a more logical starting point, rather than just picking the nearest place to home, as I had done before. There was an uncomfortably long 25 mile section of the route between Ambleside and Kendal that I had found to be a problem before, so I would try to plan this differently. There is no accommodation available to be found down Longsleddale, so the only saving to be made would be if I could stay in Troutbeck rather than Ambleside, saving about three miles, but still leaving a very hard day's walk, especially as it involved a lot of mountain walking and would be followed by another day of over 20 miles. The problem I then had was that the youth hostel at Troutbeck was fully booked by a school party, and any B&Bs with rooms free wanted to charge me the full double room price of £55 for the night, which I thought was a bit much. Last time I walked this route I felt that it was a pity to drop down into the valley of Longsleddale when there was a ridge running along its western side, so I decided to change the route a little to follow this ridge, enabling me to drop down the western side into Staveley for accommodation. I could then follow the Dales Way for a few miles until I rejoined the route and then continue on beyond Kendal to stay overnight at Brigsteer. From there I could continue to Grange over Sands the following day. This would add an extra day to the walk and involve a deviation from the published route, but it would make this part of the walk much easier and may even prove better for scenery. With the reduced daily distances, it was no longer a problem to stay at Ambleside Youth Hostel, which had beds available.
In a couple of places on this walk, where the route involved a large loop almost back upon itself, I had stayed in the same hostel for two nights at a time, trading a few miles of extra walking for the ability to take a lighter pack for each of these days. This time I decided I would take the other option and progress on to an overnight stop further along the route, even if this meant that I had only progressed by three or four miles as the crow flies. The only other thing I would have liked to avoid was another long day of over 20 miles from Ravenstonedale to Kirkby Stephen. In fact, this was made worse because the B&B I had stayed in before at Ellergill had changed hands and no longer offered accommodation, which meant I would have to stay in Ravenstonedale itself, making this section 22.5 miles. There was no easy alternative without arranging transport, so I would just have to take this on board, much as I dislike days of this length, especially when there was a lot of ascent involved into the bargain.
As there is no accommodation list for this walk, and the original book is out of print through lack of interest, I had to look elsewhere for accommodation. There are several youth hostels along the route, which made a good start, and I also found a very good Dales and Vales website with lots of B&Bs listed in this area. Eventually, I managed to get all of my accommodation booked, and also arranged to leave my car at Arnside Youth Hostel, where I was staying on the first and last night of the walk.
My preparation and training for the walk was far from ideal, as my younger daughter had just bought a house needing a lot of conversion and renovation work, and this had to be done around the time I would have preferred to do the walk in June. This meant delaying it until July, and I saw a lot of fabulous walking weather pass me by in May and June, whilst I was in the thick of dust and rubble. Not only that, I had no spare time for any local walking, so I was unable to do any proper training. When I embarked on the walk, I had done no significant walking for nine weeks - not the ideal situation by any standards. This didn't mean that I was not fit, as I had been doing more than enough exercise with all the work I was doing, but this was not using my legs in the same way that a long walk would do.
Day 0 - Friday 9th July 2004 - Home to YHA Arnside
Accommodation: YHA Arnside
I was pleased to find that the weather was starting to look a bit better after some torrential rain yesterday, as I set off from home at 3pm to head north. After contending with the usual slow moving M6 traffic on a Friday afternoon, I arrived in Arnside at 5.30pm. The Arnside Youth Hostel is a fine old building in a prime position overlooking the bay. The very friendly warden booked me in and allocated me the 'Stargazer's Room', a small room on the second floor with a skylight window affording a view, not only of the stars, but also of the gardens and across the bay. Dinner was not until 7pm, so I had time for a stroll down to the bay and around the village. In contrast to the heavy traffic on the M6 and on the road through Carnforth, Arnside was a peaceful and tranquil haven, with just a few anglers amongst the colourful boats lining the bay, and a few other people strolling along the promenade. The weather was quite sunny, but with a cool breeze, as I called in Ye Olde Fighting Cock for a pint of Thwaite's Bomber, which I drank whilst sitting outside overlooking the bay, watching the rising tide and the seabirds on the sands.
Start of walk at Arnside
I returned to the hostel for a dinner of lentil soup, shepherd's pie and apple crumble, sitting at a table with a mother and daughter from Essex and a German who was working for six months in Darlington and was visiting for the weekend. Several other people were here for a guided walk of about five miles across the bay. Morecambe Bay is notorious for its quicksands and rapid incoming tides, which can take people unawares and have caused considerable loss of life to those venturing out without proper knowledge of the dangers. My meal was reasonable, but not wonderful, and I did wonder if the shepherd had lost his sheep judging by the amount of meat in the shepherd's pie. However, when it is possible to get a three course meal with tea or coffee for £5.20 it is unreasonable to complain about such things.
After dinner I had another stroll down into the village and watched the sunset across the bay, then called for a pint in the first pub I came to, The Albion, until an entertainer started singing, which drove me on to the pub I had visited previously. It was still twilight as I set off back to the hostel to go to bed. Someone else had put his things on the bunk above, and he returned a short while later. All was peaceful until 6.30pm, when we were awakened by very loud voices as people greeted each other in the corridor. My room-mate took exception to this and asked them to be quiet. They were members of the Ramblers' Association and were the ones I seemed to meet earlier wherever I went - in the street, in one pub, then in the other pub. They were all rather noisy and boisterous and not at all the sort of people with whom I would like to go rambling. A couple of them had been using mobile phones in the street, where their bellowed conversations could be clearly heard a hundred yards away.
Day 1 - Saturday 10th July 2004 - Arnside to Kirkby Lonsdale via Arnside Knott and Holme Park Fell
Distance: 18 miles - 2,220 ft ascent
Accommodation: B&B Kirkby Lonsdale
I arose at 7.30 whilst my room-mate still slept, and joined last night's group of people for breakfast at 8.00, then packed my things, moved my car to where the warden had suggested and set off by 9.15. It was rather overcast and muggy but with nothing more than the odd spot of rain. The tide was quite well out which made the initial four miles along the coast easier. At high tide this route can be impassable in places, whereas now I was able to walk along the beach. It was not easy going all the way, however, as I was sometimes torn between sticky mud from the estuary and rough stones further up. In general though it was a pleasant walk with views across to Grange over Sands and then further along to Heysham Power Station. Leaving the coast at last, a steady ascent brought me up onto Arnside Knott which, at 522 ft, commands a fine view of the estuary with its long, wooden railway viaduct on which trains could be heard clattering their way across. The weather was looking rather unsettled as I stopped for a rest, with some thicker cloud now gathering and a few more spots of rain. All of this limited the view to about ten miles. The rain soon started to increase and, for about an hour, was quite heavy before easing off again.
Kent Viaduct from Arnside Knott
Fairy Steps near Beetham Fairies grant a wish to anyone climbing steps without touching sides
Farleton Knott from Holmepark Fell
I had a few problems navigating using the rather sketchy map book, wearing rain splattered glasses, and having a route description on a different page from the map, but I eventually found my way to the Fairy Steps. The wet limestone steps, polished by years of clambering feet, were treacherously slippery. The rain still persisted, but had eased off enough for me to take a lunch break there before negotiating the narrow cleft in the rock through which the steps climb. The saying is that the fairies will grant a wish to anyone who can climb the steps without touching the sides. With a bulky rucksack and slippery steps, there was no way that I could even attempt the challenge, so I took the safer option of using my hands on the sides, rather than having to rely on a wish to heal my injuries from having slipped and fallen.
Past Beetham, the rain had eased off enough for me to remove my waterproofs, only to be confronted a short while later by wet corn that was waist high. When I reached Holme Park Fell, the highest point of the day, I was rewarded with a whole panorama of mountains and hills from the Lakeland Fells to the Howgill Fells, Ingleborough, the Forest of Bowland (I think) and the area from which I had just walked near Morecambe Bay. By now I was starting to find the going a little hard, this being rather a long walk for the first day, and not helped by my lack of training leading up to the walk. I had the feeling that my leg muscles were going to suffer in the morning, a problem I don't usually suffer whilst I do regular long walks. There were a few signs for the 'Limestone Link', which was a new one on me and I am not sure where it begins or ends, or what it links to what.
The final stretch of the day, after Hutton Roof Crags, leads across some very large fields with no visible path most of the way. Even with the aid of my GPS, I found it difficult to find a route that didn't involve climbing over walls, as the terrain just didn't seem to match up with my guidebook. It is always difficult to navigate in this sort of terrain, as there are no landmarks from which to get a bearing - the first indication that something is wrong is when there is a wall barring the way with no sign of a gate or stile to be seen. At 6pm, I finally reached Kirkby Lonsdale and found my B&B, where I had the luxury of a nice hot bath to soothe my weary legs.
There was no mobile phone reception, so I had to hunt for a phone box to report home before going to the Red Dragon for some Jennings' bitter and a Cumberland sausage followed by sticky toffee pudding. I then strolled down by the river where I sat watching fish occasionally leaping out of the water. It was very calm and peaceful though still overcast. When I got up to go, I found that my legs had seized up, and it took a while to get them going again. However, the steep climb up steps to Ruskin's View soon sorted them out. I then had a wander around town before calling for a couple of pints of Timothy Taylor's Landlord in the Snooty Fox. The whole town was full of bikers - I had noticed on my way, that the playing fields had a mass of tents, mostly belonging to bikers, so I wondered if there was some event on locally. Finally, I returned to my B&B for an early night, more for the rest than for the sleep.
Day 2 - Sunday 11th July 2004 - Kirkby Lonsdale to Sedbergh via Calf Top
Distance: 15.5 miles - 2,850 ft ascent
Accommodation: B&B Briggflats
Breakfast was at 8.30 and I joined an Irishman from County Down, who stays there quite regularly. By 9.15 I was on my way at the start of another overcast day, calling at the Spar shop for a few things for lunch before rejoining the route by Ruskin's View. I took a path down to the river, not thinking it would matter which one I took. It was very steep and slippery on the way down and I soon found that it was not an easy option to follow the river the way I needed to go. There were some very steep embankments dropping right down to the river and I managed to get past one by paddling in the water, but the next one was impassable, so I had a very steep and difficult scramble to get back up to the footpath by Ruskin's View. From there, I dropped down the steps that I should have taken in the first place and followed the river to Devil's Bridge, which carried the A65 over the river before the bypass was built.
Despite careful checking of the map, I still managed to go wrong in a few places, as the route meandered in and out of fields and country lanes for the next few miles, but I didn't stray too far off course. After Barbon village, the route at last heads for higher ground, and I stopped on Devil's Crag at noon for lunch. The climb was very steep and a bit of a struggle at this stage of the walk, though it tends to get easier after the first few days. I was surprised to find that I had only done just over five miles in two and three quarter hours, mostly on fairly flat ground, but my pace was quite steady at this stage and some time had been wasted studying the map and trying to keep on the correct path.
Barbon Church
Barbon and Lune Valley from Devil's Crag on Eskholme Pike
There was quite a fine view from Devil's Crag across the Lune Valley with the coast still in sight, and the Lake District in full view. I watched as a band of heavy rain passed several miles to the south, and the weather over the Howgill Fells was looking pretty bad, but it was still alright where I was, apart from turning very cool. The rest of the ascent to Castle Knott and then to Calf Top (1,998 ft) was thankfully more gradual and not too much of an effort to climb. I stopped for a short break at the summit where the scenery was looking very grey in the overcast conditions. It soon started raining, so I quickly put on my waterproofs but, by the time I had got them on, it had eased off to just a drizzle. The worst of the weather was now to the east, making the Yorkshire Dales look very bleak and drab. In contrast, the west was looking quite a bit brighter, with even the odd patch of weak sunshine here and there. Even the Howgills had lost the worst of their thick cloud.
On the long and steady descent towards Sedbergh, I met several walkers, having seen none earlier in the day. Any remaining drizzle cleared and the temperature got a little less icy, as I dropped down from the hills into the valley for the final walk into Sedbergh. This part of the walk was more tedious as it involved quite a bit of road walking, albeit on minor roads with little or no traffic. My B&B was at Briggflats, about a mile or more on the far side of town, so I ended up doing about 16.5 miles altogether, arriving just after 6pm. I had got it into my mind that it was only 14 miles, as last time I stayed at Catholes, which was over a mile before Sedbergh, otherwise I would have pressed on a little faster.
Joyce and Peter Cox were very welcoming and asked if I wanted a meal there, as they were already preparing one for a lady who was walking the Dales Way, so I took up their offer to save walking back into town. The lady was 60 and lived in Leeds with her husband, but he was too busy at work to walk with her. She originated from Windermere and was walking there to a reunion of girls with whom she had been at Kendal School. After dinner, I decided to walk into town for a couple of pints and took the Dales Way route by the river rather than the more direct road route that I had come along. However, this proved to be rather circuitous, as there was no right of way to the river near the B&B, and the route came out at the far side of town, so it took me about 45 minutes at quite a brisk pace. Although this route was more pleasant for walking, I opted for the shorter route back, as I had done enough walking for one day already.
Day 3 - Monday 12th July 2004 - Sedbergh to Ravenstonedale via Howgill Fells
Distance: 10.5 miles - 3,550 ft ascent
Accommodation: B&B Ravenstonedale
My breakfast, which I had at 8.00, was very good. There was more promising weather today with some blue sky and sunshine. I couldn't find my list of B&Bs when packing my things despite looking through just about everything. Eventually I gave up the search, as I could remember most of them and if there was anything I couldn't remember I could find out by ringing my wife Jean who has a copy of the list.
I took the road route into Sedbergh as it was a lot shorter, if less scenic. I had not got a long way to walk today, but there was quite a lot of climbing involved. After sending a postcard home and buying a few things, I set off out of town at about 10.10. The ascent of Winder started about half a mile out of town and was steep at first, more gradual for a while, then steep again towards the summit. The path was smooth and grassy and the views were ever widening as I ascended, with views of Garsdale, Dentdale, Morecambe Bay, Lakeland and, of course, over Sedbergh itself. An overcast sky and a biting northerly wind deposed the earlier sunshine, though the weather looked more settled than it had been over the past two days. I took shelter by the trig point after checking out what could be seen on the orientation table, which was erected at the millennium. The route of tomorrow's walk over Wild Boar Fell and Swarth Fell was in view, as I made my way along the fairly level ridge leading to the ascent of Arant How. The route bypasses the summit to the east, but I took the steep path up to the top, as it seemed a pity to miss it out for the sake a little extra climbing. As I got higher, Penyghent came into view so that I could now see all of the Yorkshire 'Three Peaks'.
Arant Haw from Calders
Cautley Spout and The Calf
Bowderdale from Yarlside
There is some superb ridge walking along the Howgills, with marvellous views in all directions, and an easy path to follow. The huge rounded flanks of the fells spread out below and there are moors and fells everywhere. I stopped for a lunch break at The Calf (2218 ft), getting a little shelter from the cold wind by the trig point, after passing a couple on the way huddled in a hollow for shelter. An inquisitive flock of sheep gathered round me, not scrounging for food, as often happens in well visited places, but just curious. Despite the cold and overcast weather conditions, visibility was still good and, from The Calf, the full panorama was now complete, with views to the North Pennines as well as all the ones visible earlier. It was now time to move before hypothermia set in, and I started to get a little relief from the wind as the route dropped down. I had resorted to hat and gloves as well as my fleece, but was still shivering as a group of five walkers passed by. A little detour from the route led me to the top of Cautley Spout to which a number of walkers were heading from the path below. After walking over the steep and uneven ground, my right heel started hurting far more than it had done earlier and this was because a large blister had burst. The reason I had got the blister in the first place was that my Montrail boots were badly designed, with folds and creases in the lining around the heel. I stuck a pad over it and hoped it would stay in place, which was wishful thinking, as they never seem to do so. I went down to the top of the rather impressive waterfall to watch the water cascading far below, then made my way back onto route again.
The going had been relatively easy this far, but now the hard work began. There was a steep climb up the grassy hillside to Yarlside with no visible path, and this was followed by an even steeper descent. Another steep ascent led up to Kensgriff and a less steep one onto Randygill Top, all over rough ground. This all made for slow progress, and it was just as well that I didn't have many miles to cover in today's walk. From here on, however, there were only a couple of lesser undulations before the descent into Ravenstonedale.
The weather was worsening and spotting with rain, but it was a positive joy, after all the rough going over steep ups and downs, to walk along a good footpath with only gentle inclines. I made a slight error of navigation by going over the summit of The Knott, rather than keeping to the left, but with the aid of my GPS, I soon got back onto the correct route to Ravenstonedale. I could see the village from afar, but had to take care with the route, as there were a number of walls without gates or stiles that had to be avoided. Once into the village, I soon found my B&B, had a shower, a cup of tea, and watched the news on TV. The forecast for tomorrow was pretty good but with cloud and rain for the rest of the week.
Down at the bottom end of the village was the Black Swan Hotel, where I had a Cumberland pie and chips with a few pints of very good Black Sheep bitter. Whilst I was in there, the heavens opened with a burst of torrential rain - I was just glad that it hadn't come earlier in the day. The rain had eased off by the time it came to return to my B&B, so I didn't get too wet on the way back.
Day 4 - Tuesday 13th July 2004 - Ravenstonedale to Kirkby Stephen via Wild Boar Fell, High Seat and Nine Standards Rigg
Distance: 22.5 miles - 3,890 ft ascent
Accommodation: YHA Kirkby Stephen
Breakfast was at 8.00 and I managed to get off by 8.40, having found my B&B list in the process of packing. The weather was beautiful and sunny as I made my way down through the village to the beck, which the route follows for a while. It wasn't long before I started to go awry with my navigation. I was trying to follow the left hand side of the beck, but didn't realise that there were two becks running in parallel and I was following the wrong one. Rather than wasting more time, I decided to stay on the minor road up to Bowber Head, and this probably gave me better views as it was higher than the footpath as it approached Brunt Hill, where I rejoined the correct route. From there the path was not very easy to follow, as it was not very well trodden and, before long, it went over open ground above Stennerskeugh Clouds, an area of limestone pavements. There were fine views all around, though quite a bit of cloud was now gathering, so there was not so much sunshine, which was probably a good thing to stop me getting too hot on the rather difficult ascent of Wild Boar Fell. There were only a few places with anything resembling a footpath, and most of the climb was over rough ground, which is always that much harder work.
Wild Boar Fell from Ravenstonedale
Yoadcomb Scar from The Nab
Eventually I reached the top of Wild Boar Fell and then across to the steep cliff edge at The Nab by 11.00. This was about the quarter way point with some of the more difficult walking now done, though there was still quite a bit more to come. From this vantage point I could see most of the remaining walk - Swarth Fell, Aisgill Summit, Mallerstang and Nine Standards Rigg with the cairns just visible as tiny dots. There is quite a good path across the top, and this very easy walking allowed me to make rapid progress with fine views all around. The sun was absent for most of this time, and it became quite chilly until a good patch of sunshine came along as I headed towards Swarth Fell, making it feel really pleasant whilst it lasted. The ascent of Swarth Fell was quite easy and was followed by a long stretch of flat walking along the fell top before dropping down to Aisgill Summit. There was no defined path down, so this involved walking over rough ground, the consolation being that it was easier going down than up. My feet had not been doing too badly this far; the blister on my right heel had been better since I stuck on a pad this morning, so I was just hoping that it would stay in place for the rest of the day. Half way down the slope I met up with the semblance of a footpath, which made walking the rest of the way down to the road a lot easier.
Hellgill Force waterfall is quite close to where the route crosses the B6259 road and the railway, so I took a quick look as I passed, though there was not a lot of water flowing over. This is a very tempting spot for a rest stop, but I decided to press on to the day's halfway point just before the ascent of Mallerstang. A lovely, gently sloping, grass road called High Way runs part way up the side of the fell with marvellous views of Wild Boar Fell, Mallerstang, the Eden Valley with Cross Fell in the far distance. At the highest point of High Way, near where the route turned off up a steeper slope to Mallerstang, was a large sculpture 'The Water Cut', adding an extra dimension of interest to the view, though it is not to everyone's taste. Personally, I quite enjoy these things so long as they are not out of keeping with the surroundings, though some people prefer to leave the landscape untouched.
Hellgill Force at Aisgill Summit
Wild Boar Fell from Hellgill
Water Cut sculpture on High Way
Whilst I was taking a break by the sculpture, a couple came by walking the Lady Anne's Way, which took the low route into Kirkby Stephen. When they heard that I was going to the same place via Mallerstang and Nine Standards Rigg they thought I was mad and said that they were not surprised that I was walking alone, as they didn't think anyone else would be foolish enough to be walking with me.
A few hundred feet of ascent over rough ground up a moderate slope brought me onto the end of the Mallerstang ridge, which continued to rise as I followed it past the Three Men of Mallerstang and Loven Scar before turning away from Mallerstang Edge to the cairn of Gregory's Chapel and onto the rather flat topped summit of High Seat (2328 ft). This was the highest point of today's walk, although it only beats Wild Boar Fell in altitude by a few feet. The weather improved with more sunshine giving added clarity to the vast range of long distance views over the Yorkshire Dales, the Northern Pennines with the radar station on Great Dun Fell now clearly visible, the Lake District and the Howgill Fells.
South along Mallerstang Edge Penyghent and Ingleborough in distance
Some of the cairns on Nine Standards Rigg
The time was now 3.30pm and I had 9 miles left to walk. From High Seat, the route returned to Mallerstang Edge with little or no path on the way, but I eventually picked up a better path to High Pike where I had another short rest. From there, a drop down to the B6270 road led to the final ascent of the day up to Nine Standards Rigg. There was a large area of limestone pavement and peat bog around which the path attempts to skirt. Trying to save time, I cut straight across part of it, heading for Jack Standards. It was not too difficult, but I would have been better sticking to the path. Eventually I picked up the path again, but it wasn't long before it petered out. There wasn't even a path from Jack Standards to the trig point, so this entailed more rough walking through peat groughs. Basically, the only well trodden paths around here are those taken by the Coast to Coast walk, as not many other people venture this way.
Eventually, I joined up with the Coast to Coast route which made the walking considerably easier across to the Nine Standards, a set of large cairns. One or two of them looked as if they were about to collapse, as stonework was falling away in places. A topograph near the summit was very useful for identifying the distant hills. I stopped for a rest and to drink the last of my water before embarking on the final leg of my walk down into Kirkby Stephen. What should have been a simple end to this long and tiring walk turned out to be anything but that. Firstly I started following a sign for the Coast to Coast, as my walk followed the same route but I soon realised that I was following it in the wrong direction. Another bit of trekking over rough ground brought me across to where the path Coast to Coast path went in the right direction, with a sign pointing the way. However, as I followed the path down, it didn't seem to be going in quite the right direction. Nevertheless it was a good path so I thought it may now be used as an alternative route as I continued to follow it. Of course, there were no more signs as to where it was leading and there were a few places where it forked in different directions. I followed the ones that seemed to be heading in the right direction but, as is often the case, the path petered out and I was left wondering which way I should go. A study of the guidebook showed me that I had come round the head of High Dukerdale and was now heading down the wrong side of the valley. The only consolation was that I had a good view of the canyon from that side. I decided to continue down this side of the valley along a path of sorts, which had been created by sheep or cattle, but it was by no means an easy route. The fact that I couldn't quite make out where I was, added to my frustration. I was using only the map pages in the guidebook and these are laid out in such a way as to best fit the route on the page with north being in a different direction on each page. In addition they do not have grid lines drawn on them, only some small numbers round the edges of each map indicating where the grid lines are, so this makes it very difficult to pinpoint a position obtained from a GPS. After what seemed like a long time, I eventually reached a lane with a sign for Kirkby Stephen. This seemed to go on forever, going up and down and meandering around until it finally came out by Hartley Quarry and I at last knew I was back on the correct route, but I must have added a mile or two to my already lengthy walk.
I finally rolled up at the youth hostel at 8pm, where I had a quick shower and change before heading down town in search of food and drink. Having previously had difficulty finding anywhere in Kirkby Stephen to eat at this time, I grabbed the opportunity to get fish and chips just before the fish shop closed. They only had pies left, but thinking that a pie in the hand was worth two in the bush, I opted for two mince and onion pies, which I ate outside. It was just starting to rain, so I quickly finished them and went into the King's Arms, only to find that they served food until 9pm, so I could have eaten a far better meal there instead. I had three pints of Black Sheep before heading back to the hostel to bed. There was a good drying room and it would have made sense to wash out my walking clothes, but I was far too tired for that and decided to leave it for another day, as I still had a clean set spare.
Day 5 - Wednesday 14th July 2004 - Kirkby Stephen to Dufton
Distance: 19.5 miles - very little ascent
Accommodation: YHA Dufton
I had breakfast at 8.00 with the few others who were having it too; a German couple with a baby, and a couple who were walking the Coast to Coast. It was raining outside, so I made sure that everything was packed well away to keep out the wet. My blister was bleeding a little and the pad I had thought was covering it had worked its way half way up my sock, as I discovered when I took off my boot last night. I had replaced the plaster, but had little confidence in it staying where it was, so I called in an outdoor shop to buy some proper blister treatment. These are supposed to stay in place for three to four days, by which time the blister should be a long way towards healing, so I stopped on a seat nearby to put one on. By the time I got going, it was 9.30 by which time the rain had stopped.
The walk takes a roundabout route via farmland to avoid walking along the busy A685 road to Church Brough. I didn't do too badly with navigation; that is to say I only went wrong three or four times in as many miles, but didn't take too long to get back on the right track when I did so. I stopped for a break near Brough Castle after five miles. I was not walking very quickly, as my legs were still a little stiff, particularly my right one, as I had been trying to tread carefully to avoid further damage to my blistered heel. The weather was now not too bad; a little muggy at first, but this cleared with a bit of breeze, though now there were even a few bright patches in the sky, and the cloud had lifted from the fell tops.
Brough Castle and Northern Pennines from beside A685
River Eden and Northern Pennines from near Warcop
The next few miles were a lot easier for navigation, with only one or two minor exceptions. There was a sound of distant gunfire, but this was not an invasion, merely military training on Warcop Fell. This part of the walk was not very interesting, with only the occasional river or church to add to the view. I had intended to make my next stop past Warcop, leaving only ten miles to go, but when I passed a pleasant little spot by the banks of the South Eden that even had a patch of sunshine thrown in for good measure, it was too good to miss. The trees also gave shelter from the fairly strong breeze that was now blowing, and I could have stopped for enjoyed a nice long rest here, but time didn't permit it if I wanted to get to Dufton in reasonable time for dinner.
On the way to Great Ormside there are places with good views of the fells, but for much of the way the view to that side is obscured. Similarly, the River Eden can only be seen in parts and is frequently out of view. The weather took a definite turn for the better with lots of sunshine, making the walking much more pleasant. On the way from Great Ormside to Appleby, the path goes through the edges of woodland with a great proliferation of wild flowers including some of the largest spotted orchids that I have ever seen - some were over two foot high, probably growing this high because they were competing with a mass of other flora. I have normally only ever seen orchids where the vegetation was sparse, so it was more surprising to see such fine specimens in this situation.
Boroughgate, Appleby looking towards Moot Hall and St Lawrence's Church
High Cup Nick from north of Appleby
Fountain on Village Green, Dufton with Stag Inn behind
The last stretch of this part of the route drops down by the River Eden before skirting round Appleby Castle, only a glimpse of which can be seen through the gates on the way into the town. I stopped for a rest and the luxury of an ice cream when I reached the town centre. A number of pubs tempted me to have a pint, but I didn't want to take the chance of it sapping my willpower for the remaining four and a half miles into Dufton. The route to Dufton involves a certain amount of ascent, but not too much. There are also a few opportunities to get lost along the way, and I managed to go astray in a couple of places although, in general, the footpaths are quite well waymarked. As I approached Dufton, the fells loomed closer and High Cup Nick, hanging high above the valley, was bathed in a patch of sunshine for a while. As I knew I would be late arriving, I phoned the youth hostel to place an order for an evening meal, but was told that there was no choice as there were very few people in. The final half mile goes along Dufton Gill in a pleasant wooded valley before emerging onto a lane at the top end of the village.
I arrived at 6.30pm in time for a shower before settling down to a very good meal of soup, toad in the hole and a fruit pie. I dined with a chap who was walking part of the Pennine Way, though he was not doing the next section.
The hostel had a good drying room, so I set about washing all my sweaty things from the past two days. I thought my luck was in when I discovered a spin drier, but soon discovered that it tripped the circuit breaker every time it was switched on. This meant I had to resort to the usual procedure of wringing everything by hand, which never does a very good job of getting the water out. It is so much better to have a spin drier or even a mangle, either of which remove far more water than any amount of hand wringing can do. However, the warden said that a big refurbishment was on its way, as an appeal, following a threat of closure, had raised quite a bit of money. Now it was the turn of Baldersdale to come under threat - what a great loss to the Pennine Way if any of these hostels were to close, though this doesn't seem to matter to the YHA these days.
My Compeed blister pad had stayed on all day, though it had developed a strange hollow in the middle. This was certainly far better than anything I had ever tried before, as the contoured gel pad bonds extremely well onto the skin surrounding the blister and provides very good cushioning to the tender area. They may be fairly expensive, but they are worth it for the discomfort that they save. This foot had been feeling pretty good all day, in fact better than my other foot that was starting to form a blister of its own.
After my hearty meal had had chance to settle, I headed across the road to the Stag Inn for a few pints. The chap from my dormitory was in there as well as several lots of Pennine Way walkers spread around different parts of the pub. I had a good chat and three pints of very good Black Sheep bitter before retiring to bed at 10.30pm.
Day 6 - Thursday 15th July 2004 - Dufton to Milburn via High Cup, Knock Fell, Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell
Distance: 16 miles - 3,090 ft ascent
Accommodation: B&B Milburn
Breakfast was at 8.00 and consisted of porridge followed by a hearty fry-up with a bit of everything - much more than the usual YHA offering. The weather started off rather dull, although there was a fairly high cloud base but, by the time I had gathered all my things together and was ready for off, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning. I called at the village post office to send off some cards and met a couple I had been talking to in the pub last night. They were walking the Pennine Way and camping, and had just had breakfast in the post office cafe.
By this time it was 9.25 as I set off along the Pennine Way route to High Cup Nick but in the opposite direction from the normal flow of Pennine Way walkers. The ascent was steady, and I passed two groups of teenagers who were involved in some sort of outdoor pursuits activity, going up to Maize Beck, then back round to where they started from. It was very hot at first, but then the sun went in and a cool breeze sprang up as I climbed up above 1,000 ft. I reached High Cup Nick at 11.00 by which time it had clouded over with only a few patches of sunshine here and there. A geology student came along as I was admiring the view. He was spending six weeks in the area on his own and he really loved it. Whilst I was sitting there I did manage to get some hazy sunshine to enhance the beauty of this magnificent spectacle before I continued on my way.
High Cup Nick
High Cup Nick
Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell from Summit of Knock Fell
From High Cup, my route parted company with the Pennine Way and headed over to Knock Fell. As the weather was fine and the ground was reasonably dry, I decided to take a more or less straight line across to Little Rundale Tarn rather than the rather circuitous route following Tarn Sike shown in the book. The latter was chosen to avoid the boggy sections of the direct route when the weather has been wet. However, it was very hard going over rough moorland with thick grass, bilberry and peat; very similar to parts of the Peak District but not quite so boggy. With a lot of effort, I eventually reached the edge of Great Rundale Tarn where there was a semblance of a path, but then I soon had to head over rough ground again towards the summit of Knock Fell. Fortunately, the going was not quite as difficult, but it was with great relief that I reached a path and knew that I would then have a path to follow for the rest of the way over the fells. This wasn't quite true, as the summit of Knock Fell is not actually on the Pennine Way but can be taken as a detour from Knock Old Man, so there is not much of a path there either. It was not long before I reached the Pennine Way where the path changed completely to a pedestrian motorway stone slabs. I am all in favour of putting down paving where it is needed, through boggy and eroded sections of a footpath, but there seems to be a tendency to get carried away and whole sections are paved where it is not really necessary.
The weather started to deteriorate with some steady rain as I ascended Great Dun Fell, so I had to don my waterproofs. However, it wasn't heavy rain and the visibility was still reasonable, so I still found the walk preferable to a sunny walk through lowland fields without a view. The route climbs up and down from Great Dun Fell to Little Dun Fell, then Cross Fell, but none of these climbs are either steep or long. On Cross Fell, I met a chap who was out walking for a few days, but not on any recognised walk, then I met a Dutch couple at the summit. They were doing part of the Pennine Way in the north to south direction as part of the E2 route. Last year they did a section from Portpatrick to Melrose on the Southern Upland Way, then they followed St Cuthbert's Way to Kirk Yetholm, at the top end of the Pennine Way. Now they were continuing most of the way down the Pennine Way, and I am not sure where they were going after that. On the summit, the mist obscured things for a while but as I dropped a little way down it cleared and the rain also eased off.
The route down towards Milburn was quite easy until it came to the usual problem of finding the correct route through farmland when I reached the bottom. I thought I had timed it nicely to arrive at Milburn by about 6pm, as I knew that the evening meal was at 6.30pm. What I had forgotten was that the place in which I was staying was quite a way out of Milburn and not marked on my map. Both High Stakes and Low Stakes were marked but not Stakes Farm, which was where I was staying, and this turned out to be beyond both of them, and over a mile out of the village, so it was a rush to get there in time for a quick shower and a change before dinner.
The meal was very good with carrot soup, lamb chops with a crusty orange topping, broad beans and potatoes out of the garden, then chocolate sponge with custard, followed by coffee. There was a pub about a mile away, but I felt more inclined to stay in and rest my feet tonight. After a lie down to rest my legs and feet, I watched TV for a while before going to bed. The blisters on my heels were still giving me some problems but the Compeed pad was still stuck to my right heel, though bits of it had decided to attach themselves to my sock instead. The blister had also spread beyond the top of the pad, but I decided to leave things as they were for the time being. My left heel also had a blister, but this was not too bad and was managing to hold its own after the initial blister burst.
Day 7 - Friday 16th July 2004 - Milburn to Eamont Bridge
Distance: 10.5 miles - very little ascent
Accommodation: B&B Eamont Bridge
I had a very good breakfast at 8.30. There was a family staying the night as well as myself, but they arrived late and were down later for breakfast. There was no rush for me to get started, as I had less than 12 miles of low level walking to do, including the mile or more to get me back onto the route in the village. I did wonder whether I had made the right decision this time by staying here, as my B&B was only about two miles from Dufton where I had been the night before. Last time I did this walk, I stayed for two nights at Dufton and did the walk over the fells with only a light pack. When I was planning the walk this time I thought it would be better to advance to Milburn, but then I ended up at a B&B that was nearly half way back to Dufton anyway, and didn't have a pub nearby either.
By the time I got back to Milburn along the lane it was nearly 10.00. I could have taken the road but I thought that I would have enough road walking today without adding any more. There was a very black cloud over Cross Fell and the other fells were also in cloud, but elsewhere the weather was not too bad. The two-mile road walk to Newbiggin was not very interesting, although there were views across to the Lakeland Fells in places where the weather seemed a little brighter. There followed a mile along a path to the National Trust property of Acorn Bank where I took a break in the picnic area at 11.30. Half a mile further on the route goes along the very busy A66 trunk road for about a mile on a section that is rather narrow and winds around a little. Most of the way there is no verge worth mentioning and it was just a matter of treading a very narrow path between the white line and the edge of the road whilst all the heavy traffic came rushing very close by. Needless to say, this was not a very pleasant experience, and I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I reached the minor road where I turned off.
It was about time for lunch so I started looking for somewhere convenient to stop. Although my route was still on minor roads, I managed to find a nice grassy clearing by a gateway and settled down for a leisurely break. The sun started shining, so I was even able to do some sunbathing and also take off my boots and socks to give my feet a well earned rest after all the hammering they had taken since the start of the walk. By last night I had covered just over half the distance of the walk in six days, with eight days left for the remainder. The mileage is rather unevenly split but at least I have short days in-between long days from now on. As my blister was now only half covered by the Compeed dressing, I decided to put on a new one. I had been very impressed by how well they stay in place despite the severe conditions that are imposed upon them. It was such a change not to be in a rush to get off that I lingered for quite a while in the beautiful sunshine and eventually set off again at 2.30pm.
Cross Fell, Little Dun Fell & Great Dun Fell from Hornby
St Ninian's Church by River Eamont
There was only five and a half miles left to walk to my B&B at Eamont Bridge, and the route at last departed from roads to make its way to the lovely little church of St. Ninian's at Ninekirks near the River Eamont. From the church there were some fine views over to Cross Fell, which was now in sunshine, then past the church there were views over the River Eamont towards the Lakeland Fells with Blencathra now prominent. Soon it was back to the A66 for another mile of road walking, but this time the road was wider and had better verges so was not so much of an ordeal, despite the Friday afternoon traffic that was very heavy. By the side of the road stands the Countess' Pillar, erected by Lady Anne Clifford in 1656 to mark the spot where she bade farewell to her mother for the very last time. Still having plenty of time to spare, I stopped for another rest by the pillar with just two miles left to walk.
River Eamont and Blencathra from near St Ninian's Church
Countess Pillar beside A66, Brougham
Before long it was time to leave the main road and head down a minor road to Brougham, with its castle overlooking the river. The rest of the way to Eamont Bridge was along a footpath by the river and I soon found my B&B very close to the bridge. After a shower, a cup of tea and a rest, I set off to find something to eat. There were a couple of pubs nearby, but I was running a bit short of cash, so I decided to walk into Penrith to find a cash machine. The town offered a good selection of pubs and I ventured into the Lowther Arms where I had a couple of pints of Directors' bitter and a very good rump of lamb with redcurrant. I decided to return to Eamont Bridge to try one of the pubs there. One pub had tables outside, so I had a pint of Young's bitter sitting in the evening sunshine. Unfortunately, the beer was rather cloudy and didn't taste very good, so I didn't stay for another pint, as they had no other real ales available. The other pub didn't seem to have any real ale at all, so I returned to my B&B and watched TV. The weather forecast was for rain in the morning but better weather later.
Day 8 - Saturday 17th July 2004 - Eamont Bridge to Patterdale via Place Fell
Distance: 10.5 miles - 2,450 ft ascent
Accommodation: YHA Patterdale
I started the day with another good breakfast at 8.00. The rain came as expected but was not too heavy and, as I was not in a rush to get started, I waxed my boots to give some protection against the wet grass and packed all my things very carefully in my rucksack to keep them dry. It was 9.15 as I set out into the steady rain to follow the river for a little way towards Yanwath and Tirril. After the fairly gentle day yesterday, my feet and legs had recovered a little, although it still took a little while to get them going at a normal pace. Although there was more climbing today than yesterday, it was still a short day and I could afford to take things easy to allow my legs and my blisters to recover further.
From Tirril, there was a mile or so of road walking before reaching the old Roman road of High Street which I was to follow for a couple of miles. This gave some lovely views across Ullswater, though there was cloud still hanging over the fells. I took a chance and removed my waterproofs, as the weather was looking better despite the few spots of rain that were still falling. I forgot to fill my water bottles at the B&B, but still had some left from yesterday, so I could manage until I could find a nice clear beck running down the fell side.
Ullswater from High Street Roman Road
The walk along the lake was marvellous with an easy path running half way up the fell, giving stunning views of the high fells around the head of the lake. On my way I got caught up with a group of about twenty mountain bikers, mainly youngsters but with a few adults. The youngest one, a lad named Billy, who couldn't have been more than six or seven, was finding it a bit hard going and had reached the point where he had had enough. No amount of encouragement from his father seemed to get anywhere and promises that it would soon be downhill didn't convince him either. Consequently, the group had to keep stopping for little Billy to catch up, which meant that I would pass them. A little further along they would pass me again until they had to stop once more to wait for Billy and his father. This was repeated a few times until, at last, the route really did go downhill and Billy went by in a much happier frame of mind.
Although mountain bikers can sometimes be a nuisance, it has to be remembered that they have as much right to use bridleways as walkers. In the case of this particular group, they were all very polite and didn't ride recklessly so I had no cause to complain, and the whole thing was quite amusing.
At last I found a suitable stream from which to fill my water bottles and it was also a convenient time and place to stop for lunch. The spot was up above the Sharrow Bay Hotel, noted for its fine cuisine, though the hotel itself was hidden by trees. I sat admiring the view and watching the occasional steamer come and go across the calm waters of the lake along with sailing boats and other small craft (the boats are called steamers but are now driven by diesel engines). My highest point of the day, Place Fell was just below the cloud base, but the higher fell tops were still obscured.
The route gradually descended towards the lakeside at Howtown, then skirted round the foot of Halkin Fell to Sandwick Bay. There were quite a few people about now, which was not surprising as it was a Saturday. There were lots of lovely views around the various bays of the lake shore, but to my mind the best views are from higher up. I had another rest at Sandwick Bay before starting the ascent of Place Fell and then the sun started to shine as I made my way up the grassy slope through the bracken. It was a moderate climb, but with a good path all the way it was not too difficult. There were one or two false summits before the real one, but then I was aware of this from before, so it was no surprise. By the time I reached the summit, the sun had gone in but the far end of the lake was still bathed in sunshine and there were a few dramatic shafts of sunlight from time to time lighting up parts of the mountains and valleys. I always think that, despite its modest height, Place Fell offers some of the most magnificent mountain views of Eastern Lakeland, with a vast array of mountains in every direction except to the north. It also offers a bird's eye view of Glenridding and Patterdale.
Ullswater from Place Fell
Helvellyn and Glenridding from Place Fell
St Sunday Crag and Patterdale from Place Fell
Brothers Water from Place Fell
Patterdale from Goldrill Beck
It soon started to get cold, so I made my way down to Patterdale and reached the youth hostel at 5.45pm. This hostel is quite large and purpose-built, unlike most hostels, which are adapted from other types of building. There was a wide choice of evening meals with several more exotic dishes at an additional price, as is starting to happen in some hostels now. Again, like many hostels, security is becoming more of an issue, so all the dormitories were fitted with locks and everyone was issued with their own key - even the drying room had a key-code lock on the door. One chap from Hull called Malcolm, aged 67, who was sharing my dormitory, was doing the Coast to Coast walk and finding it very hard going, as he had only ever walked on the flat before. He had done a walk from the Humber Bridge to Southport, doing quite high daily mileages, and got on fine, but in the Lake District it was a different matter.
I had my evening meal of soup, haddock and treacle tart. The hostel was not very busy, as there were no large school parties in, only one small one. A while later, I went into the village for a few pints. I had a pint of Castle Eden in the one pub but it wasn't very good, so I then tried Marston's Pedigree, which was somewhat worse and only just drinkable. Hoping for better luck, I went to the next pub for a pint of Bass, but that was absolutely undrinkable and there was some horrible disco music booming out non-stop. The only redeeming feature was a very comfortable chair in which I could relax for a while until the music became too much for me and I left, leaving most of my pint untouched. The moral is, if you are looking for some good real ale, give Patterdale a miss. In fairness to Patterdale, though, I have had some good beer there on previous visits, so I must have just have been unlucky this time.
Day 9 - Sunday 18th July 2004 - Patterdale to Grasmere via St Sunday Crag and Fairfield
Distance: 8.3 miles - 3,130 ft ascent
Accommodation: YHA Butterlip How near Grasmere
I had breakfast with the same group of people I had dinner with last night. There were four teenage girls from Bedfordshire who were doing some walking, Malcolm who was sharing my dormitory and doing the Coast to Coast, and a teacher from Liverpool who had come over Fairfield, Coffa Pike and St Sunday Crag with his son yesterday. He was talking about a scree slope that I would have to climb up and saying how glad that they were to have been coming down it and not going up, as I would be doing. His son didn't make it for breakfast and was still in bed as we were leaving.
There were not many miles to do today, although there was quite a bit of climbing, so I set off to a leisurely start. The forecast was pretty good, especially for later in the day, and it was already looking good as I left the youth hostel at 9.45. Malcolm was not sure whether he could make it to Shap today, and he wasn't really sure what route he was taking or how much ascent was involved, as his map reading skills left a lot to be desired. I pointed him in the right direction on the way to my own route, wished him well, and hoped that he would manage to find his way.
My route ran through Glemara Park, offering lovely views over the head of Ullswater. I was careful not to miss the path up to Harrison Crag, as last time I went past it and had to climb up the steep grassy hillside further along. It was quite a steep path, but I just kept up a steady plod, trying to be as gentle as possible on my feet. The views opened up more and more as I climbed upwards, with Helvellyn and Striding Edge prominent to my right. From Harrison Crag there was about a mile of quite gentle ascent followed by a steep climb up to the summit. There were a few people about - I passed a group of three walkers, and met a couple of chaps who were coming down, having spent the night up on top. The cloud kept coming and going, but from time to time the whole area was bathed in sunshine, making a glorious sight. At the summit of St Sunday Crag, Cofa Pike and Fairfield lay ahead, and Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and the western fells could clearly be seen, though there was a little cloud on the highest peaks.
Ullswater from St Sunday Crag
Fairfield and Grisedale Tarn from St Sunday Crag
I reached the summit at 11.45 and stopped for a drink and a snack before making my way up to Fairfield. Quite a few more walkers had come by but then departed and I had the summit to myself for a while. There was a very cool wind so, although it was quite sunny at times, it soon became too cold to stay around and I made my way onwards. At times, when I was sheltered from the wind, the sun would give pleasant warmth, but where I was exposed, the cold wind won the day, and even the steep climb up Cofa Pike didn't do a lot to warm me up. The nearest thing I could see to the scree slope that the Liverpudlians had talked about was on the last little climb from Cofa Pike to Fairfield, and even then there was an easier route available. I took the steeper route which was not particularly difficult, as there were not too many loose stones on which to slide, unlike real scree slopes where for every two steps forward one step is lost sliding back.
At the top of Fairfield is a large wind shelter which provided welcome relief from the biting wind, so I was able to have my lunch and sit looking at the view without shivering to death. I could see the route of the Coast to Coast walk going past Angle Tarn and up to Kidsty Pike, which made me wonder how Malcolm was coping. The descent of Fairfield via Great Rigg brings into view Lake Windermere, Esthwaite Water, Coniston Water and Grasmere, as well as Morecambe Bay and other parts of the coast. I could also see Easedale Tarn near the start of tomorrow's walk as well as most of the route to Grasmere. Further west, Great Gable was very prominent, and to the east Cross Fell could be seen.
Grisedale Tarn from Fairfield
Lake Windermere, Esthwaite Water and Coniston Water from Fairfield
Looking back to Greatrigg Man and Fairfield
It seemed a pity to drop straight down to Grasmere so early in the day (2.30pm), so I was tempted to continue along the ridge to Heron Pike, taking a longer route down. Below Heron Pike the wind was neither so strong nor so cold, so I stopped to take off my fleece to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine. There was a lovely view over Windermere in particular, with all its sailing boats. The steep path down led me to Rydal and I then took the bridleway that runs along the bottom of the hillside to Grasmere. From the map this looks as if it should offer good views, but this is only the case for small sections of the way, and it also went up and down quite a bit making it not so easy. The path that runs around the south of Rydal Water and Grasmere might have proved to be a more rewarding route.
I reached Butterlip How youth hostel, which is a fine country house in extensive grounds, by 5.45pm. They have flexible eating times and also a table licence to serve alcohol. There was a Geordie in my dormitory who was walking the Coast to Coast in ten days. He had walked from Low Gillerthwaite in Ennerdale today and was walking 25 miles to Shap tomorrow. I went down to dinner at 6.45pm, but met with a school party who were just going in, so I waited until 7.15pm and ate with the Geordie, having a very good meal of soup, braised steak and sticky toffee pudding.
Later I walked down into Grasmere village to have a drink. Most places are big hotels, but I found a place I had been to before, though it had changed quite a lot from what I remembered. It was now called Tweedies Bar and I stayed there for a couple of pints of Criffel before heading back to the hostel and to bed.
Day 10 - Monday 19th July 2004 - Grasmere to Elterwater via Langdale Horseshoe
Distance: 16.5 miles - 5,610 ft ascent
Accommodation: YHA Elterwater
Breakfast started from 7.45, so I got there at the start along with the Geordie. It was a good breakfast by youth hostel standards and I was able to get myself ready and off by 8.50 with a hard day's walking ahead of me, not so much for the distance as for the amount of climbing and difficult terrain. The weather was quite promising with a mixture of sunshine and dark clouds as I made my way on the steady ascent past waterfalls towards Easdale Tarn, punctuated with a couple of steep climbs on the way. By the tarn it was very peaceful; the only sounds being from the birds, the occasional bleating sheep and trickling of small becks.
On my climb from the tarn towards Sergeant Man, I was passed by a lone walker who was just out for the day. There were lovely views back down to Easedale Tarn, then to Stickle Tarn and across Great Langdale. As I drew towards the summit, I could see the man who had passed me sitting there, so I stopped for a chat. He was a chef in the R.A.F. and was just about to retire to Llanrwst, where he was going to buy a house. We parted company, as I headed for Harrison Stickle, whilst he headed for High Raise. The path was not all that easy in places, as it was not very well trodden, but there were some lovely views along the way, albeit with dark clouds lingering round the higher mountains. The next port of call was Pike O'Stickle where I met a couple of people. This is quite a popular walking area, but by 12.15 I had only met four people, though there would probably be more later in the afternoon. A gradual descent on a fairly good path, apart from a few boggy patches, led me to Stake Pass. In one boggy place I managed to sink my foot in up to my ankle but, fortunately, not very much mud or water got into my boot.
Easedale Tarn from Sergeant Man
Stickle Tarn from Harrison Stickle
Great Langdale, Blea Tarn and Wetherlam from Harrison Stickle
Pike O'Stickle and Bow Fell from Harrison Stickle
After a steady climb up to Littlegill Head, I stopped for a short lunch break with marvellous views down Great Langdale. There was still quite a bit of sunshine but a few evil looking black clouds came across Bow Fell and it looked as black as night for a while with a few spots of rain falling where I was. This didn't last long as the clouds soon dispersed making everything look a lot better. I pressed on past Angle Tarn (one of many of the same name) and up towards Bow Fell on a path that was rather stony in places but not too difficult, and it didn't seem long before I reached the ridge leading to the summit. However, there was still quite a way to go from there over a lot of stones to the summit itself which, at 2960 ft, was the highest point of the day. After passing a few 'false summits', I eventually reached the real one at 3pm. Most of the cloud had dispersed by now giving beautiful views down Eskdale, over to the Scafell Pikes, Coniston Old Man and the coast. Several people were at the top including one group with a few youngsters including a toddler who was fast asleep, presumably having been carried most of the way.
Great Langdale from Black Crags
Scafell Pikes from Bowfell
Crinkle Crags from Bowfell
I pressed on along Crinkle Crags. Although the views were great from there, it was difficult and slow going, clambering over stones much of the way with a few steep scrambles thrown in for good measure, so it was quite a relief when I eventually dropped down from the crags on a much easier path towards towards Red Tarn and Pike O'Blisco. It was already 5pm when I reached Red Tarn, still with 5 miles to go and the several hundred-foot climb of Pike O'Blisco, so I would be quite late arriving at the youth hostel. For this reason, I had not booked an evening meal, so it didn't matter too much what time I arrived, apart from the fact that I wanted to report back home and also needed to find a meal somewhere. It took me about 20 minutes to climb Pike O'Blisco, and then I started the descent. I remembered from last time having to take a very long, steep route with no path to Wrynose Bridge, whereas there was a good path down towards Great Langdale with an offshoot to meet the little road going past Blea Tarn to Little Langdale. The latter looked like the better option at the time because of the easier walking, but it did add considerably to the distance, so it was perhaps not such a good move when I was short of time.
Bowfell from Crinkle Crags
Oxendale and Great Langdale from Crinkle Crags
Great Langdale, Stickle Pike and Harrison Stickle from Pike O'Blisco
Although the path was good, it was also very steep in places, so it was still wearing, and I was glad when I reached the offshoot which levelled out along the hillside to join the road. Rather than trying to follow the route along footpaths taking a more roundabout way, I decided to follow the road route to save time and effort, as it was a little more direct. It seemed to take a very long time of treading tarmac before I reached a little road marked 'Unsuitable for motor vehicles', which led me over to Elterwater youth hostel where I arrived at 7.30pm. After a hard but enjoyable day it was a great relief to be able to take off my boots and then have a shower. As anticipated, I was too late for a meal at the hostel, but the Britannia Inn not very far away were still serving food. I had been warned that it was expensive by a chap in the hostel and I found this to be the case with most main courses costing more that £9, even for fairly basic meals such as steak pie. My choice was Cumberland Pie with dauphinoise potatoes at £9.25 and it came with quite a few accompaniments and was delicious, so I could appreciate that it was worth the price for the quality and standard of the meal. However, on a walking holiday I am generally trying to keep down the costs, so am not as worried about top quality if I can get a filling meal for a lower price. The real ales were all £2.45 a pint, which is not uncommon around the Lake District, so I just had a couple of pints of Timothy Taylor's Landlord before returning to the hostel. By now it was raining steadily, having just started gently when I first arrived at the hostel, but at least it had been fine for the main part of the day.
I could have washed a few things to put in the drying room, but I was feeling very weary and couldn't raise the energy to do so, so I went straight to bed instead.
Day 11 - Tuesday 20th July 2004 - Elterwater to Ambleside
Distance: 5.8 miles - little ascent
Accommodation: YHA Ambleside
It was rather a dull morning with mist and cloud, though not actually raining, as I went down for breakfast at 8.00. I sat with two young women who were walking over to Eskdale via Swirl How, whereas I had a very gentle day ahead walking to Ambleside. This hostel is quite small compared to many of the Lake District hostels and the dining room was shared between several people having hostel breakfasts and several others who were self catering. There was a father with his two sons sharing my dormitory. They were heading for Grasmere but by a somewhat easier route than I took yesterday. I took plenty of time to get ready, as I was in no rush to get going, with only a short, easy walk ahead of me.
It was quite surprising that, after all the difficult, steep and uneven walking yesterday, an ordinary plaster had stayed in place over my blister which, although it was still weeping, had not caused me any trouble. I had expected that I would have had to put on another of the Compeed dressings half way along, but it doesn't look as if there will now be any need for one. Eventually, I started out at a leisurely amble by Great Langdale Beck, past Elter Water, to Skelwith Bridge, going past the waterfalls of Skelwith Force on the way. This part of the walk is also part of the Cumbria Way, but the two part company at Skelwith Bridge. It was rather muggy after the overnight rain and there was little movement of air as I followed the path through a the yard of a quarry, where they were cutting and polishing the local stone and had all kinds of things for sale. However, I didn't fancy carrying a few hundredweight of stone water feature for the next fifty miles, so I passed them by.
Elterwater
With plenty of time on my hands, I decided to take a detour by Loughrigg Tarn and from there up onto Loughrigg Fell. From this side, the ascent is a very steep slog straight up the hillside - not quite the thing for my leisurely day, but then it only took about half an hour at a steady rate. It was well worth the climb, as it offers very good views of the eastern fells and, for its modest height of around a thousand feet, gives wider views than many places a lot higher. The wind sprang up as I reached the top, clearing much of the mist and cloud and bringing larger patches of sunshine, but it also made it feel quite chilly.
There were quite a number of people around including several families, as it is not a difficult peak for children to climb by the main route, and gives a real sense of achievement at the top. I followed the craggy top of Loughrigg Fell over to Todd Crag, which gave a splendid view over the head of Lake Windermere. From crags further along, there were even better views of Waterhead and Ambleside Youth Hostel, which used to be an hotel. From there I dropped down into Ambleside, which was very busy, as it is popular with all types of visitor. On the way through town, I called for a pint of Bass and found that the prices were more reasonable than in many places with my pint costing £2.20 rather than the £2.40 or more that some places had been charging.
Lily Tarn near Todd Crag
Waterhead and Lake Windermere from near Todd Crag
I arrived by Ambleside Youth Hostel at 4.30 pm and wrote a few postcards by the side of the lake before checking in. There would have been no problem checking in sooner at this hostel, as it is extremely large and has reception open all day. Because of its lovely position and all its facilities, the hostel attracts a wide variety of different people, from foreign tourists to people who cannot find a B&B for the night. It is not, however, the sort of hostel that appeals very much to walkers, as its large size makes it very impersonal and it lacks the warm, cosy atmosphere of the smaller hostels in more remote places. Meals are provided in a cafeteria rather than the traditional single sitting, though this style of service is now being copied by many other hostels. I had soup, then oriental pork followed by treacle tart, which was all very tasty, and I sat by the window with a view across Lake Windermere. A bar is advertised, but it only sells canned and bottled drinks, so this is little more than is on offer in many other of the larger hostels.
It was now steadily raining outside so, after sitting in the lounge for a while, I put on my waterproof jacket and set off in search of a pub. I had it in mind that I would have to walk about a mile back into Ambleside, but then I noticed that there were places by the lake in Waterhead, not far away, saving me a trek in the rain. I came to the Wateredge Inn, which was quite busy inside, but there were tables under umbrellas outside, overlooking the lake. I sampled some of the local ales; Jenning's Crag Rat and Coniston Bluebird (I have visited the pub in Coniston where the Bluebird is brewed), before returning for an early night.
This was the first hostel of this walk where the dormitory was so full that I had to take a top bunk, even though I checked in quite early. Although this is a three star hostel, the accommodation was still rather cramped with seven sets of bunks but only one washbasin, one stool and four lockers. There also seemed to be no men's washrooms nearby, only toilets and showers. I settled down in bed, but it was a very warm, humid night, so not very comfortable for sleeping.
Day 12 - Wednesday 21st July 2004 - Ambleside to Staveley via Thornethwaite Crag (High Street)
Distance: 17.6 miles - 3,730 ft ascent
Accommodation: B&B Staveley
I had quite a hard day ahead of me, so I tried to get off to an early start by getting up at 7.15 and going down for breakfast at 7.30, though I found that I had misread the times and it didn't start until 7.45. However, this still allowed me to get off by 8.30 into the rather poor weather outside, with mist, low cloud and drizzle. The route started off by going up through Skelghyll Wood, owned by the National Trust, towards Troutbeck. As I climbed up, it was already starting to brighten up a little behind me, but not where I was heading. I had to take care to keep on the right path, as several paths branched off, mainly going more steeply up the hill, whereas my route skirted around the hillside. It started to rain, so I stopped to put on my waterproofs only to find, as so often happens, that the rain had stopped by the time I got them on. Rather than take them off again right away, I left them on for a while in case the weather turned again.
Troutbeck Park from Garburn Road
From along the hillside there were some good views across Lake Windermere, firstly looking northwards, then later looking southwards as well. A track called Robin Lane then led down into Troutbeck where I crossed Trout Beck on the bridge near the church before starting the ascent into the mountains. There was a long steady incline along a track running obliquely up the hillside. It was time for a short break, so I stopped up above Limefitt Park with its large caravan park, looking across to Troutbeck, which sprawls out along the hillside across the valley. Wansfell Pike was just starting to clear of cloud, but it had a long way to lift before it would clear from the highest part of my route, though there were now some signs of blue in the sky. I was finding the walking and climbing quite easy today, unlike yesterday when every ascent was an effort. The short day's walk had obviously allowed me to recuperate from the strenuous walk on Monday.
A few other walkers appeared, presumably having come from Kentmere as I approached Yoke, the first peak of the ridge, which was now out of the cloud, as were the rest of the mountain tops around High Street. Just as I was approaching the summit, a low cloud came along and engulfed everything in mist. I was going to stop for a break, but carried on a little until the cloud had passed over, giving me a good view of Kentmere Reservoir with Harter Fell behind, its summit constantly in and out of the cloud. Considering what the weather was like when I set off this morning, I couldn't believe how lucky I had been so far. Even if I were to be engulfed in cloud from time to time, I would still consider myself fortunate. With the cloud out of the way, there were now views to the east and the gentler, rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales.
After a series of ups and downs (more ups than downs), I eventually reached the point where a path swung across to the right towards Mardale Ill Bell and I followed that. The guidebook takes the path up to the beacon on Thornthwaite Crag, but I had not been checking this, as I was using OS maps because of my change of route after Harter Fell. However, I have been up to Thornthwaite Crag on a few occasions before, and I was not too worried about following the exact route of the walk this time, having done the walk before, so it didn't particularly bother me. There were some powerful gusts of wind whistling up the valley at the head of Kentmere but otherwise the weather was now pretty good, with the cloud thinning out and more sunshine.
Haweswater Reservoir and Small Water from Mardale Ill Bell
Haweswater Reservoir from Harter Fell
Scrap Metal Cairn on Harter Fell
I stopped for another short rest as I started to drop down to Nan Bield Pass, where it was a bit more sheltered from the wind. There was a fine view from here down to Small Water and Hawes Water Reservoir, the latter being very low because of the recent period of dry weather. It didn't take long to drop down to the Nan Bield Pass and climb up onto Harter Fell, which gave more good views of Hawes Water, Small Water and Blea Water. The best view of Hawes Water, though, is from the northern end of Harter Fell, past the strange scrap iron cairn made from the rusting remains of an old iron fence. This viewpoint, which is on the published route, involved a detour from my altered route, adding about a mile there and back, but it was worthwhile for the fine view. After returning to the summit of Harter Fell, I then made my way towards Kentmere Pike, following the ridge to the west of Longsleddale and the guidebook route. There is no accommodation to be found in Longsleddale, so my route change would allow me to drop down to the west of the ridge into Staveley for accommodation, saving me from a very long and tiring walk. The ridge walk was very easy and pleasant with wide views all around, whereas the walk down Longsleddale soon becomes very tedious. My route added a few hundred feet of ascent, but the reward was some lovely upland walking, albeit a little boggy in places. I pressed on at a good pace, with the weather now beautiful, and reached Staveley at just after 6pm, but then found that my B&B was at the top end of the village making it 6.15pm when I arrived.
St Margaret's Tower, Staveley
After a shower and a very welcome pot of tea, I set off back down the road to find somewhere to eat. It was a beautiful evening and one where it would have been good to sit in the evening sunshine, but I didn't see anywhere with tables outside, so I went into the Duke William. It was very quiet in there with me as the only customer for a while, but that didn't matter as the bartender was very friendly and the Black Sheep extremely good. The food was also good and very reasonably priced - for soup, beef and ale pie, and a pint of Black Sheep I paid less than £9 - what a change from prices in the middle of the Lake District. After a while another customer arrived, then another two, but it was still very quiet by the time I left.
Day 13 - Thursday 22nd July 2004 - Staveley to Brigsteer via Kendal Fell and Scout Scar
Distance: 13.4 miles - 875 ft of ascent
Accommodation: B&B Brigsteer
I had a very good breakfast at 8.15 and was off by 9.15, not bothering about a packed lunch, as I would be able to get something in Kendal, which I would be passing through around lunch time. The next part of my route was along the Dales way to Burneside, where I could rejoin the proper route after my accommodation detour. It was fairly quiet as I returned through the village of Staveley, which used to be on the very busy Kendal to Windermere road until a bypass was built and it became much more peaceful, though there is still quite a bit of commercial activity around there. The Dales Way runs just to the south of Staveley, and I picked it up at Sandyhill, strolling steadily along beside the River Kent, glad of an easy walk today after a rather strenuous but very enjoyable walk yesterday.
To start with the landscape is very typical of the Lake District with craggy fells, but these were quickly left behind and replaced by more gentle, rolling hills. The weather was mainly overcast but with some periods of sunshine, making quite good walking conditions. At Burneside I rejoined my route towards Kendal, still following the River Kent, whilst the Dales Way headed off to the east. The route follows the river as much as possible on the way to Kendal, passing through a golf course and past a few factories on the way. Though not the best part of the walk for scenery, it was compensated for by a proliferation of wild flowers and some pleasant stretches of the river. Where the path enters the town itself, an effort has been made in recent years to improve the riverside area and make it more attractive.
River Kent at Kentrigg, near Kendal
Remains of Manor Hall at Kendal Castle
Kendal Castle stands on Castle Hill, overlooking the town centre, and the route makes its way up there, before dropping back down to the southern end of town. The castle is in considerable ruins, but enough remains to give a feeling of what it must have been like six centuries ago. At the moment, it was in danger of being destroyed even more by a bunch of extremely noisy and boisterous youngsters, who managed to destroy the peace and tranquillity that would otherwise have prevailed.
My next objective was to find a pub in town for a pint and a bar meal. I try to be very careful about having a drink in the middle of a day's walk, as it can have the effect of making any exertion seem a mammoth effort, so I only have a drink if I know that the rest of the walk is relatively easy. Of course, there are many days on a walk when the opportunity never presents itself, and this was the first time on this walk that I had had a lunchtime pint. The New Inn alongside the main street had tables outside, so I called there for a pint of Guinness, as there was no real ale available, and had the day's special of moussaka at £4.20, which was very good. At 2pm, I set off to go up the steps by the Brewery Arts Centre, but these were cordoned off by workmen, so I had to wander around until I could find a side road with an alternative route up to the war memorial on the site of the old castle. From there it took me a while to find the right way to Serpentine Woods and, once in there, I was confronted with a whole network of paths. When I emerged from the woods I soon found that I was at the bottom edge of Kendal Fell Golf Course rather than higher up the fell. A walk over a number of greens and fairways, keeping a keen watch for flying objects, led me to the path that I wanted and this soon took me off the golf course, heading for a bridge over the Kendal bypass.
It was now nearly an hour since I left the pub and I had only progressed about a mile along the route. This didn't worry me unduly, as I had plenty of time in hand, but on a longer day's walk it would have knocked my schedule back quite a bit. The views from Kendal Fell were good, with a panorama of distant fells and mountains visible through the haze, and Kendal itself down below. A gentle incline led me up to Hallhead Nab with its large cairn, then the route almost doubled back on itself to follow the edge of Cunswick Scar, a limestone escarpment largely covered by trees below but still affording wide views along the ridge. Unfortunately, the weather had deteriorated somewhat and the distant views were not very clear. I stopped for a short rest by a junction in the path and watched as a farmer drove a tractor round in apparently random loops and circles, spraying as he went along. At first I couldn't make out what he spraying, but eventually worked out that it was the thistles that were growing here and there about the hillside.
Looking South along Scout Scar Arnside Knott and Morecambe Bay in distance
Looking North along Scout Scar 'The Mushroom' viewpoint indicator is just visible
The signposted footpath to Scout Scar Car Park didn't seem to match up with my guidebook and it was even more confusing when I found that there were two car parks, but I soon found my way along the wide path up to Scout Scar though, as my guidebook points out, it is actually Underbarrow Scar for the first part of its length. This is a much deeper scar than Cunswick Scar, with a substantial drop to the trees below and, at its highest point of 770 ft, it provides a very good panorama of the landscape. There is a shelter called 'The Mushroom', which has recently been restored, and this displays the names of all the distant landmarks around the rim of its dome shaped roof. Unfortunately, the visibility had deteriorated to such an extent that many of the distant fells could not be seen. The scar runs for about two miles, with good views all the way, before the route drops down to Brigsteer, my destination for the night. Just as I was about to start my descent, the rain started, making me stop to put on my waterproofs for the last mile. The last port of call was a visit to the remote little church of St John's, though in the steadily worsening rain, I was tempted to bypass this by taking a shortcut down the hillside. However, I continued on, but did not spend any time looking around the church, hastening down the path to Brigsteer instead. Quite close to where the footpath entered the village, I soon found my B&B where I could take shelter from the rain.
After a shower and a rest, I set off to find The Wheatsheaf at the far end of the village for a meal. It was surprising how far the village stretched out along the hillside, as it looks quite a small village on the map. It was quite a busy pub and they were having problems with the real ale which wouldn't clear properly. I waited for a while to see if they could resolve the problem, but then resorted to Guinness when it became obvious that the keg would have to be left to settle for a longer time. The menu was more that of a restaurant than of bar meals, but there was a table d'hote menu at £9.95 for two courses or £11.95 for three. I had a very large platter of cold seafood for a starter, then salmon in Hollandaise sauce with freshly cooked potatoes and vegetables, which was all very good, but I was a bit too full to manage a deseert.
After some time and a lot of cleaning of pipes, the draught ale called Catnap by a brewery I had not heard of, was ready to drink, and I was able to finish off with a pint which was very good. I went back for an early night, as I was still feeling a little weary and footsore, despite having a relatively easy day. The rain had stopped and there were signs of a sunset as I walked back to my B&B.
Day 14 - Friday 23rd July 2004 - Brigsteer to Arnside via Lord's Seat and Hampsfell
Distance: 13.5 miles - 1,640 ft ascent
Accommodation: YHA Arnside
Breakfast was at 8.30, and I was joined by a couple I had seen in the pub. They appeared to be there on business. There was a bit of everything on my plate - bacon, egg, sausages, tomato, mushrooms, fried bread and beans, and just the thing to set me up for the last day of my walk to Grange over Sands and Arnside.
Lyth Valley looking East from Brigsteer
I was off at 9.25 into a bright and breezy morning, with a distant haze limiting the visibility somewhat. The first couple of miles were on roads, crossing the Lyth Valley with a view of the distant hills and mountains of the Lake District. The valley itself was very flat with lots of drainage channels making it look as if it had been reclaimed from a flood plain. Once at the other side, I started the climb through woods to Lord's Seat, another limestone outcrop and scar. The route up had a maze of footpaths and tracks going off in all directions, so I followed what appeared to be the main track, only to find that it took me a very roundabout way to the top. It is always difficult finding the way through woodland, with no landmarks on which to get a bearing. However, although I must have done the best part of a mile extra, it was a pleasant walk which took me out of the trees and along nearer to the ridge, so I didn't mind the extra effort. I passed a very unusual fungus on the way, and from the top there was a very good panoramic view taking in many of the hills and mountains I had climbed in the last two weeks, as well as Arnside and Grange over Sands on Morecambe Bay, the start and finish of the walk.
For the first time since near the beginning of the walk, I chanced walking without a plaster on my heel, as it was looking a lot better, though still feeling a little sore. Without a plaster, I could feel it a bit more than usual, but it was not too bad, so I would see how it progressed through the rest of the day. There were several people out walking over Lord's Seat, as I started my descent, looking for a gap in a wall marked in the guidebook. It didn't help that I couldn't even see a wall to start with and the direction I was heading in had ridges of limestone which made the going rather difficult. I eventually found the wall and followed it along to its end without seeing any gap, only to find that there was a near vertical drop down below, so I resorted to using my GPS and found that I was too far south. Following the wall back the other way, with some difficulty, I came across the gap, now with a stile, hidden amongst trees. From there, a very steep path runs down the scar at an angle, and it was a bit tricky in places on the slippery limestone, even though it was dry. It didn't take long to reach the bottom and on past Witherslack Hall School into woods again towards Witherslack itself. The path emerged from the woodland onto an open common and, with a little aid from my GPS, I found the right route to a stile leading into more woods.
The sun was shining, there was a good view across to the limestone scars, and there was shelter from the wind by the wall, so this seemed like a good place to stop for lunch. I was able to do some sunbathing and take off my boots and socks to give my feet an airing. I like to do this whenever I can, but there is not always the opportunity nor the weather to do so. Navigation was again a problem but, with the aid of my GPS and some forging of my way through the forest, I regained the right path leading me down to meet the road. There followed some road walking on a minor road before picking up a track leading to the busy A590 dual carriageway. The track was quite easy, apart from a few parts that were rather overgrown. After crossing the A590, it was soon back to road walking again, this time on a very busy road into Lindale, this now being a Friday afternoon with all the weekend traffic taking to the roads. This involved some hopping on and off verges until the road widened out, making life a lot easier.
From Lindale started the final ascent of the walk, onto Hampsfell. There were, again, opportunities to go astray, but I managed to find the right route and was rewarded by some fine views overlooking Morecambe Bay on the way. Further up, the open area of limestone leads to the summit where the Hospice stands. It is a stone shelter with some entertaining poems written on the inside walls. Steep steps outside lead to the roof, where can be found a direction pointer in the form of a pivoted piece of wood with degrees of the compass marked around it. A chart by the side lists the compass bearing of various landmarks and points of interest. This is yet another viewpoint with fine views of the Lakeland Fells and of the hills all around.
Morecambe Bay and Arnside Knott from Hampsfell
Hampsfell Hospice Viewing Platform
Finish at Grange-over-Sands Railway Station
After a while at the Hospice, I made my way over to Grange Fell and Fell End, with views over Cartmel, before dropping down to meet the road into Grange. The estuary has to be crossed either via the quicksands, which have taken the lives of a number of inexperienced people, or by the safer option of the train. I didn't want to be too late as I wasn't sure of train times and I wanted to get to the Arndale Youth Hostel in time to place my order for dinner before 6pm. I reached Grange railway station, the end of the walk, at 4.50pm to find that the next train was at 5.25pm. It would have been nice to have a pint whilst I was waiting, but all the pubs were at the other end of town, so I settled down for a while in the very pleasant gardens by the lake until it was time to catch the train. The fare was £1.35 and the journey was so quick that there was only just time for the ticket collector to get round to me before I had to get off. The views across the bay from the train were lovely for the five minutes that the journey lasted and, when I reached Arnside, I decided that I had enough time for a quick pint of Thwaite's Bomber at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks before making my way up to the youth hostel. When I arrived, I found that dinner was at 6.30pm not 7pm, but I was just in time to place an order for Cumberland sausage.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I joined a cyclist from Edinburgh for the evening meal. The dining room was quite full with a large party which included a lot of young children, so the decibel level was alarmingly high, which didn't make for a peaceful meal, but the food was good. Gradually the youngsters started to disperse and a semblance of normality returned. A little later, I made my way to The Albion for a pint, sitting outside looking at the sunset over the bay and watching a couple of anglers who seemed to be getting quite a good catch of some sort of flatfish. It was getting rather cold for sitting outside and The Albion was rather busy with a 50th birthday party, so I went on to Ye Olde Fighting Cock where it was more peaceful. Ending my walk in lovely weather added the perfect finishing touch, and this delightful little place made a better starting and finishing point than when I started from Kirkby Lonsdale last time I did the walk.
Thoughts at the End of the Walk
It always begs the question when a walk is done for the second time as to how it compared to the first time around, and whether any changes to the schedule made it better or worse. In the case of this walk, I think it worked quite well this time, especially by having an extra day and a change of route to ease the otherwise long walks from Ambleside to Kendal and Kendal to Grange over Sands. Earlier in the walk, however, there was still the very long day from Ravenstonedale to Kirkby Stephen where there wasn't much of an alternative without the use of taxis, which I always consider a rather extreme option. I could have reduced the distance by a couple of miles by staying at the more expensive Fat Lamb Hotel, but I thought it was hardly worth it for that distance.
In general, I enjoyed doing this walk again, although there are still a few days that are rather tedious and uninteresting, such as the one from Kirkby Stephen to Dufton, and the one from Milburn to Eamont Bridge, both of which involve mostly low level walking, a lot of which is on roads. The compensation was that there were some extremely good stretches of high level walking, and I was fortunate to have pretty good weather for most of them. One of the main disadvantages of this walk comes about because of its lack of popularity, and that is the amount of walking over rough ground with no visible paths. This makes the walking that much harder on top of what may already be a long and difficult day. The lack of visible paths in places also makes route finding more of a problem. Unfortunately, this walk never created much interest amongst walkers and never took off in the same way as others have done. I suspect that the reason for this is that people are looking for some goal or theme when they do a long distance walk. In this case the only theme is that of walking around the approximate boundaries of the old county of Westmorland. To anyone who has not got a strong attachment to Westmorland, this isn't likely to inspire them and, being a circular walk, there is not any sense of getting from A to B. To me, this walk was of interest because it offered a high level route taking in some areas of great scenic beauty, regardless of what its objectives were. The circular nature of the walk also offered a practical advantage as far as transport was concerned, as I was able to drive there and back without having to bother with public transport.
I am not sure whether I would want to do the walk again, although I would not rule it out entirely. I think that it is a walk that is destined for, if not already in the history books. If I wanted to do a similar walk again, I would probably devise one of my own that was not constrained by trying to follow county boundaries. I always think that it is a bit of a mistake, when putting together a good walk, to let some other agenda override the choice of route, rather than looking for the one that takes in the most interesting and varied scenery. However, in deference to this walk, the route taken does take in a great deal of excellent and varied scenery as it circumnavigates Westmorland. Its only limitation is that there are a few sections with quite a bit of road walking over low lying areas, which detract somewhat from its enjoyment. However, nearly all long distance walks have some such parts with which to contend, though National Trails have the advantage that some permissive paths may have been introduced, whereas an unofficial walk has to make do with existing rights of way.
Photography and Technology
Over the years that I have been doing long distance walks, camera technology, Internet technology and display technology have developed by giant leaps from 35mm colour slides that had to be scanned to produce low quality digital images for the website up to the present day with high quality digital photography, almost unlimited memory and super fast broadband,
The article in the 'Other Items' section chronacles all of this throughout my walks.
