Coast to Coast Day 5 - 10?

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Hello Everyone!

I'm losing track of the days here, but the trek goes on! We are having a great time on this trip and the fun continues. We are stopped in Reeth right now in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. We continue on to Richmond tomorrow, the largest city on the trek.

I can't remember exactly where I left off last time, but I think I have a pretty good idea. SOOOO we left Grasmere and headed into more countryside (this trip is almost entirely countryside by the way). The more the better imo. We hiked from Grasmere to a town just outside the Lake District called Bampton. We were picked up by the guesthouse and driven even further into the countryside to an old country estate built about 400 years ago. The place was absolutely gorgeous. It looked like Wayne Manor from the Batman movies. Old, gorgeous, stone, a million chimneys and fireplaces, etc. I don't know where the butler was, but he certainly belonged there. Once upon a time for sure. Anyway, the house had a lovely garden, big rooms with high ceilings, and a very funny cat that licked me when I pet him. Apparently he was like 12 years old, too. We had dinner at a pub in town with local brews of course. Still madly in love with the British pub scene, especially in the countryside. Lots of locals that are on a first name basis with the bartender. It still smells like stale beer. Love it.

The next morning we walked about 15 miles to Orton. The weather has been perfect for the past few days as well. It certainly makes the walking much easier. The hike was especially nice on this morning because we were bale to walk through forests, along streams, and through farmland. We also stopped at Shap Abbey. It is in ruins, but still has the main tower and some walls are left half standing. It was a well done exhibit though with artist renditions of what the abbey looked like in its heyday. At the abbey, I finally caught a real live chicken! I was very excited about that because I've been trying to catch one for years now. Finally got one. The British chickens are much easier targets than their Chinese counterparts. Anyway, Shap is famous for being a the shooting location of Withnail & I, one of my favorite films. It was picturesque and fun to see.

After a night in Orton (town immediately after Shap) we headed for Kirkby Stephen (pr Kirby Steven). Geographically, we were in the middle of the country, but not quite at the halfway point of the hike. On the way into town we saw baby ponies which were by far the smallest horses I've ever scene. Very cute indeed. Kirkby Stephen is not a very impressive town. Lots of tattoo clad men and women and just really a small farming town centered around its animal auction grounds that were actually in use while we were there. We had a rest day in Kirkby Stephen, so I was able to do some wandering. Pretty boring actually. I watched people at the park, ate some lunch, hung around... yep... Finished the town in about 2 hours. Its all good. Kirkby Stephen has an outstanding Indian restaurant, though. This was probably the highlight of the town.

After leaving Kirkby Stephen yesterday morning, we headed to Keld and finally the halfway point of the hike. It really has been a couple of days of really nice walking. Not too many hills, excellent weather, forests, etc. I really enjoy it. I think everyone does. Dad's feet hurt, but that comes with walking 200 miles. I'm doing pretty well I must say. I'm surprised how well my shoes have held up. Much better than last summer's trail runners. Moving on, the B&B in Keld was excellent. The innkeeper was a chef and cooked up some delicious meals for us. Also, yesterday was Leigh's birthday! The innkeeper had everyone sing for her and even baked a cake. It was really nice. We ended up eating the cake today and it was quite delicious for sure, especially on a hike. We had some great company last night at dinner. We were joined by a Dutch couple and a couple of Englishmen. The Englishmen were fountains of knowledge without being know-it-alls. Really great company. It was nice to compare travel stories and notes about various locations around the world. They all had a sense of humor, too.

This morning we set off for Reeth in the Yorkshire Dales. Its really a great little town with some excellent pubs. We had a classic English meal of fish & chips and some nice English ales. We are again staying at an old farmhouse that has a really great dog that is extremely intelligent. He is a load of fun though. Tomorrow we are off to Richmond for another rest day. Richmond has a castle and hopefully a place to buy a camera because mine is broken 😞 . BUT, life goes on! I will write again soon and try to add some pictures!

Gooooooooood night!

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Photos

Coast to Coast
How far to Robin Hood Bay??

Country House
Best B&B in England

In the Woods
One of many bridge crossings on our hike

Shap Abbey
Home of the tame chickens