One of the pure joys of traveling is encountering signage that really truly only makes sense in the particular context of that region, culture or moment. Many of the signs I stumbled upon in England left me puzzled (what is a potato jacket or a flapjack?- I did soon learn) or made me burst out laughing (“do not wash or dry any animal things”- taped on the wall in the Kirkby Stephen launderette).
Read MoreWhen not walking, we were most occupied with sleeping (50%), eating (20%), blogging (20%) and packing/re-packing, showering, dressing, taping feet (9%), which left, yes, about 1% for sketching. But, I did manage to squeeze out three little 5X5 pen and water color wash drawings. The first was in Kirkby Stephen on our rest day so I had more time after doing laundry for a little sketch down by the small river. It was a warm day and this little stone bridge and grassy area were draped with families enjoying picnics and play.
Read MoreWow, can it be? The last day of our Coast to Coast walk?! Indeed it is! Set off this morning from the Gallery BnB but not before we had a our standard 2 course breakfast of muesli with yogurt then eggs and bacon in a fun upper room with skylights, open kitchen and lounge area, with Sharon cooking, who entertained us with local gossip. We were warned from the guide book that the first mile or two out of Grosmont (itself built on a steep incline) was nothing but up and up, close to 1,000 feet up and out of the village to the higher moors to an area called Eskdaleside Cum Ugglebarnby (for real).
Read More(Continued from Part II. Also, complete pics for Part II can be found at end of Part I)
Gorse gave us some challenges in other ways. There is a common game bird here, a grouse, that we caught glimpses of lifting briefly up out of the heather and flapping back down. Flip the “r” and the “o” with those two words and we had a fun tongue twister on our hands. And since both plant and bird kept us company over many miles, the words “grouse” and “gorse” were frequently transposed in conversation. Add some dyslexia in addition to general loopiness after so many miles, and it was easy to mix both up with that forsaken little hamlet, Gorst, WA, most famous for accidents and Bremerton Shipyard rush hour traffic. “Look, a Gorst!” “Wow, that Grouse smells good!” “I think I heard a Gorse!” And so forth.
Read MoreToday begins the last two days of our journey, each a 15-mile day push- more than we’ve tackled thus far. After a good 18 hours sleep, Tom’s tum was feeling much better. Sunshine, 40 degrees and brisk wind greeted our 9am start from the Lion Inn. The beginning was a long arcing road along the sweeping moors. Desolate and beautiful. We stayed on either a paved or dirt road for miles. I felt great today- like I could go 20 miles or more- who knows why except that the path was a long gradual downhill, which helped, of course.
Read MoreSince today was a shorter day, only a 9-mile day and mostly flat except for a gnarly several hundred feet climb straight up a bluff at the beginning, we got a a later start with a drive back up from the Wainstones Hotel to the Clay Bank Top road cut. We were met at the top of our grueling first ascent with a sheep sentinel, welcoming us to the summit (see first pic below).
Read MoreMorning came too quickly as is often the case. Getting out of bed on this journey can be a chore. But after another over the top breakfast, we set out about 8:45 in the woods and winding up a dirt road. After about a mile, we could say goodbye to the yellow canola fields and slippery cow pastures as we entered the high moors at about 1,000 feet elevation, blanketed with brown scruffy heather and grasses. We tried to picture what it would be like in August when the heather is in bloom- purple everywhere.
Read MoreLest you think this expedition across England is only sunshine, waterfalls, green grass and frolicking sheep, we have some news- we have seen with our own eyes and smelled with our own noses that it is not. After Richmond, the trail transitioned to more flat land, stinky cattle farms instead of sheep paddocks, wood fences and brick homes rather than stone fences and stone homes. And more roadways, railways and vaguely suburban areas.
Read MoreHaving a little trouble with connectivity tonight and also pretty pooped out so I’ll keep it shorter tonight. Had a long day today, at least for us- a 15 mile walk from Richmond to our stay at Lovesome Hill Farm, 2 miles past Danby Wiske if any of you are following on your maps (Tina). We also added a little bit more mileage with a stop outside of Richmond at the Easby Abbey ruins. Such an amazing place! So, the story goes something like this, an order of Catholics inhabited this abbey built in 1152.
Read MoreI learned halfway along our hike today that our destination is not the Richmond from Ted Lasso, darn! Woke up to a clear sunny day in Reeth. Went down to breakfast in the back of the pub and afterward stepped outside outside into totally cloudy sky threatening rain. No wonder weather is hard to predict here. Our hike was 11 miles and varied like yesterday- some river bank, some ups through pastures, into higher grassy areas, stone fence stiles, stepping stones up through small forests. etc.
Read MoreThe day promised less gloom than yesterday but not ideal. However, the clouds slowly parted and it was a day smothered in sun with that made the new green grass pop with such vibrancy, it took our breath away. The first section followed the Swale River on the right below a tree-lined bank. To the left stretched an upward sweep of pasture land with ewes with one or two lambs ever-grazing and sometimes looking up briefly to stare at us as we walked by,
Read MoreAfter this 13 mile day, we’ve now reached 95 miles completed, or about half way through our Coast to Coast journey, woo hoo! The weather started foggy, drizzly to rainy and breezy and stayed that way the entire day. Such a contrast from yesterday. We began with a fairly desolate long rolling ascent out of the valley and up to the tufty grasses, heather and rock up to a peak at about 2,000 feet called the Nine Standards- which are basically nine large cairns of various shapes standing like statues at the top.
Read MoreWe learned that Kirkby Stephen, though only about 1,200 people, is a town. A hamlet is a small community of homes and dwellings. A village is a hamlet with a church. A town is a village with a charter for business. And a city is a big town. There may be some more nuances with these definitions but this is what John at the local Wesleyan Episcopal Church told us.
Read MoreMade our way out of town on a meandering rural road then cut up a path that supposedly once again promised an ancient stone circle. And….delivered! Popped through a gate into a manicured green sheep pasture and there, about 30 yards in diameter were rocks of completely varied shapes, that, if they were not generally placed in a circle, would never be mistaken for anything but….rocks.
Read MoreLast night we stayed in a wonderful cattywampus stone inn called the Hermitage built in 1691, and now owned for 50 years and run by octogenarian Jean and her granddaughter. After a grueling 16 mile day yesterday up an down peaks, the uneven floors, ceilings, doors and even the bed propped on one side with a wooden block so we couldn’t roll out, was almost more than my vestibular system could handle. However, after consuming the giantest fish and chips serving on the menu from the famous Shap Chippy shop and soaking in a hot bath, I began to enjoy the wonky angles and short passageways rather than to ever so slightly fear them.
Read MoreToday we steeled ourselves for our first 16-mile day- not just the longest, but also the most elevation, including up and over highest point on the trail, Kidsty Pike. The beginning was like many of our up-and-overs before but this more up and then flat, up and then flat, like a stair-step on rocky, bouldery dirt with tufts of grass. It was a cloudy day with some filtered sun and no rain with fog threatening the heights. It was chilly, maybe upper 40s/low 50s and dropping as the wind chill picked up.
Read MoreAnother climb up and over, but this one started out warm and sunny. Left Lake District destination town of Grasmere with Rachel along the main road, then turned up a trail to head up and out of the valley. After a long, rocky climb, arrived up over the saddle to see little Grisedale Tarn (a high mountain lake) in a grassy bowl at the top for lunch at some rock outcroppings lakeside. We heard the story that the poet Wordsworth, who lived on the Grasmere side of the peak, hiked over to visit his brother who lived on the Patterdale side.
Read MoreStarted the day forgetting my poles 10 minutes in after enjoying a peaceful walk through trees and on a stone wall hemmed-in gravel trail with lambs and their mamas bleating to one another. Tom went back for them and I met up with Rachel. As we waited, it seemed like everyone we had met or seen on the trail the day before passed us on the long slow grind up yet another glacial valley to one of the Lake Districts peaks.
Read MoreJust FYI, Part I and now this Part II are actually the same day, a 15 mile journey from Ennerdale to Rosthwaite. After the Black Sail hostel, we tackled big grassy and boggy hill humps on the way to the edge of the great big climb up a huge ridge- one little step after the other. The transition was reminiscent of those roller coasters that start on a flat and suddenly jerk upward to a slow chug, chug uphill climb- but this one lasted much longer. Once again, no switchbacks, just straight up and over, little ants scaling a giant wall.
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