From: kliddelow@acorn.co.uk (Kim Liddelow)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: England - A Coast to Coast Walk part #5
Date: 27 Jul 92 11:34:52 GMT
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England


                     England - A Coast to Coast Walk part #5


Hello,


Day 6 (Thursday) - Kirkby Stephen to Lower Oxnop

Found some boot inserts after breakfast in the local shoe
shop. Apparently Sorbathane or  somesuch are the best, but
this guy didn't stock them. Went back to the B&B and I
kitted  out my feet with the various bandages. Just the
usual start to the day.

Today we would cross the Pennines. For those of you that
don't know, the Pennines are a  chain of hills/mountains
forming the backbone of England. We would also cross the 
watershed today. This is the point where the water flowing
one way goes to the Irish Sea  and the water flowing the
other way goes to the North Sea.

Today was a short day - 12.5 miles to Keld. However we had
it in the back of our minds to  continue on if we could.
Richmond, our journey's end is only about 35 miles from
Kirkby  Stephen. Two days of a bit over 17 miles would see
us there. Our squash club was holding  a wine and cheese
night on the Saturday night and we were quite keen to go. We
could sit  in the corner and boast about our exploits all
night. In fact we had visions of walking into  the event
with our backpacks and boots still on.

Anyway we had booked a B&B in Keld (unfortunately the Youth
Hostel was shut on  Thursdays - hurray!) but we would see
how we felt when we got there. Besides there isn't a  pub in
Keld.

We followed a road out of Kirkby Stephen that climbed
steeply up the side of the Pennine  ridge. There are no
foothills on this side. Just a climb straight up to about
2,500 feet. Our  first objective was Nine Standards. This is
a series of nine piles of rocks. No one knows  how long they
have been there or who put them there, but they have been
there for  hundreds of years. The Nine Standards sit on the
watershed.

Leaving the village we ran into the two large gents we had
seen in the pub in Shap two  nights before. They looked very
fit, but we soon ran them down and passed them. Very 
gratifying. I think we were pretty fit at this stage. Our
trail soon left the road and continued  up the side of the
hill. The Pennines look very much like an escarpment from
this side (the  west). There are no really definable peaks.
The top is just basically moorland. Very  different from the
Lake District with its well sculpted and rugged peaks.

We soon arrived at the Nine Standards. The day was pretty
misty and overcast. For the first  time on the trip I
thought I imagined a few drops of rain on my arm. The wind
was  blowing strongly and it was a bit cold. We stopped for
a drink and a biscuit. There were  four other people there
at the same time as us including the two young guys we had
been  running into since Shap. Had a chat but they soon left
us to continue on. We took the  obligatory photos for the
wives and headed off across the moors. From this point on it
was  virtually downhill to the sea!

The next stretch was across open moorland gradually
descending towards a stream and a  road. The stream is the
headwaters of the Swale river. We were approaching
Swaledale,  the most northern of the Yorkshire Dales. Two
milestones occurred on this descent. We  crossed the 2,000
foot contour for the last time and we crossed out of Cumbria
into North  Yorkshire.

After about 3 or 4 miles walking we stopped for lunch at a
shooters hut that is left open for  walkers to shelter in in
bad weather. There is some interesting graffiti in the hut.
My  favourite is "I knew Wainwright's Dad, but he didn't". 

There were four other people there before us. The middle
aged couple from Yorkshire we  had met before Shap and two
guys we hadn't met before - Harry and Dave. Harry and Dave 
are both retired and probably in there late fifties or early
sixties but incredibly fit looking.  Harry made me rather
ashamed when he took off his boot. I thought my feet were
bad. His  left foot was covered in an array of plasters,
bandages and tape. He must have been in  heaps of pain, but
he was very stoic about the whole thing.

Lunch was a pleasant interlude, but we soon headed off down
onto the road into Keld.  There is a sign just outside Keld
saying Keld 1/4 mile. This must be the longest 1/4 of a 
mile in England! It was still about 3/4 of a mile away. Keld
itself is tiny. No more than a  dozen houses one of which
had tables on the front lawn for afternoon tea. Keld is 
important to Coast to Coasters for one reason. It is the
halfway mark of the journey. The  Pennine Way (270 miles of
bleak moorland tramping) crosses our trail at this point
also.

We had arrived at Keld at 3.00. Quite frankly we wanted to
go on. From here to Richmond  is about 22 miles. If we could
find somewhere further on it would make tomorrow a much 
easier day. Besides there was nowhere to get a drink! We
consulted the lady running the  tea shop and she gave us the
numbers of some likely places further down Swaledale. 
Luckily we managed to get a bed (each) in one of them. Roger
tried phoning the lady we  had booked with in Keld but
didn't manage to get through.

>From Keld to Reeth, Wainwright heads over the tops avoiding
Swaledale travelling  through a region of old lead mines
complete with ruins, slag heaps, etc. He finds the whole 
idea of this fascinating. We didn't, nor did most of the
people we saw doing the walk. The  Swale river flows through
a small gorge system with a series of waterfalls shortly
after  leaving Keld. It is difficult walking at times but
stunning scenery. Infinitely superior to  slag heaps! The
rest of the afternoon was taken up with a gentle 4 or 5 mile
ramble down  the Swale to Lower Oxnop. 

Lower Oxnop is marked on the map but is just a loose
collection of farms. Couldn't help  wondering about the
delights of Upper Oxnop, but if it exists we didn't go
there. The B&B  we were staying at was a large collection of
farm buildings. There was a main farm  building and a
separate and smaller building next to it where the daughter
lived. We had a  small twin room at the daughter's place.
The nearest town is about two miles away so we  agreed to
eat their evening meal which at 10 pounds per head was
outrageously priced. 

Roger and I ate in a separate room from the other guests as
the dining room was full. This  was a great disappointment
as we didn't get to meet and chat with anyone else. Harry
and  Dave turned out to be staying there. They realised it
was us when the landlady mentioned  there was a tall
colonial with sore feet staying with her daughter. 

Generally although adequate, this B&B was not very good. It
was run on far too  commercial a basis and it showed. Tiny
breakfast, very expensive, ordinary evening meal,  black and
white TV. They did serve beer however which was probably
their one saving  grace.

We hadn't managed to phone Doreen at the B&B at Keld to
cancel and had forgotten all  about it when our landlady
came to tell us that she was on the phone looking for us. 
Apparently she was going to call the police next. Luckily
her and Doreen are enemies so  she smoothed the waters for
us. In fact she thought it was a huge joke. It seems when 
Wainwright was planning the walk he used to stay with Doreen
often and she had some  input into the route. This explains
why Keld is considered a good place to stop despite the 
fact there is only limited accommodation and no pub. Doreen
publishes an official  accommodation guide to the walk and
only lets her friends in Keld get listings. The lady  from
Lower Oxnop has never been included. Doreen seems to be a
pretty unpleasant  person all round. I have suspicions about
Doreen and Wainwright's relationship, but I shall  keep them
to myself.

There was more good news. When I took off my sock, there was
no blood for the first time  in 3 days. My feet were
toughening up just in time for the end of our walk. We
calculated  that if we continued we would reach the coast by
Tuesday, but unfortunately this was out  of the question.
Sad really. We had achieved a lot, but crossing the country
would have  been something.

One other thing. You may recall the 'Snorer from Hell' at
Black Sail Hut. I have dubbed  Roger 'The Sequel'. Our room
was so small and his bed was only a few feet from mine. He 
spent the night haranguing me with his snores from a
distance of about two feet. And there  was a dog barking in
one of the barns!

Tomorrow would be a our last day.

Day 7 (Friday) - Lower Oxnop to Richmond

The day turned out sunny and warm. It was going to be an
easy day. About 7 miles down  the banks of the Swale to
Reeth and then 11 miles from Reeth to Richmond. We would 
rejoin Wainwright's route at Reeth. 18 miles in our current
state of fitness was just a  leisurely stroll. 

We set off from Lower Oxnop glad to be on our way. The path
followed the river for some  distance. There was a bit of an
awkward silence between Roger and I to begin with.  Neither
of us could think of anything to say. After 7 days we were
all talked out. Roger  suggested discussing our 10 favourite
albums. You can see the conversation was getting  pretty
dire. Luckily we caught up with Harry and Dave after a short
distance. In fact we  spent most of that day in their
company. Roger and I were walking faster than them but  they
were good company and it sure beat the hell out of
discussing the relative merits of  the Beatles, Rolling
Stones, Bob Marley, et al.

Dave had a bit of a story to tell actually. Last year he had
walked the route from St Bees to  Richmond with a group of
friends but had been forced to pull out at Richmond. It
seems  that he had previously had the first joint of his
little toe amputated and the stitching had  opened up after
a couple of days of walking. At Richmond he finally threw in
the towel.  This is the attitude that built the British
Empire! I have nothing but admiration for these  two guys.
Hope I am as fit and cheerful as them when I reach their
age.

We were all feeling pretty good. Beautiful weather, good
company and healthy exercise.  The carnival atmosphere
continued for the rest of the day.

At about midday we arrived in Reeth. Its quite a pretty
place with a large village green  surrounded by houses and
pubs. The atmosphere was spoilt by the presence of about 3
or 4  buses and 30 odd cars parked on the green. We thought
it a good excuse to stop for  elevenses and have a pint in
one of the pubs. In fact the pint was so good, we had two. I 
was overcome with feelings of well-being and bonhomie
sitting there in the sun drinking a  cold (for England)
lager chatting with the other three guys and watching the
world go by.

We called in at a shop on our way out of town to buy some
sandwiches for lunch. There  were a couple of groups of
people having tea in the shop. I struck up a conversation
with  them. They of course were talking in hushed tones
being very careful not to make eye  contact with anyone else
in the room. Had great delight in introducing Roger as my
dad.  With his greying hair and rather chunky appearance I
think they almost believed me!

After Reeth the track climbed over the hillside to the left
of the river and turned away from  it. We walked through a
series of pretty isolated farming communities. At one point
as we  crossed a field containing a herd of cows, I spied
this rather large looking cow with its  back to us that
seemed to have horns and other appendages not commonly found
on cows.  It was the grandfather of all bulls but luckily it
was lying down enjoying the sun probably  having just had
lunch or perhaps some afternoon delight? As we left the
field there was a  sign saying beware of the bull. NOW they
tell us!

We stopped for lunch in an idyllic spot next to a stream in
a bowl in the hills. There was  this little stone cottage
next to the proverbial babbling brook. It was like something
out of a  picture postcard.

The rest of the day passed quickly. We stopped for the
obligatory photo at journey's end in  the market square in
Richmond. Richmond is a pretty interesting town. There is a
brilliant  castle and lots of old terrace houses. Our B&B
was 16th century with low ceilings and  exposed beams.
Someone famous once lived there apparently but I forget who
it was.

I suppose now I should be going on about being sorry the
trip is over, raring to continue  on, etc. But all I felt
was relief and a big feeling of accomplishment. Mentally I
had set  Richmond as the goal and there was no way I could
have taken another step further.

We met up with Harry and Dave for dinner that evening. Roger
was keen to see the  European cup final so after saying our
goodbyes to Harry and Dave, we went off in search  of a pub
with a TV in the bar. There are some real dives in Richmond.
Its a bit of an army  town and many of the pubs are pretty
rough. Eventually we found a TV. The pub itself was 
reasonable, but the clientele looked pretty tough. We found
a place in the corner and kept  very quiet! Did you see the
match, it was brilliant. The Danes beat the Germans 2 nil
and  they thoroughly deserved to win. The Danish goalkeeper
played an astonishing game. The  German machine lost to the
Danes flair, endeavour and hunger to win. Brilliant.

Game over we continued our search amongst the hostelries of
Richmond for a decent place  to get pissed (drunk to you
Yanks). Eventually we found a crowded bar with loud Rolling 
Stones type music blaring from a juke box and a pool table.
Paradise really. Another seven  pint night but we had
something to celebrate!


Looking back on it now after more than a month, I have to
say that it is probably one of the  best holidays I have
had. Probably the best thing about it was the camaraderie
with Roger,  Greg and the others we met along the way. I
really feel we achieved something. For me  there was a
period in the middle part of the trip where the pain from my
feet was intense  but I never really considered pulling out.
If (or should I say when) I do something like this  in the
future I will be better prepared. The correct boots and more
lightweight gear.

We had been so fortunate with the weather. It hadn't rained
once. Most of the time we had  been walking in bright
sunshine. The walk itself had been through extremely varied 
countryside. The rugged grandeur of the mountains of the
Lake District, the rolling hills of  the Eden valley, the
moors of the Pennines and the beauty of Swaledale. 

I guess the highlights for me had been the first night at
Black Sail Hut and the characters  we met there, the second
days walk to Grasmere over the tops and the stretch from
Kirkby  Stephen to Lower Oxnop over the Pennines and down
Swaledale. As time went on the  distances became much easier
and indeed the last day was a bit of a doddle really. The 
total journey we estimated at 122 miles. We had walked for
seven days averaging over 17  miles per day.

Roger and Greg had been good company. Roger and I have got
to know each other better  and our friendship has deepened
because of it. Greg has become a friend where previously  he
was just an acquaintance. What more can I say? Its down to
you now really. If you have  enjoyed this story (or hated
it) I would appreciate you dropping me a line - as some of
you  already have.

When next you come to England, give it a try, you won't
regret it.

Kim Liddelow,
Cambridge, England.
July, 1992.