F'n'S Overseas 2009

Between Spain and Italy - Horsham

2009-10-05T05:19:00.001-07:00

I just realised (with some gentle prodding) that because I don’t have any photos of the occasion I omitted to mention our flying visit to my cousin Fraser aka David Steele and his lovely wife Sarah and their two daughters Heather and Elizabeth. As our plane from Oviedo arrived at Stansted on the Friday night and we were departing from Gatwick on the Saturday afternoon Fraser and Sarah had kindly offered to collect us from the coach terminal at Gatwick airport on the Friday and drop us back off again the following day. They live in Horsham. Not the Horsham in Victoria about 70km from where we live but the one in the UK not too far from Gatwick.

Unfortunately our flight from Oviedo was delayed by about an hour and so we didn’t get to Gatwick until rather late as the coach was also delayed by about 15 minutes due to a stroppy coach driver. Fraser and Sarah had prepared a couple of yummy curries and those along with some very nice naan bread made a most welcome dinner on the Friday night.

On Saturday morning I was treated to a dance exhibition very kindly arranged for me by Heather and afterwards we went into the back garden and played kick a goal. This was while waiting for Claire (another of my cousins) and her husband Russell and their son Lucas to arrive. They live about an hour and a half’s drive from Fraser and Sarah’s place and kindly popped over for a visit. From left to right Lucas, Claire, Heather me, Frank and Elizabeth.

It was really nice to see Fraser, Sarah, Heather and Claire again and to meet Russell, Lucas and Elizabeth for the first time. All too soon it was time to say our farewells and get back into Fraser’s car and head off to Gatwick for the flight to Venice.

On To Venice

2009-09-19T00:55:00.000-07:00

Our last day of touristing and we had to get to our hotel in Venice for an early flight the next day.

After checking out of Hotel Miralena we thought we might go have a look at a route graded 1A which meant that we wouldn’t need the KISAs that we had returned to the hire shop (instead of touristing Venice). The route was between us and Cortina where the road takes you directly into Venice.

In order to get to the route we decided to go over Passo Giau which those following carefully will recognise as the road we had to turn back on the day it snowed on us. After so many warm days we were sure the road would be open but weren’t sure we wouldn’t make it snow again while we were going up. Coming from Arabba meant that we were going in the opposite direction from the other day and found that we had turned around still a few kilometres from the pass so the poor Panda would never have made it. (Mind you, I did spot a 4WD Panda in the car park – mmm…I wonder…)

The walk left from Rifugio Dibona which was up a skinny road that becomes a ski trail in winter. When we got there the peaks next to the peak with the route on it we had planned to do were shrouded in fog, so we had some lunch and a (good) coffee in the rifugio while we waited to see what happened. The rifugio was quaint on the inside and obviously had been there for some time. It contained a lot of history of the via ferrata in the region and climbers ascending the peaks behind it.

The fog was drifting across to where we wanted to be and, based on the fact that fog turned to rain yesterday, we didn’t want to get wet and then sit in the car for two hours to Venice. So we cut our losses with the weather and headed for our hotel in Venice.

The hotel was right on the bus route between the airport and Venice so we returned the Panda and went into Venice by bus. Just to prove that I did go here are some pictures…

We walked around Venice for about two hours and it never looked like the Venice I knew. I was expecting gondolas with opera singers and St Marks Square to be a bit smaller – just like the Venetian in Las Vegas :)

After being harassed by waiters in the various squares, just like they do in Lygon St, we had dinner at a cafe/bar with seats on the banks of a canal. At least I can now say that I saw Venice but I would rather visit natural wonders like the Dolomites in Italy and the Picos in Spain.

Our plane left San Marcos airport at 7am (Anni’s at 10-ish from Treviso) so Sylvia and Anni organised bus tickets (while in Venice) to take us from the bus stop outside our hotel to the airports. Ours was the first bus (at he ridiculous time of 4:50am). Sylvia and I were at the bus stop in plenty of time and made ourselves visible. We saw the bus come around the corner and accelerate. Despite jumping up and down and shouting at the driver he didn’t stop! After thumbing for half an hour, and despite there being plenty of cars on the way to the airport, we still didn’t have a lift. Finally a limo driver returning from the airport (that probably saw us when he took someone to the airport) stopped and offered to take us. Cost us 15 euros but the peace of mind was worth it.

I am writing this on the plane over Australia – 3 hours to go! We will have been on the go for around 32 hours by the time we touch down! We’ll stay at Matt and Erin’s before driving back to Halls Gap ~~today~~ ~~tomorrow~~ – not sure what day it is now so lets call it – Tuesday.

Piz da Lech (or Where’s the View?)

2009-09-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

With the weather not looking rainy for our last via ferrata we decided on Piz da Lech – graded 3B with 350m of ascent. One of its attractive features was that you can get to the start quite easily by catching a funicular then a chairlift. Both of these are normally used by skiers but are opened over summer so people can take in the views – or do the via ferrata. The funicular takes around 15 minutes and goes up a long way providing views over Corvara and the Sassenhof that overlooks it. The chairlift takes you to what is obviously the top of some ski runs and the start of some walks. From there is was a 15 minute easy walk to the start.

People with too much time on their hands had made words out of stones in the valley approaching the climb. You can see them behind Sylvia at the start of the via ferrata.

Turns out that probably the hardest part of the whole climb was the move off the ground. Didn’t fill us with a lot of confidence given that yesterday’s via ferrata was also graded 3B but there was nothing that hard.

The higher we got the foggier it got – or perhaps we were just hitting the low cloud layer. For a time the fog hid the last part of the via ferrata from Anni. This consisted of two ladders up a sheer face of rock, the second of which has a reputation for pushing you backwards as the exit is over a bulge. It was also a bit disconcerting to see two people being belayed up the ladders We caught up to them later to discover that they were two Americans being guided but one of them had an artificial leg. We saw him struggling over the bulge but maybe he had an excuse. (That’s them in the background of our group shot.)

After the ladders it is a steep walk to the top of Piz da Lech. It was while doing this walk that Anni threw a “hissy fit”. Went something like:

Anni: How much ascent was on this climb?
Frank: 350m
Anni: But I’ve already walked 200m and there is no sign of the top!
Frank: But we have only ascended 250m since we started
Anni: I’m sorry but I have walked 250m up here and 100m will not get me to the top!!
Frank: The 350m is measured vertically
Anni: So you’re telling me that the 350m is not how far we have to walk!! Well why don’t they tell you that it is more than 350m walking!!!
Frank: Because that is not important, it is how high you have to climb…

…and so on! I swear that she stamped her feet in there somewhere too. I guess we can forgive her because yesterday was quite a big walk – or perhaps the rarified atmosphere at 3,000m made her delirious.

Apparently the view from the top is quite impressive, even down to the rifugio we finished at yesterday. As you can see the weather managed to beat us (again) and the fog never lifted.

The walk down from the cross back to where we started was not too long at all, around an hour or so, and much less strenuous than yesterday. It was shades of the Coast to Coast again while we were on the chairlift as it started raining when we were five minutes from the transfer to the funicular – got wet 30 minutes from the end!

Another great climb that, although graded the same as yesterday’s, is definitely more technical from a rock climbing perspective. There were a number of moves that required techniques learnt while rock climbing – especially the one off the ground!

Brigata Tridentina (or Check the Views)

2009-09-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

There was limited opportunity to take photos of each other during the via ferrata so I ended up taking pictures of the views. Following are some of the better ones…

Brigata Tridentina (or Coffee with Frederico)

2009-09-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast looked promising and with time rapidly running out we decided to do number two on the tick list – Brigata Tridentina (Pisciadu Climbing Path), graded 3B with 400m of via ferrata. It is a very popular via ferrata and I am just really glad we didn’t try to do it in August (peak season) as it was pretty busy as it was. As we were getting ready to set off a guy by himself appeared and so we asked him if he would like to go in front of us and if he could take a photo of the three of us. Turns out his name was Frederico and he bought us all a coffee at the top – at a Rifugio we found open!!

The via ferrata was quite a long one. It had a short-ish first “pitch” that took us to a wide shelf that we walked along for around 5 minutes. This took us to a large waterfall that thankfully we didn’t have to cross. From the waterfall the via ferrata was a long stretch through interesting and varied rock. A lot of the moves were made more challenging by the wet patches that were still to dry after the previous days’ rain. And there were the hoardes of fellow “ferrata-ists” following us – probably around 20 or so.

The end of the via ferrata crosses a bridge that joins a pillar and an enormous massif. The following pictures shows Frank on the bridge and the second picture shows the two bits of rock. If you zoom into the top of gap between the two you can see the bridge.

The end of the climb is in a large bowl between massifs with a steep drop off one side into the valley we climbed up. There is (what we assume to be ) a pretty glacial lake in the bowl (see second post for photo).

After our very nice coffee with Frederico at Rifugio F Cavazza al Pisciadu the descent leaves the refugio and takes you into a deep cleft that has cable inside to prevent you disappearing down the scree. It is a long walk through gullies and over scree [it drew lots of complaints from Sylvia and Anni – Frank].

Just before getting back to the car we got a good look at Piz da Cir – our first via ferrata. It is the far left hand peak in range behind us.

After much scrambling [and cries of “are we there yet” – Frank] we arrived back at the car. It ended up being quite a long day but we all agreed it was a great experience and (despite the long walk out) was something to be remembered.

BTW – there were a number of scenic shots taken during the climb that will appear in another post – soon!

Another wet and foggy day

2009-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast was far from good and so we decided to go do a small via ferrata that could be done without gear – Sass de Rocia. It included 2 sets of metal steps and 2 cute bridges. Despite the rain and fog we had some good views, including the one below right of the very acute hairpin bend we had driven up.

Photo left of the village of Ronche. Photo right of Anni and I pouting because there was no view from the high point, AND I had had to step over a void to get there.

The “bivouac” with “veranda” was occupied by a group of Scotsmen so we didn’t lunch there.

First bridge, with Anni and I descending towards the Madonna on the right. Frank was overtaken by the Scotsmen who were fully kitted out with Via Ferrata gear, and not afraid to use it (except for the chap who realised Anni and I had climbed down unclipped and so tossed his crabs over his left shoulder, whacking himself in the head as he did so, just after he had left them dangling nearly tripping himself up!).

Lunch in the shelter near Rifugio Migon. Frank takes us to all the best places for lunch! Not much sign of life in the Rifugio – yet again. Frank insists that we pose in the rain next to a statue of a soldier. (I draw the line at including the photo of me standing next to the plaster of Paris bird statue).

At Last – What We Came For!

2009-09-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

Woke to the sight of sun on the peaks around us – in fact Sylvia’s comment was “there is something strange out there”. We quickly had breakfast as there is no chance of sleeping in – the church bells go ballistic at 7am with a grand total of 94 chimes.

We went over to the hire shop to hire some KISAs (the y-lanyards) with big mouth biners that have a great quick release system. There was some concern when he would only hire them for one day – he must have known what the weather was going to do.

We decided to do the Piz da Cir V graded 2A. We parked at the chairlift at Passo Gardena, surrounded by snow, and walked steeply up the hill to the top of the chairlift (that stopped operating 2 days earlier :( ).

From there it was a bit of a scramble to what they call a belvedere – a rock platform – at the start of the via ferrata. This is where we donned our gear (including a helmet Hannah). Should also point out that the weather was quite variable – check the difference between the stitched photo and the ready to go photo taken 10 minutes later.

The climb went up a short ladder at the start before taking you up some steep rock. The rock has a surprising number of foot and hand holds – just when it looks like you have run out you will always find more. It is easier to let the pictures show what is involved (and the views).


And had to include a picture of the strangely decorated sheep. Why did they give them a brown scarf and spotted earmuffs?

A delightful day and its gotta be said that via ferrata-ing is very cool!

What a Difference a Day Makes

2009-09-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

We woke to the sound of gentle rain. With the weather not looking conducive to via ferrata-ing. we thought we would sightsee with a drive to Cortina (38km) – and maybe check out some of the via ferrata over there.

It was a pleasant drive but as we got higher the rain turned to sleet and then to snow. By the time we got to the Passo Falzarego (the high point on that road) it was snowing quite heavily. As we descended into Cortina the snow turned back to rain.

The main road of Cortina is a pedestrian mall and so there are one way roads either side of this. After about 3 laps of these roads trying to decide where we were allowed to park (wish their parking signs had English translations) we chanced the train carpark. We had (what my English travelling companions called) an English Picnic – eating in the car. After a wet walk around Cortina with a good coffee and cake we set off to return to Arabba.

For a bit of variation we decided to return over the Passo Giau. We passed a farmer walking down the road in front of a 4WD knocking snow off his electric fence – he didn’t look too pleased but his cows looked “udderly ridiculous” (Frank’s words not mine!)

It turns out that Passo Giau is higher than the Passo Falzarego and has less traffic. This meant that the snow was settling in much higher drifts and that the Fiat Panda was having traction issues. About 300m lower than the pass (probably another 2kms away) the road was quite thick with snow and continuing became not an option. We probably should have twigged when about 3kms further back we had to detour around a campervan that was stuck in the middle of the road with its own traction issues.

It turns out the Fiat Panda has a nifty turning circle. I put it into reverse, put the wheels on a hard lock and let the clutch out. The car pirouettes nicely on the spot until you are facing down the hill again. Boy, these Italians are smart!

We had no choice but to go back over Passo Falzarego and hope that the road was clear. With the lower elevation and more traffic there was no problemo.

Despite the lower elevation of Arabba it too scored snow. Compare this view out of our bedroom window with the two views from yesterday’s post – what a difference a day makes!

Arriving at Arabba

2009-09-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

After meeting Anni at our hotel in Venice the night before we set of for Arabba in our hire car – a Fiat Panda.

Once we left the main road the winding roads to Arabba were littered with cyclists making our trip longer than it should have been. The sight of all those lycra clad bums has put us off cyclists for some time (sorry Erin, we weren’t talking about your bum, we were referring to the cyclists!). Turns out we had chosen the 100th anniversary of the opening of the road to Cortina to attempt to get to Arabba. Just to add insult to injury the finish (and start) of the race was Arabba! And to add further insult to injury the finish line was right in front of our hotel so we couldn’t get the car into the carpark!

Turns out that the event was not just celebrated with a bicycle race. There were a number of motorcyclists (check out the boots!) and lots of old cars.

We eventually managed to get the car into the carpark. The owner of the hotel was correct when he said that the “manifestation” would be finished within 2 hours.

Lake Enol and Lake Ercina

2009-09-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

We went for a walk around Lake Ercina (the two pictures below) and Lake Enol (the picture with Frank on the left). It was a beautiful area and obviously very very popular as if we had tried to go any earlier in the season we would have had to pay Euro 7 each to go on one of the many buses as they close the road to private vehicles.

At far end of Lake Ercina was a stone hut which still appeared to be in use, at least there was an elderly lady wearing a pinafore there talking to some Americans as we passed. She appeared to have chickens running around the place.

The photo on the right is of Morag and I walking back from the Mirador del Ray lookout back towards Lake Enol. Lots of the buildings alongside this road appeared to still be in use.

The posada put on a different menu every night. We indulged ourselves on the last night and “ate in”. (Nigel, the owner, took the picture – not octopoddy (the tripod)). Morag, Carol, Mal and Steve bought a cigar (solid chocolate) for Frank to say thanks for all the driving, and for not collecting that large bus on the roundabout on the last day.

Cares Gorge

2009-09-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

On Nigel’s advice we left early (7am) for Cares Gorge. It gets quite hot when the sun is shining so we wanted to get in (some of the way) and out before the hottest part of the day. Because we left early there was no breakfast at the Posada so we had to stop on the way. We actually had breakfast in Poo! After extricating ourselves we set off for Cares Gorge.

The gorge is a massive cleft more than 1000m deep and about 12km long. The walk is carved on the mountain side along the channels to service them as they feed a Hydroelectric Power Station built in the early 20th century, carrying water from Poncebos on the north side to Cain on the south side.

The initial part of the track is the hardest part as it climbs quite steeply for around 3km. Along the way you can see derelict buildings of the workers that stayed in the gorge while the channel was being built.

We got past halfway before stopping for lunch at 12:15. After a team meeting we decided that it was only going to get hotter from then because we started lunch in shade with cloud and finished in full sun. With no shelter in the gorge we headed back.

Thankfully we avoided the heat of the day as it was still quite a steep climb to get back over the col. This was followed by the long downhill stretch back to the pub – and toilet!

The scenery was spectacular but Sylvia thought it was somewhat spoilt by the amount of human poo, soiled toilet tissue and areas that had become informal urinals. Seems like the Grampians National Park isn’t the only place with issues relating to the inappropriate disposal of human waste!

Les Abedules to Collado Viances

2009-09-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

We did the walk to Collado Viances on Monday. It took around 1.5hrs and was reasonably easy to reach Collado Granceno (grassy pasture), but the last 2km to the peak and back took 2hrs. It was pretty tough going and was very hot (as you can see from the photo of Frank below) but it was well worth it for the views.

Tuesday we had a rest day as it was another hot day 31C and the other 2 walks we wanted to do didn’t have very much shade. So we caught up with the washing (good drying day :-)) and did some blogging instead.

Caption Competition

We couldn’t decide on the caption for the photo of Frank and Carol - here are some we thought of but please supply your own:

Sweaty Carol between Frank's sweaty legs
“How’s that?”
“I told you before Carol – no peeking!!”

Fiesta del Pescador and River Casano

2009-09-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we had decided to do the River Casano walk as it was supposed to offer quite a bit of shade and the weather was quite warm. But when we got to Cangas de Onis we found that it was the Fiesta del Pescador (festival of the fishermen?) and so we stayed around to watch the fly fishing competition, listen to a couple of bands (one had “bagpipes”!) and visit the cheese market. We bought cheese (the guys fancied a particularly smelly blue vein), olives, and dried fruit for “dinner” as we’d had a large lunch.

After we had eaten lunch we went and did the walk as planned. The scenery was lovely but it was pretty warm and as it was the weekend all the potential swimming spots were already taken by local families. However, Frank found us a nice spot on the way back where we could cool our feet and to be honest the water was a bit nippy for swimming!

Pico Pienzu

2009-09-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Friday was spent mostly travelling from the UK (Stansted) to Spain (Oviedo). Mal and Morag met the four of us at the airport and we collected the hire car. Not the VW Touran I had booked but a Dodge Journey which Frank came to refer to as the Behemoth. It could seat seven people but as we discovered it was a bit of a pinch to seat 6 people and all their luggage, so it is just as well that the drive to the accommodation was only around 1.5 hrs.

They wanted 10 Euro per day for each additional driver so Frank said he would be designated driver for the week. At that stage he hadn’t seen how skinny some of the roads were, or how much the drivers going the other way preferred his side of the road :-)

Steve has a photo of the inside with all the luggage stacked up but we only the one below, taken after a walk one day. The photo of the right is of Posada Del Valle where we stayed. The balcony was outside Carol & Steve (left) and Mal & Morag’s (right) rooms. We were around the corner – windows on the white wall.

View from our room.

On Saturday we decided to do something relatively easy so Joann recommended the walk to Pico Pienzu from the Fito viewing point which was a short drive from the hotel. Pico Pienzu is only 3km from the sea and among the highest coastal mountains in Europe. The views of the Picos de Europa and the Asturian coastline were outstanding but unfortunately the photos don’t really do it justice.

It was a moderate walk to start with but the last part was very steep and it was blowing a gale at the top. I think it ended up being around 10km with about a 670m climb. We saw Asturian ponies, lots of cows and calves, goats (all wearing bells) and some Griffin vultures from a distance.

Goodbye Robin Hoods Bay, Hello Spain

2009-09-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

Way back in Patterdale we noticed someone with a large pack that had a white waterproof cover – Steve and I took to calling him “white pack”. We took his picture for him (with his camera) on Kidsty Pike and said hi to him a few times along the way. We didn’t really speak to him until we got to Keld Lodge where we learnt his name was Mike and he was doing the Coast to Coast the hard way – carrying all his gear including tent (only around 2% of the 6,000+ people who do the walk do it this way).

At Keld Lodge Mike regaled us with stories over a few ales. Turns out he had worked in Australia near Coober Pedy cooking for some jackeroos who were rounding up cattle in the outback. He had also travelled the world on his motorbike which he was having trouble starting. He was walking to his parent’s place near Robin Hoods Bay where his motorbike and most of his other belongings were. So Steve offered to have a look if it could be organised either the day we arrived or before we left for Scarborough the following morning.

Mike found us at Robin Hoods Bay (not a big place) and said he would take us to Scarborough train station the next day if Steve looked at his bike. He took us to his parent’s place where he introduced Steve to his old Honda…and his old (some brand we don’t know – Jawa?)…and his old MG…and his old Vespa…and his grandma’s old Morris 1100…and his old (foot powered) scooter…and his old ski sled…oh, and his mum Maureen (his dad was playing golf).

We had a cup of tea and scones (requested by Steve) with Mike’s mum Maureen (a very nice lady) while Steve gave Mike’s Honda a thorough going over. Unfortunately it was declared dead but Mike still stuck to his end of the deal (as we suspected he always would) and drove us to Scarborough while singing Two Little Boys and assorted Monty Python tunes.

What we haven’t mentioned until now is that if you look closely at some of the photos you will see (despite the make-up) that Sylvia is sporting two black eyes. (Almost three weeks later they still haven’t completely disappeared). On day 6 (Sat 22/8) walking from Shap to Orton (just outside Oddendale) she took a tumble and landed fair and square face first with her nose taking the brunt of the fall. Lesson for walkers with hooks on their boots – no matter how sore your ankles don’t leave the top hooks undone or you too could find your right lace hooked onto your left boot and the road rapidly approaching your face. Anyway Mike bought her a little pendant of Whitby jet because he thought it was good that she hadn’t abandoned the walk. There is a runic symbol on the pendant that means “Safe Travel”.

It was a short train ride from Scarborough to York where we had to change to a train going to London Kings Cross. We asked the station staff which platform and waited patiently while organising lunch and coffees. Just before the train pulled in there was an announcement over the intercom made by someone from the same school that all train announcers go to that we couldn’t understand which caused some people to start running to another platform. When the train pulled in I asked which carriage we should get on only to discover that although it was going to Kings Cross it wasn’t our train! We had to be where the others had sprinted to which was across a bridge.

Just to add to the panic, our train was just arriving so I sprinted across the bridge and stood holding the door to our carriage open. This left Sylvia, Steve and Carol manhandling a trolley with four large backpacks down a lift, sprinting the underpass and going up the lift on the other side. We threw the bags onto the train and as Carol was getting on they shut the doors behind her almost pushing her onto the train – disaster averted.

The train ride to Kings Cross took around 3 hours but – how cool is this – it had a wi-fi connection to the internet. This gave us a chance to post another day’s events to our blog and Carol managed a post or two to theirs.

We stayed overnight at a guest house near Stansted Airport called The Willows. This was only 20 minutes from Anni’s current digs so she came and picked us up for dinner. We had a very pleasant meal at a small pub called The Three Horseshoes. (Steve – if you are reading this I have to apologise. Although I got all your Robin Hoods Bay photos it seems that I missed adding in your photos from the Willows and The Three Horseshoes that night – SORRY!)

The next morning it was up early and on the plane to Oviedo in Spain!

Day 17 (Last Day!)– Grosmont to Robin Hoods Bay

2009-09-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

A long walk to finish – 25kms – that began with an extremely steep 3km hill coming out of Grosmont – now we knew what the old gentleman in Glaisdale was referring to! And just to top it off we were walking through heather covered moors with patches of bog – again!

After leaving the moors (for the last time!) we came to a small hamlet called Littlebeck. It had some nice old houses but it led to Little Beck Wood. A lovely walk through oak trees that seemed to contain more birdlife than we had seen anywhere else on the walk. The weirdest thing though was a large boulder that had been hollowed out in 1790 called The Hermitage (see gurning photo of the day below). After emerging from the wood we could see most of the way back to Grosmont – well at least to the top of the long hill and our path through the moors before Littlebeck.

And then, much to everyone’s joy, we saw the sea. In fact we were so pleased we stopped for lunch!

After a little more walking we saw Robin Hoods Bay for the first time. We stopped for the obligatory photos and then set off for the last march.

At the harbour we wet our feet in the North Sea and threw the pebbles we picked up from the Irish Sea at St Bees 17 days ago into the water. After all that walking we really needed filling so Steve and I ordered cod and chips – must have been some cod in its day!

We stayed at The Wayfarer Bistro & Guest House in Robin Hoods Bay. The rooms overlooked the main street in Robin Hoods Bay and was most comfortable. There was mail for us when we arrived a Congratulations card from Kath. Thanks for having such confidence in us Kath, or was it that being a Cumbrian lass you knew if we had made it through the Lake District in the pouring rain the rest of the walk would seem relatively easy by comparison? :-)

UK Coast to Coast - Grosmont to Robin Hoods Bay (Day 17)

Gurning Photo of the Day – The Hermitage

The End

317.9km travelled, 9454m climbed and 9467m descended over 16 days of walking (with a rest day in Richmond) and now it’s finished. Even with all the training it has been tough on occasion. Everyone says how terrific the Coast to Coast walk is, and so it is, with some truly awesome scenery along the way and the company of old friends and new. But no-one mentions the howling winds, torrential rain, biting insects, tracks that turn into streams, blistered feet (despite all the preparations) and aching muscles. Despite all that we wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Would we do anything different given what we know now? Yep – we’d buy waterproof pack liners as well as covers, as the covers just didn’t do the job in the heavy rain and the contents of our day packs were often wet. We’d also try and ensure that all the accommodation we booked had adequate drying facilities.

It will feel strange getting up tomorrow morning and not having to walk between 11 and 26km but this leg of the trip is at an end and it’s off to northern Spain next. Asturias here we come!

UK Coast to Coast - St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay

Click above to see the EveryTrail of the entire Coast to Coast.

Day 16 – Blakey Ridge to Grosmont

2009-08-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

A big day today as we did 23.5kms.

The track from the Lion Inn follows the old railway again for a while but no mountain bikes to contend with today – just more moors! The Lion Inn is extremely isolated being in the middle of the North York Moors National Park.

While walking, and during the night, we could hear the sound of grouse but they are very reluctant to show themselves. But when they do break cover they tend to burst out like rockets making a strange whirring sound.

Eventually we left the North York Moors and emerged at a village called Glaisdale. It mainly consisted of older terraced houses that had been built for the miners in the lead mines that used to operate in the district. We stopped to buy some lunch at the local store where an old gentleman smiled and said that he would be “thinking of us the next morning walking out of Grosmont” – sounded ominous!

We ate our lunch on Beggar’s Bridge built in the 1800s by a sailor who had made his fortune but missed saying goodbye to his sweetheart because the river was flooded. A magnanimous gesture so that no-one else suffered the same fate.

The final approach to Grosmont was along an old toll road. The original toll booth is still there with the prices. And, typically for us, we had to don our waterproofs for the last half hour as it started raining, complete with thunder and lightning. Despite this, Steve declared the day to be “rain free” as we arrived at Hollins Lodge relatively dry.

Grosmont is known for its steam railway museum complete with working trains. We also think it should be known for the steepness of the streets and their crazy building techniques :)

UK Coast to Coast - Urra to Blakey Ridge to Grosmont (Day 16)

Gurning Photo of the Day – Black Betty

Day 15 – Urra to Blakey Ridge

2009-08-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Only 14.5kms today. Thankfully we didn’t have to reverse our trek down from Claybank Top to Maltkiln house. There were some tracks that gave us access back to the official C2C track about 2km from Claybank Top. There were some old boundary markers right where we came onto the C2C track – one had a hand carved on it and the other a face.

This was another day spent striding across the moors amongst the heather. But this time, because the track we were walking was an old railway, we were in the company of a horde of people on mountain bikes doing the coast to coast. Some called out or rang their bells to warn that they were passing but a few were a bit on the dangerous side.

When we are walking Steve tends to either be striding out in front (if Carol has confiscated his camera :-)) or lagging in the rear taking photos – Frank has nicknamed him the new “photagonist”, a nickname previously reserved for Frank. But either way at the end of each day Steve generally makes a dash for the finish, showing us all a clean pair of heels as he disappears in the distance :-)

Staying at the Lion Inn, the only place for miles to stay or get a meal. We had room 11 which had views over the moors and a double shower with heaps of water pressure and lots of hot water – bliss! Being in the newer part of the building it also had Internet access and taller ceilings. Some of the doorways in the original building were a health hazard in that if you didn’t notice you could take your head off on the beams :-)

UK Coast to Coast - Urra to Blakey Ridge (Day 15)

Gurning Photo of the Day – Moor Heather

Day 14 – Osmotherley to Urra

2009-08-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

Osmotherley to Urra (near Clay Bank Top) 20.3 km. It was quite a hard day with a number of climbs (5 I think plus the last hill in Urra before the accommodation) – total climbing 927m longest climb 213m longest descent 155m.

We were back up on the moors with some pretty awesome views and perhaps because the weather was slightly warmer, and not as wet, the heather seemed to be more in flower than earlier.

As well as the gurning shots Frank had developed a routine of taking photos of our morning tea and lunch stops. On this particular day we were sharing the views with two young women (may have been sisters) who were doing part of the Cleveland Way (which is also part of the Coast to Coast). We asked them if they would take a photo for us and below left is the result (I think they thought we were a little mad :-)

We stopped at Lord Stones Cafe (which is partly built into the hillside) for bacon butties (which are now bacon buns) . We were a bit surprised (if not shocked) to find that it had quite a large car park and was obviously a very popular spot with the folks from miles around. At least we didn’t have to queue for food for forty minutes like the people in front of us did. I got talking to a nice guy in the queue who was waiting for a chip (hot chips not crisps) bun to fuel him up on his 55km run for the day. Turns out he was in training to run the Coast to Coast in September and was hoping to complete it in 36 hours! Made me feel quite unfit :-)

This leg was made that bit harder by having to walk another couple of km from Clay Bank Top (one of which was along a very busy road with no footpath) to get to Maltkiln House at Urra which is about one mile off the C2C. When I booked they inferred that all we need do was call for a lift, but when Frank called the night before to book dinner (nowhere near to eat) and arrange a lift the lady of the house told him we “wouldn’t need a lift”. By the time we got there Carol and I both thought otherwise. They were nice friendly people but the place could have done with a good spring clean – especially the tiles on the shower.

The top window on the right was our shared lounge area and the location of the shared bathroom. Our window is the one to the left which was above the dining room where we had dinner and breakfast. The window bottom right was Carol and Steve’s room. We got the feeling it was a converted barn and the door on the end of the building was probably where they unloaded hay. It was a nice old building and in a beautiful (if off the C2C) spot.

UK Coast to Coast - Osmotherley to Urra (Day 14)

Gurning Shot of the Day – Alec Falconer Memorial Seat

Day 13 – Danby Wiske to Osmotherley

2009-08-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Danby Wiske to Osmotherley (20 mins off C2C) near Ingleby Cross, was a 19.4 km leg across more farmland (more moors?).

The walking was not difficult and involved mainly walking on roads and tracks through farmlands. The only respite from this was having to cross a railway line and the (very) busy A19. The service station on the A19 proved to be handy and gave us a place to buy some lunch – one of the few times something was open at lunchtime when we needed it!

The last part of the walk was through Arncliffe Wood which is a forested area that is currently being harvested. There were bare patches where the trees had been removed and piles of logs waiting to be removed. This combination appears to have become a favourite habitat of pheasant as there were hundreds of them in the woods.

We were booked in at Vane House and Carol and Steve had a room on the ground floor while Frank and I had a very spacious family room up several stairs and down a long corridor.

We had fancied dinner at the Three Tuns because the menu sounded really nice but it turned out to be rather expensive and they were fully booked when we got there anyway so we had dinner at the Queen Catherine instead. Osmotherly was a rather quaint village with some lovely old houses and a very nice Outdoor Equipment shop with a very friendly, well-travelled owner who seemed quite happy to stay open past closing time just to have a bit of a chat.

UK Coast to Coast - Danby Wiske to Osmotherley (Day 13)

Gurning Photo of the Day – Wood Piles in Arncliffe Wood

(Notice the feather adornment.)

Day 12 - Richmond to Danby Wiske

2009-08-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

We were warned that the stretch from Richmond to Danby Wiske 23.5km, and Danby Wiske to Osmotherly would appear a little drab compared with other stretches, and they were right. The Vale of Mowbray certainly didn’t have quite the appeal that other legs of the walk had, and consequently although much flatter it felt like it was a lot longer. We spent a lot of time walking along roads or through paddocks – oops sorry they are fields over here aren’t they!

We had lunch in the church grounds at Bolton-on-Swale where the church there is supposed to date back to Saxon times, although the original timber structure no longer exists it is a very pretty church. It also contains a monument to Henry Jenkins who was reputed to have lived to 169 years of age.

We stayed at The Old School in Danby Wiske, a 19th Century former village school but it really felt just like a small semi-detached and didn’t have quite the character we would have hoped for. Carol & Stephen and Frank and I had small twin rooms up in the roof you can see our open skylights in the picture.

UK Coast to Coast - Richmond to Danby Wiske (Day 11)

Gurning Photo of the Day – nothing of interest to use

Nothing here!

Days 10 & 11 – Reeth to Richmond (and a rest day)

2009-08-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

Reeth to Richmond 18.5 km. Another rather wet leg of the trip, so wet in fact that Frank only took around ten photos, and we seem to have misplaced the photos I took of the outside of the accommodation. Steve’s waterproof camera is proving to be a real bonus.

Leaving Reeth we had our first navigational challenge. We missed a turn off we should have taken onto a road but as it turned out our alternate route was quite picturesque. We ended up in Grinton and used a track alongside the River Swale to get back on track. And in my defence (yep – Frank here) it was raining quite steadily and the turnoff was in the middle of the Reeth Show which was a paddock full of livestock. Had we known Reeth Show’s reputation for bringing rain we might have rearranged our schedule.

The walk included a march through a pretty woodland that went up 375 steps (so they say) that were placed by nuns as a walkway to the Abbey. From there our plan was to have morning tea at Elaine’s Teas that was run in a local farm. In what is proving to be typical for us they weren’t open – we suspect Elaine was at the Reeth Show.

According to Wainwright the route into Richmond provided a great view of Richmond from the sign at the start of town. He may be right but in the haze of light drizzle and the tall trees that are by the road now we didn’t see it.

We booked two nights at Willance House in Richmond as we thought by this stage we would need a day’s rest from walking. Our hosts Colin and Sandra were very hospitable and extremely well organised. They welcomed us in and while Colin took away our wet, muddy boots, Sandra promptly whisked away all our waterproof pants to dry. She returned them the following day not only dry but clean too. Sandra also did some laundry for us at a very reasonable price (Richmond doesn’t have a laundrette). The house had lots of character but was very well appointed – the best of both worlds – and breakfast was wonderful. Cereals, very nice yoghurt, a wide variety of fresh fruits (as well as the more commonly offered grapefruit and prunes), scones, croissants, and of course the full English breakfast including Colin’s special fourteen minute sausages.

We planned to do a lot more blog updates but unfortunately Colin’s Wi-Fi was on the blink and he didn’t manage to get it fixed until we were almost ready to leave. So the guys went to the Railway complex and did come blog updates and emails from there instead, while I went to the hairdressers. The complex included a microbrewery called (imaginatively) Richmond Brewing Company. The equipment would have kept Matt amused for years!

We had a bit of a walk around Richmond which was also notable for being the only place we have managed to get Carol a soy latte so far.

While walking around town Steve and I found an elderly gentleman trying to carry a telephone table and he looked to be struggling. He was actually trying to step in between table top and the bars that reinforce the legs and slide it up his torso. Frank and Steve offered to carry it for him but he insisted they get it into position and he would be alright. He set off looking quite a strange sight but was moving quite well. On our way out of Richmond the next morning we ran into him again. Thankfully he had extricated himself from the table and was on his way into town with his trolley to buy some goods. Turns out he was 80 years old, had mischievous, sparkling eyes and could talk the legs off a telephone table. It took us a while to terminate the conversation but he was good fun.

We had a most enjoyable Thai meal at A Taste of Thailand on the first night and then went to one of the local Indian restaurants (Amontola) on the second night. They served the largest naan breads we have ever seen and we were all kicking ourselves for not taking the camera to dinner. They came hung on a steel thing that was a bit reminiscent of a fake Christmas tree, they must have been about 40cm long.

UK Coast to Coast - Reeth to Richmond (Day 10)

Gurning Photo of the Day – Cairn at Applegarth Scar

Day 9 – Keld to Reeth

2009-08-25T04:48:00.000-07:00

It was a little further than the 18 km we expected – we actually walked 21.7kms. Stedman said that many people prefer the Swaledale Valley alternative (along the river) to the high level route, and as we were still experiencing wet weather (showers now though rather than constant rain) we opted for the lower level route.

We thankfully missed the famous Reeth show, complete with Karaoke and inflatable Sumo wrestling at the local pub – but the fact that the show was on meant that more places than normal were closed for the day. Reeth traditionally had days for their show while the Muker show day would be fine.

We headed to Muker for morning tea at the tea shop (as suggested but Tony) only to discover that it was closed! So we had a cup of tea from the flask outside the tea shop. The local publican took exception to this as said he thought we were “Being a little bit cheeky”. We thought that as they were closed it would be fine – apparently not – so much for northern hospitality. People at a later stay said he was a bit of a misery – we’ll go along with that. Turns out that Gunnerside where it was suggested we have lunch was also closed on a Tuesday! Just as well we had a good supply of scroggin, biscuits and fruit with us.

As has been the norm for us the rain started about half an hour before we reached our accommodation for the night. This meant we arrived wet (as usual) and had to rely on the B&B to get stuff dry for us.

When we got to Reeth it was only to discover that instead of one double and one twin room we had two twin rooms up two flights of stairs and one overlooked two nice fat smelly sows, a fact Carol and Steve didn’t discover until Carol had opened the windows wide for some fresh air. Although the owner was nice it wasn’t one of the best places we stayed at.

UK Coast to Coast - Keld to Reeth (Day 9)

Today’s Gurning Photo – Abandoned tractor on the track

Day 8 – Kirkby Stephen to Keld

2009-08-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Kirkby Stephen to Keld 19.4km Hard – total climbing 831m longest climb 363m longest descent 209m. The longest haul felt like the leg up out of Kirkby Stephen towards the Nine Standard Rigs. The origin of these stone stacks is not known but no prizes for guessing that there are nine of them. We walked that section with a group of five English ladies who were doing the Coast to Coast in four sections, each four years apart.

Just as we were leaving Kirkby Stephen we had cross a bridge called Frank’s Bridge. It was named in dedication to the manager of the local brewery in the 17th century – seems appropriate really.

It was another big day but at the end of it we were halfway there! Stedman said this can be a boggy section, and suggests taking the Blue route unless weather is really bad then take the green route. We did take the Blue route but it was still pretty boggy! In fact today was named a B&B day – bogs and bites as not only did we had to negotiate a lot of boggy ground but we had to fight of an unbelievable number of biting insects – the midges were unbelievable.

We stopped at Ravenseat Farm for afternoon tea, a welcome respite from all the biting insects. We saw this farm and the lady who runs it on the Julia Bradbury special on the Coast to Coast walk. She said that Julia Bradbury was very nice and was reluctant to admit that she (Julia) hadn’t walked the entire walk while making the TV show. Another of our hosts was concerned that Julia had made the walk look too easy and that some of his next year’s bookings might not actually make it that far!

We stayed the night at Keld Lodge run by a very jovial ex-policeman called Tony. Keld Lodge will eventually be a microbrewery but for now he has beers on tap and serves meals – luck really as he is the only accommodation in Keld.

UK Coast to Coast - Kirkby Stephen to Keld (Day 8)

Today’s Gurning Photo – at Nine Rigs

Day 7 – Orton to Kirkby Stephen

2009-08-23T00:50:00.000-07:00

A 21.7km walk – in the rain again!

We left Orton with Mal and Morag as travelling companions. They came with us before finding a suitable point to return to their car and drive back to Edinburgh. However, this was not before we convinced Mal to participate in some gurning with Steve and I. We also got a group shot – well if I hadn’t slipped over and Mal hadn’t tried to catch me…

After leaving Mal and Morag it began to rain so on went the waterproofs – yet again! There was supposed to be a fair amount of road walking on this leg but they have diverted people away from the road and across a moor. This was signposted early on but the signs ran out and in the rain we had our first navigational challenge. We missed a turn off on the moor amongst the myriad of tracks and ended up about 500 metres off course.

After correcting this we were trudging through the rain looking for a suitable lunch venue. This was proving to be a challenge until we got to Bent’s Camping Barn. We (cheekily) entered their property and found the barn to be a dry warm place. I went over to the farm and asked (Mrs Bent?) if we could possibly use the barn just to have lunch. She was more than agreeable so we had lunch in the dry, dried some of our gear on the heater in there and warmed our lunch in the microwave – luxury!

The track from there was fairly mundane with only a few sights/sites of interest. Probably the most exciting thing that happened was that at the last style before Kirkby Stephen I stepped onto the bottom stone and lost all concept of time and motion before finding myself flat out on the ground. Nothing injured and just a muddy bum – luckily this was not one of the styles where cows or sheep congregate underneath!

We stayed at Fletcher House B&B in Kirkby Stephen run by Gillian and Steve with wonderfully quiet efficiency. It was a very pleasant place with large, modern, airy rooms.

UK Coast to Coast - Orton to Kirkby Stephen (Day 7)

Day 6 – Shap to Orton

2009-08-22T03:25:00.000-07:00

Shap to Orton is a relatively short 13.4 km but still hard walking with total climbing 661m longest climb 110m longest descent 122m.

It was a fairly uneventful walk with not a lot of sites on the way. The most major milestone was crossing the M6 Motorway. The sound of vehicles after being in remote areas for so long was quite strange.

The walk was largely through open fields (moors) that were covered in purple heather followed by a walk on a road for a few kilometres before coming into Orton.

While waiting for our bags to arrive (for the first time we beat our bags into our accommodation) Mal and Morag surprised us by arriving from Edinburgh for the night. We adjourned to Kennedy’s Chocolate Factory for a very yummy hot chocolate. For dinner, Kath and Dean joined us for dinner to ensure a very enjoyable evening. The food was very nice – Sylvia opted for two entrees - feta and tiny tom salad and spicy prawns (shrimp) and Frank had lamb with a raspberry sauce.

UK Coast to Coast - Shap to (Day 6)

Day 5 – Patterdale to Shap

2009-08-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

Patterdale to Shap has the reputation for being the hardest leg of the walk, with total climbing of 1,224 m (longest climb 384m longest descent 503m) but the walking is supposed to get easier from here on :-)

Before we left Oldwater View we checked with Ian (the owner) that it would be worth the effort of going over Kidsty Pike – that is, would we see anything. This is actually the highest point of the walk (if you don’t take any of the optional detours (like Striding Edge)) so again we were keen to go this way.

As we were hiking towards Kidsty Pike we received a text from Matt asking if we wanted update scores on the Doggies vs Geelong game. Naturally we said yes and so we received quarter by quarter scores.

While on Kidsty Pike the wind was quite strong. We let Matt know that we had reached the highest point of our walk and he replied with “it looks like you and the doggies peaked at the same time”. Geelong were coming back!

The descent was quite steep, boggy and (naturally) treacherous. At the bottom we reached Haweswater and while walking along the lake Matt texted us to let us know that the Doggies had won! Just at that point we saw a sheep decked out in Doggies colours.

It was quite a haul along Haweswater with the remainder of the walk through farmland and roads until we arrived in Shap.

Even on the farmlands there were still boggy sections that required gymnastics on farm fences.

We stayed at The Hermitage (built in 1691) which is described by many walkers as the 'Best place on the Coast to Coast', but Steve wasn’t too keen, not sure if it was the lack of a shower over the bath or the twin beds or the combination of both. The lady who runs it (Mrs Jean Jackson) did us a very nice dinner of chicken, jacket potatoes and salad, with fresh fruit salad and a sponge cake for desert. She also dried our boots in front of her Aga cooker/stove.

UK Coast to Coast - Patterdale to Shap (Day 5)

Day 4 – Grasmere to Patterdale

2009-08-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

This is supposedly, if you don’t take the detours, one of the shortest and easiest stages – 16km and 3.5hr without stops. Wainright described Striding Edge as the best quarter mile between St Bees and Robin Hoods Bay, providing the weather was suitable. But once again it was raining quite heavily and so we took a more or less direct route. (This also meant that we couldn't use our camera - Steve's waterproof camera is proving invaluable so thanks for letting us use the pictures Steve!)

This involved a steep climb out of Grasmere and numerous water crossings. It was drizzling when we left Grasmere and so we were already kitted out in our wet weather gear. This meant a very hot climb alongside Little Tongue but the weather fixed that – when we got the top of the climb the wind and rain started in earnest so we were (again) battling blizzard conditions.

When we reached the top of the climb we found a valley with Grisedale Tarn and at the end of the tarn the water flowed into Grisedale Valley via Grisedale Beck. (Not very adventurous with their names :-) ) Needless to say Grisedale Beck could normally be crossed on some stepping stones but they were under water so Carol, Steve and I got wet boots but Frank leapt a narrower part of the stream (with his approach shoes on) in order to keep his feet dry. Perhaps all in vain because the ground was so wet by then that the water was coming into his shoes from the wet track.

After crossing the stream, it was so cold that during a brief break in the rain Carol and I stripped off on the stream – sorry – track to put another layer of clothing on. This was also the decision point as to whether we should take one of the high route options – Helvellyn (with Striding Edge) or St Sunday Crag. Despite the fact that we all wanted to tackle Striding Edge (a walk along a ridge line with drop offs on either side) the weather condition put paid to taking either option so we took the gentle route down the valley.

We stayed at Oldwater View which is owned by a very nice guy called Ian and he seems to have thought of everything from bathrobes, to feminine hygiene items, to free wi-fi and an extensive library of books and DVDs. But best of all a great drying room which is where all our wet weather gear, boots and socks went for the night before we headed off to the Lion Inn for dinner. Frank and I had a room called Ullswater (the window on the far right at the front was ours) and Carol and Steve were in a nearby cottage.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the Otters as the “beck was in full speight” (the river was flowing fast).

The day was a pleasant, easy walk despite the wind and rain.

UK Coast to Coast - Grasmere to Patterdale (Day4)

Day 3 – Stonethwaite to Grasmere

2009-08-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

From Borrowdale (Stonethwaite) to Grasmere was around 12km. There was a high route option that was longer and higher, but as you will read that was not a viable option.

On leaving Stonethwaite you immediately start climbing. There are great views back over Borrowdale as you climb higher. The track follows a beck (perhaps a river or stream in Australia) that has waterfalls on the way up and has “Mountain Ash” growing on the banks. Mountain Ash is actually a Rowan Tree over here – nothing like a real Mountain Ash!

The wind had been getting stronger as we climbed so we found a sheltered spot alongside a beck for our elevenses. In the small valley at the top are something called “drumlins” – we still aren’t sure what they are other than small looking hills. By the time we had finished elevenses we had to don the waterproofs (again). As we climbed, the wind got stronger and the rain more horizontal, and we found ourselves negotiating a bog. For those who aren’t familiar with this concept, it is topsoil that is floating on a bed of water that has enough vegetation to make sure that when you step on it you sink in and the water flows over your shoes. Just to make sure that things only got worse, when we started downhill into Grasmere over the pass we had to negotiate tracks that turned into streams, or perhaps they were just streams :-).

This all meant that I couldn’t take many pictures (but Steve’s waterproof camera was fine!) and that by the time we arrived at Silver Lea, our B&B in Grasmere, we were very wet. Jill, the owner of Silver Lea took it in her stride and told us to leave all our wet and dirty gear with her and she got it cleaned and dry, including our shoes, before we set off the next day.

Sylvia also discovered that her so called waterproof did not function as advertised. We went into Grasmere proper and found an outlet store for outdoor gear. We bought her a 35 pound (can’t be bothered working out how to get a pound symbol) jacket that has proved to be an extremely worthwhile investment. (Yep – more rain coming!)

While we were cleaning (and recovering), Jill brought us her phone which had Kath Bowness on the other end. Apparently (so she tells us) she was “just around the corner” and was joining us for dinner. We went to the Rowan Tree for pizza where they (fortuitously) had a happy hour running where all pizzas were 5 pound (still can’t be bothered) and they were pretty good!

A pretty tough day where we missed out on the high route option but had an enjoyable evening with Kath. It was really nice to catch up after all these years!

UK Coast to Coast - Day 3

Day 2 – Ennerdale to Stonethwaite

2009-08-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

Today we walked from Ennerdale Bridge to Stonethwaite (in Borrowdale). It is measured as a long route of 23.5kms and takes around 6.75hrs. There are options to take some high routes of Red Pike, High Stile or Haystacks route, which adds another 2.5km (or ~1.75hrs), but only if the weather is clear. No need to say that the weather was not kind. It is very hard walking with total climbing of around 1,409m (longest climb 450m longest descent 219m). If not doing the high route because of inclement weather or lack of fitness :-) Stedman strongly recommends the path along the southern banks of the River Liza.

We stayed at Stonethwaite Farm. I was hoping we could eat at the Langstrath Country Inn as it comes highly recommended for evening meals and has some great sounding dishes on the menu but unfortunately it turns out they decided to close on the Tuesday we were there :-( and so the saga began. We arrived soaking wet but the owner was reluctant to put the radiators on so that we could dry out our boots etc. because “it was too warm”. She finally turned it on at 8pm and then back off again at 10pm. Frank rang the other pub in town only to discover that there was no chance of getting any food and that they wouldn’t do takeaway. He ended up organising for Indian to be delivered from Keswick – 13 miles away. However, the driver got lost and so it didn’t arrive until after 10pm. Otherwise it was a lovely place.

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Day 1 – St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge

2009-08-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Today we walked from St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge a distance of 25.6kms – 1.9kms of that was the walk from the Fairladies Barn to the start of the walk on the beach. It was rated as a “moderate day” with total climbing of 819m.

There was a long climb of 296m up to Dent. The views from there were very impressive but we really need the rest at the top. There was a “decent descent” of 221m straight down the hill. This lead to Nannycatch Gate which isn’t not actually part of the original Wainwright route but has become the de facto route as it is much prettier than the original route.

From Ennerdale Bridge we were picked up by Paul, the owner of the Stork Hotel in Rowrah. It is a few kilometres from Ennerdale Bridge and is a very clean and inviting place. Despite continually trying to make us drink Foster’s, Paul is a congenial host and we have just enjoyed his Jennings ale, a very good meal and his wi-fi internet access.

Here is the Everytrail view of our walk today. We will post some pictures when we ~~are less knackered~~ have a bit more time.

UK Coast to Coast - Day one

Although we’ve done longer distances in training on the flat and longer climbs and descents it was fairly long. Tomorrow is a longer walk so it should really test us.

“The adventure begins”

2009-08-16T12:36:00.001-07:00

Before we start the C2C walk we will all be spending a couple of nights in St Bees. Carol and Stephen travelled up from London on the same day as we left Bernard and Joan’s place in Warrington, and we met up at Lancaster station and travelled north from there together.

Thanks to some great detective work by Morag we all got much much cheaper train fares than we were originally quoted. Advance purchase tickets from National Rail (you can get them 12 weeks in advance of travelling) are literally a fraction of the cost. Using the Journey Planner – Check Fares option, you need to scroll down and select the “Search for Cheapest” option. This can literally make the difference between paying 12 pounds and 148 pounds, but you have to be prepared to travel at unsociable hours for the really cheap fares. The cheap fares go fast so you need to start checking 12-13 weeks before you plan to travel.

As we were getting ready to leave behind the generous hospitality of Bernard and Joan, Bernard commented that our adventure was about to begin, and I did at last feel a little excited. The sudden loss of Dad and the two week long rotten cold had dampened my enthusiasm but I was starting to look forward to the walk again. So we had final photos outside Bernard & Joan’s house before we left for the train. The photo on the right is of my little first cousin twice removed Liam, a little sweetie with a fantastic vocabulary for his age.

The train trip from Warrington Bank Quay to Lancaster was on a Virgin train which was very quiet and very fast but limited in luggage storage. At Lancaster we changed onto a much older train with a bit more luggage space but a bit noisier. It was drizzling in Lancaster and by the time we hit the coast it was a little difficult to see the view through the rain, but by the time we arrived it had started to clear up. We plodded up the hill from the station with all our bags and checked into the Fairladies Barn.

Fairladies is a converted 17th Century sandstone barn situated on the main street. It looked a little bigger on the Internet but is very clean and comfortable and the owners are very friendly and helpful.

After we had put the bags into our rooms we decided to go for a bit of a walk and perhaps check out the local pub that had been recommended for dinner, the Manor House. We only had 2 drinks and a packet of crisps each – honest. But then Stephen and Frank decided to do a bit of “gurning” – prompted by an article in the local paper about a gurning competition. Carol almost fell over laughing and I think the other people in the bar thought we’d had way too much to drink. The photo on the right is of Stephen going for an arty shot of the railway line.

We went back later for dinner (both nights) and were very pleased with both the food and the service. They also have wi-fi which they are happy to let you use if you either stay there or buy a couple of pints. We went and checked out a very posh boarding and day school and then around the back of the church , looking back towards St Bees and on to the beach, where some people were actually playing in the sea.

We had a very nice breakfast this morning, cereal, the full (Cumbrian) English breakfast (Cumbrian sausage, free range egg, tomato, mushroom, baked beans and bacon) followed by toast and plenty of tea or coffee (instant unfortunately) and orange juice. So we needed another walk after that.

Frank led the way and we ended up walking up a fairly steep public footpath that took us through some rather muddy fields with very inquisitive Friesian cows and the fattest sheep I have ever seen (unfortunately didn’t get a photo of the sheep today, later perhaps). One of the fields we crossed was unfortunately in the midst of being “muck spread” as we discovered when the farmer turned up with a another lot of fresh cow manure, very smelly. I reckon he was having a good old laugh at the expense of the lunatic tourists crossing his farm. Apparently he is obliged to keep the public path and stiles through his land available for use.

After our little sortie through the s*#t we walked back down to St Bees to have a look around the church which dates back to Norman times. The last picture is for Bernard – Steele being the family name and Bernard being a very keen genealogist.

Tarporley and Beeston Castle

2009-08-13T14:00:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Beeston Castle via Tarporley where we stopped for lunch at the Rising Sun.
It was a nice old pub with lovely hanging baskets outside, as most of the buildings and street lights in the street had.

Joan and I were actually surprised at the number of shops. There were more than one or two selling handbags and accessories, which makes us think they must cater to the tourist trade as much as the locals.

Then we went to Beeston Castle, and the views from the top were great. Bernard thought it was well worth the walk to the top.

Visiting Uncle Gordon

2009-08-13T02:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday (Wednesday) after settling in at Bernard and Joan’s we went for a walk to the local shopping centre and bought dried fruit and nuts to make scroggin for the walk – no liquorice bullets sorry Steve. Then after cheese and onion pasties for Joan and I and a Chicken Fajita pie for Frank Bernard drove us over to visit my mother’s other brother Gordon. Gordon was busy cooking his tea when we arrived – roast chook and boiled cabbage were part of the menu. We spent most of the visit taking it in turns to stroke Gordon’s dog Gypsy who loves a bit of a fuss.

Frank took a picture of Bernard, me and Gordon before we left Gordon to enjoy his tea.

We were both too tired to stay up and try to catch the Perseid shower last night and Joan said she forgot. You’re supposed to be able to see up to 80 shooting stars an hour if the sky is clear but after around only 6 hours sleep since Monday night all Frank and I were seeing was the inside of our eyelids :-)

Heathrow (and beyond)

2009-08-11T23:13:00.001-07:00

They don't have duty free at Heathrow - they have "duty paid". The owners of the products have paid the duty so you are still paying the cheaper price. Bought some scotch for those days of the walk when Steve and I get too cold to continue and need to rest up until Sylvia and Carol send back the search party.

Met with Bernard and Joan at Manchester after a 40 minute hop from Heathrow. Very nice to see them again and their hospitality is most appreciated. Bernard, we wait expectantly wait for your comment.

Singapore Airport

2009-08-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

Survived the first hop of our flight to Singapore. We have a two hour wait for our connecting flight to Heathrow.

Discovered something at the duty free in Melbourne that could have left us out of pocket - and two good bottles of whiskey confiscated. According to the girl in the shop at the airport, UK customs don't recognise the security enclosures used by them in Melbourne. Apparently, if we tried to take the alcohol through Heathrow and onto our connecting flight to Manchester, they would confiscate it! Seemed odd to us but we took her advice and will see if we can stock up on duty free alcohol at Heathrow.

We had good seats at the back of the plane where the rows of three seats turn into two seats. Unfortunately we both had people behind us that thought it was OK to stick their knees into the back of our seats! If you're reading this you inconsiderate so-and-sos, may you get seats surrounded by screaming kids on the next leg!

We watched Australia and then started to watch Mary and Max but the pilot and copilot kept cutting across the film and we kept missing bits. By the time we rewound and started again he'd cut across with another vital announcement re forms we didn't need to fill in or something. So we haven't seen how it ends yet. Perhaps on the next leg - if I can stay awake that long :-)

One hour to go...

Preparing for the Coast to Coast walk

2009-07-28T02:00:00.001-07:00

In the 1970s, a British accountant and avid fell walker called Alfred Wainright decided to create a walk that started in St Bees on the west coast of England and finished at Robin Hoods Bay on the east coast of England. The walk uses country roads, rights-of-way and ancient footpaths to create one of the most popular long distance walks (of around 300km) in England.

The Coast to Coast walk passes through three of Britain’s finest national parks: the Lake District National Park, Yorkshire Dales National Park, and North York Moors National Park. As accommodation is limited as most walkers do, we planned the trip about a year in advance.

We were helped by friends of Carol and Stephen who had completed the Coast to Coast in October 2007.
Jill's article on the Coast to Coast walk in the Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24207469-5002031,00.html