My Advent Calendar - Day 10

December 10^th

Welcome to Day 10 of my Advent Calendar, where I am reliving my Coast to Coast adventure!

Day 6 – Part 1

~ Rain, Over the motorway, A bleak landscape, We are drenched, We deliberate catching a bus ~

On Thursday, 21^st June, we woke to rain. The longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere was also soon to become our longest day of walking so far. The rain was not the light drizzle or mist we’d experienced most mornings either, and we left the tent up while we went for breakfast in the farmhouse, hoping that it might have stopped by the time we came out.

            At breakfast there were several more Coast to Coasters who had been staying in the B&B and we got chatting with them. Most memorable were two men walking together. One was fairly quiet, the other a little more vocal. As each new person entered the room the latter would tell his story of the previous day.
            Basically he had got lost, somehow. He’d taken several wrong turnings, gone back a few times and eventually given up and found a pub where his friend had called up the B&B and asked to be rescued! The worst thing about this (as far as Hannah and I were concerned) was that he blamed all of it on his guide book, which happened to be the same one we had used with complete success. The man began loudly abusing Martin Wainwright (see December 2^nd post for our early loyalty to his fantastic work) and claimed that he was “useless”. We decided not to point out that we had managed fine, and Martin, if you’re reading this, please ignore him, the guide book is excellent.

After breakfast it was still raining and we dragged the tent into the barn to put it down. Having done that we wrapped ourselves in every piece of waterproof clothing we had and set off. Getting out of Shap proved harder than we anticipated and having made it over the railway line we fought our way along a path buried beneath undergrowth and by the time we came out the other end we were soaked.

            We met other people, including a father and son combination who’d also been at the B&B but had found a better route, and shortly after climbed up the bridge over the motorway (M6). On the other side the landscape looked very different, flat and featureless (at least in comparison to the Lake District) and the map became more important. As usual we moved slower than everyone else but with 20 miles to complete we knew we had to keep a decent pace.
            The path turns south for about four miles, which were fairly unmemorable. Very quickly we got tired; tired of walking, tired of the rain and the tiredness turned to grumpiness. We had planned to take the short cut past Orton as there wasn’t really a reason to go there, but we were so wet and desperate to find some shelter that we headed in.
            We found a brick bus stop and opposite a public toilet block with hand dryers. We had some lunch and discussed our options. There was still a long way to go and the rain didn’t look like relenting. We called our mum for some encouragement and checked the map to see if we could find any short cuts.
            We were very demoralised and were struggling to bring ourselves to go back out into the rain. Eventually I went out to look at the bus timetable.
 

A view inside our tent at Shap.

My Advent Calendar - Day 9

December 9^th

Welcome to Day 9 of my Advent Calendar, where I am reliving my Coast to Coast adventure!

Day 5 – Part 2

~ Mr & Mrs ‘we have two different guide books’, Shap Abbey, Cycle race, Fish and Chips, A bad forecast ~

As we donned rain coats we spotted a Coast to Coast signpost, something you won’t find in the Lake District because it is not an official footpath. Then we heaved up our bags once more and marched on. The hills were largely behind us and we were soon crossing fields and styles, still heading east.

            By this time most people had overtaken us but when we stopped at one style to check the map an older couple we hadn’t met before arrived. We heard them coming as we deliberated the correct route. They were doing the same thing but with a little less discussion and a little more argument. Their problem soon became clear.
            Man: My guide book says we go right at the style.
            Woman: Well my guide book doesn’t say anything about that.
            Man: Your guide book doesn’t even mention the style, so I think we should follow mine.
            Woman: But it doesn’t say whether we should turn right before the style or after it.
            Man: I’m pretty sure he means afterwards.
            Woman: But I can see a path going up the hill.
            Man: I think my guide book is telling us to go around the field so that we don’t disturb the sheep.
            Woman: My guide book doesn’t say anything about sheep.

            …etc.

In the end the four of us took our own path somewhere between turning right and going straight on. Once we reached the top of the small rise it became clear which way to go and we made better progress. Hannah and I let Mr & Mrs ‘we have two different guide books’ go on in front so that we could have a good laugh.

            Not long later, however, we caught up with them again and at the same time met the two old men who never stop (see yesterday’s post) and another old couple. Guide books were now in abundance and there were a good many opinions about which way to go. Hannah and I opted not to join in but to sit down and watch the chaos. If you ever get the chance to watch six old people with four guide books try to walk through a field you will see how entertaining this can be.

After a while the ruins of Shap Abbey came into sight and we knew we weren’t far from our destination. The rain had stopped and the sun re-emerged as we came into Shap itself and found the bed & breakfast where we were camping. Sadly the rain returned briefly just as we set the tent up, but it didn’t stop the chickens in the garden inspecting our skills.

            Once free of our bags we walked the short way into town, practically bouncing without the extra weight. We found a fish and chip shop and later a pub. There was a cycle race going on so I watched people whizz by every twenty seconds hoping to spot our friends from the day before.

Having seen none of our fellow walkers in either the chippy or the pub we decided to get to bed, knowing that the next day we had our first 20 miler, and that seemed even more daunting when we heard the forecast. Rain, all day.

 

A last look back at the Lake District.

 

Shap Abbey.

My Advent Calendar - Day 8

December 8^th

Welcome to Day 8 of my Advent Calendar, where I am reliving my Coast to Coast adventure!

Day 5 – Part 1

 

~ Group walking, We are overtaken a lot, Americans and their Tour Guide, We take photographs, Departing the lake district ~

Another good breakfast gave us plenty of energy for the day ahead (that’s a helpful hint if you’re planning on doing a long walk yourself) but did delay us once again. This time when we set off, however, we found ourselves amongst a large group of walkers and together we kept a good pace. Seeing as we were carrying about three times more than anyone else though, we soon began slipping back as more people came up and overtook us.

            From Patterdale the path climbs and turns south for about three miles before swinging back to the east as it rises to the last really high peak of the whole walk (in fact it can be the highest you ever get if you choose not to make diversions like Hannah and I did). The peak is called Kidsty Pike and amazingly, if the weather is clear, you can see all the way to the coast, more than 25 miles away.
 

Looking west for a last view of the sea.

Helen, Nikki and Sarah, who we had by now nick-named The Fabulous Three, caught up with us several times throughout the morning as did a group of Americans being led by a Tour Guide. The first time they marched past they were sprawled out across the hill (i.e. not on the path) and the Tour Guide muttered, ‘I’ve lost one off the front, it’s like herding cattle this,’ as he passed us.

            When we rejoined them at the top of Kidsty Pike he was a lot happier, as were they, and when one of them asked us to take a picture we agreed. Then I did something stupid. I asked, ‘does anyone else want us to take one?’ Whereupon we received something in the region of twenty cameras and by the time we’d finished The Fabulous Three had also arrived.
            After a stop for lunch we descended to the shore of Haweswater Reservoir where we had the misfortune to run into ‘Campers,’ our bald, abusive, motivator, who gave us another barrage of scorn for still not having abandoned our oversized bags. After his group had moved on we agreed that he was wearing the same red top he’d had on the day before.

The path was now a proper track that skirted the edge of the reservoir from one end to the other (some three and half miles) and now that we were by ourselves again our pace dropped. We found ourselves stopping more often, and there was still some way to go. Two older men were also on the path and for a while we played leap-frog with them. We walked faster but they never seemed to stop and so we passed each other four or five times that afternoon.

            Eventually we reached the end of Haweswater and just beyond passed the boundary of the Lake District, and the end of Section 1. Immediately it began to rain.

 

Kidsty Pike (looking South East)

 

Haweswater Reservoir

My Advent Calendar - Day 7

December 7^th

Welcome to Day 7 of my Advent Calendar, where I am reliving my Coast to Coast adventure!

Day 4 – Part 2

~ Patterdale Youth Hostel, Dinner, We meet three ladies, Nikka and a keen Aussie (now there’s a surprise) ~

Patterdale is a nice little place at the south-eastern end of Ulleswater, and when bathed in sunshine, like it was when Hannah and I arrived, it looks beautiful. We sat on a bench outside the village store, which is run by a cheery American, and enjoyed not doing anything for a while. We bought postcards and some food to replenish the stuff we’d already eaten and then, still making full use of the gorgeous weather, strolled to our fourth stop. The day had been the easiest so far and was about to get even easier, because we’d booked a night in Patterdale Youth Hostel, which had beds and showers and even a wash/dry room so we were able to clean a few of our clothes.

Ullswater

We arrived for dinner at a similar time to a few other people and we were soon chatting with them. There was a group of three ladies sat at one table and at another a younger woman, by herself. All four of them were doing the Coast to Coast and yet this was the first time we’d met any of them.

            We began telling stories of our walk so far with the three ladies (Helen, Nikki and Sarah) regaling us with amusing stories of their difficulties with navigation and toilet stops; a problem when there are so many other walkers around. They were impressed with Hannah’s planning skills and our use of the Ordinance Survey maps, and even more impressed with our ability to put up with each other (as brother and sister) when they realised we weren’t a couple.
            The young woman (Nikka, not to be confused with Nikki), who turned out to be Belgian, then wowed us with a heroic tale. She had climbed Helvellyn and then come along Striding Edge (Google it if you don’t know what I’m talking about), which had scared her considerably, especially because she’d seen someone in front of her practically crawling. She hadn’t been informed what the path entailed and she was still getting over what she’d done.
            We asked her if she was travelling alone. She nodded and then shared with us that she had just broken up with her boyfriend, who had been planning to come too. However, instead of giving up, she came over anyway and seemed to be doing rather well without him. The next morning she left early with a man who, up to that point, had also been walking by himself.

Later on we were sat in the lounge and got chatting with another woman, older this time and quite plainly from Australia. She also had a few stories to tell. Firstly she amazed us by mentioning that she had climbed 35 Wainwright peaks (that is 35 of the mountains that Alfred Wainwright wrote about) in just 4 days! Then she went on to explain that she used to be a fell runner, but was a bit slower now.

            She seemed to spend almost all her time walking up mountains having just come from the Alps where she’d taken some beautiful photographs, which she showed us. Finally she also dropped into the conversation that the last time she and her husband had been in the UK they had decided to cycle home (to Australia) but that they probably wouldn’t do it this time.
            I think her stories tried us out more than anything and not long later we were in bed.

My Advent Calendar - Day 6

December 6^th

Welcome to Day 6 of my Advent Calendar, where I am reliving my Coast to Coast adventure!

Day 4 – Part 1

~ Chris Evans, a damp morning, only 7 miles to go, breezy at the top, people! we meet some cyclists, Patterdale ~

Tuesday morning we woke up early and discovered we had enough signal to tune in to the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on my mobile. One quick text later and Chris welcomed us into the ‘Good Morning Chris Club’, a goal of mine before we set off. Having achieved one target we then set about the main task for the day: getting to Patterdale.

            We packed the tent down (in a light drizzle) and then headed up Tongue Gill, the hill on which we had camped. The early start meant there was no one about and we still felt very much alone on this walk. The hill wasn’t particularly steep but we went slowly. It wasn’t a problem, however, because there was only about seven miles to go, on what was easily our shortest day.
            The sun emerged, but as we neared the top of the hill the wind prevented us from removing our coats. After we had passed a small lake and begun our descent, however, we began to warm up. Walking in the rain is of course much worse than in the sun, but that afternoon turned hot and we slowed considerably. This, though, allowed people to catch up with us.
            Firstly there were just a few walkers enjoying what is quite a popular area. Helvellyn is nearby and Patterdale is a beautiful place to spend a few days. Then came other Coast to Coasters who had begun the day later than us. We quickly realised that the number of people who carry all their gear was considerably less than we thought. In fact no one passed us carrying anything like what we had, although that would have been difficult, laden down as we were. Mostly we received sympathetic looks and comments as the streams of people who came up behind us, and then swept by, made it look as though we were walking through treacle. One man, however, decided that what we needed was to be mocked, and loudly proclaimed to his friends, ‘Hey look at these two campers!’ We just stood by and watched him pass.
            We weren’t too bothered. It was a gorgeous day and there wasn’t far to go, and then we received a gift. A moment to cherish.
            I looked down the hill, ahead of us, and saw two men, apparently in lycra and carrying expensive, road bicycles. As we approached them we found that we were not mistaken, unbelievable as the situation was.
            ‘Are you doing that for a bet?’ I asked, when they were only a few metres away.
            They replied with an out of breath laugh and stopped for a moment. ‘Is this the way to Grasmere?’ one of them asked.
            Hannah and I looked at each other. ‘Well, it’s a way to Grasmere,’ I said, ‘but you’ve got to go over the mountain in front of you.’
            ‘Oh, is it far?’
            Again we were slightly incredulous. ‘Well it’s taken us more than two and a half hours,’ Hannah said, ‘and we’re not carrying bikes.’
            The two guys conferred. ‘Yeah, I think we’ll go back. Thanks for letting us know.’
            ‘No problem,’ we replied as they turned back the way they’d come.

Looking back, that was definitely a special moment on our walk and one that I will remember for a long time.

After a while the path turned into a track and then eventually a road as we came into Patterdale in mid-afternoon sunshine. There to meet us sadly was the man from earlier.

            ‘Ah, you made it then, campers,’ he said in a cheery and yet thoroughly dismissive voice. From that moment on he became known as ‘Campers’, and if you, our happy tormentor, are reading this, you will know why, whenever we saw you we nodded and smiled and waved you on your way. Thank you for giving us a reason to battle on.

 

The lake at the top of the hill.

The lake at the bottom of the hill (Ullswater).

My Advent Calendar - Day 5

December 5^th

Welcome to Day 5 of my Advent Calendar, where I am reliving my Coast to Coast adventure!

Day 3

~ Steep climbs (up and down), the Honister Slate Mine, we take a wrong turn, a long afternoon, Grasmere (sort of), we camp rough ~

Day three began with a marginally earlier start than day two and soon we were heading east once more. We slept at the head of the valley remember, so the only way was up and once we’d found the path we were soon scrambling and cursing our heavy bags again. The climb wasn’t too long, however, and more good views awaited us as we left Ennerdale behind and made our way to the Honister Slate Mine. The hills all around are made of slate and the mine still produces it, although now mainly for souvenirs it would seem. The day was warm already and we were appreciating the impressive Lake District weather (where it is notoriously wet). We appreciated it much more in the next week of course.

            Descending from the Slate Mine we kept to the road to speed things along, although it was tough on our feet. We did reach the bottom quickly though, and continued through Seatoller (a nice little place), around Borrowdale and on to Stonethwaite, (another nice little place). We took a wrong turning somewhere and got lost in Stonethwaite, an impressive feat given its size, and had to go back when we couldn’t find a way across the river.
            Eventually we entered the next valley, a long green climb that seemed to go on forever. We weren’t worried though because Grasmere was just over the hill (we told ourselves). At the top the valley becomes a massive bowl and for a while we lost our heading. After some more scrambling, though, we reached the top and the land flattened out considerably, until we reached the peak.
            By now we were getting tired and we realised there was still a fair way to go. A ‘fair way’ turned into a ‘long way’ as we began the last leg of the day. The path went steeply down into another valley and for a while we seemed to make no forward progress at all. Our pace dropped to about one mile an hour and we even contemplated stopping where we were a few times. It was a gorgeous evening and the stream beside us looked very inviting for weary feet. We pressed on though, hopeful of a nice meal somewhere, and eventually we found it.
            Before reaching Grasmere we were met by a sign that took a short cut past a hotel and restaurant that advertised itself for walkers. We headed straight for it and were somewhat surprised to find a three star establishment. We were too tired to be bothered and headed in. With some apprehension they served us a lovely meal, while the more suitably dressed, sitting at other tables, tried to pretend they couldn’t see us.
            Fully refreshed we marched on as the sun began to set and looked for a place to camp. The reason we had to find a place was because Grasmere apparently considers itself above campers and doesn’t offer any facilities. Eventually we found ourselves a patch of grass just about clear enough of vegetation and sheep droppings, but before we could do any more it began to rain! Where it came from I have no idea but it caught us unawares and we raced to erect the tent before we got too wet. Shattered from an unexpectedly long day we quickly dropped off.

‘The Bowl’

A view from the top

My Advent Calendar - Day 4

December 4^th

Welcome to Day 4 of my Advent Calendar. If you’ve only just found it, where have you been? Go back and read parts 1-3 immediately! I am reliving two special weeks from my year, which my sister and I spent marching across the greatest country on earth, and hopefully giving you an idea of the ups and downs, physical and emotional, that we went through. Enjoy!

Day 2 – Part 2

~ Youth Hostel, we have some food, we become food for the midges, we go to bed ~

Having made it down from High Style we were back in the Ennerdale Valley, although now much closer to the head of it, and this was where we would stop for the night. For those of you who have been in this area you may know what’s coming. Instead of camping we had one of our four, planned, indoor stops, this one at the famous Blacksail Youth Hostel. Right at the head of the valley this old shepherd's cottage is surrounded by mountains, and the only sound you can hear is the rushing river not far away.

            The hostel is fairly small, understandably, but almost always busy, and indeed there were only a few spare beds on the night we stayed. Over the next days, when we told other walkers we had stayed there, we received some jealous looks, so if you want to go, make sure you book early!
            The hostel has a very social atmosphere and after we arrived (past 8pm) and devoured the remainder of the food, which was delicious, we struck up several conversations with the other walkers. A few were also on the Coast to Coast but most were just walking in the Lake District. One man, by the name of Gary, informed us he had once walked the Coast to Coast with some friends, in just seven days. Apparently it was mostly fuelled by beer. There was plenty of drinking going on that night too and one woman kindly offered to take a picture of Hannah and myself, which I won’t post due to the slightly blurred aspect of the shot.
            We decided to sit outside and watch the sun go down, a beautiful sight but ruined slightly by the fact that we were being eaten alive by midges. The pesky creatures are one of most annoying things about staying in the great British countryside, but technically it is their home and we’d moved into it, so I guess that gives them the right to feed off us for a while. After a lot of skin slapping and scratching we gave up and moved back inside. Then, because we were tired and had a long day ahead we opted to find our beds and said goodnight.

 

Looking West from Blacksail YH, down the Ennerdale Valley