Nineth Walk Day - Kirkby Stephen to Keld

This day is Joe's birthday.  We hoped to help him enjoy a pleasant walk through glorious countryside.  What he got was quite different.....!

But first, an update on our various physical frailties might be in order.  Joe's dog bit leg is healing well and he claims to have no discomfort at all.  Toni's knee does give her some trouble by mid-day but she manages it with some Tylenol.  Ben's Achilles continues to behave benignly, with only minor ache at day end.  Various blisters and hot spots come and go, without serious distress.  Ben's cold is slowly improving, and has not been much of a dampener on his enjoyment.  All in all, we have much to be thankful for!  This is highlighted by the plight of several walkers we have met who have had to curtail their walk or miss days due to injuries, bad joints, and other problems.

Our stay at Manor House (our B&B in Kirkby Stephen) was warm and cozy.  It is a very large house with expansive staircase, huge rooms and large windows overlooking extensive gardens and the hills beyond.  It is also full of cats.  Our hostess, Jean, adopts cats, birds, red squirrels, and (most incongruously) parrots.  When we came downstairs for breakfast Jane ushered us to a window, through which we observed two large, colorful parrots enjoying breakfast on the lawn in a light rain.

Drying our soaked clothes overnight was a major concern.  Nothing worse than putting on sodden pants and boots as you start a new day!  Jean solved this by offering us the use of her washer and a unique (for us) drying method.  Each load of laundry ended up on racks hanging over the massive AGA stove in the family kitchen!  This method did the trick, despite our worries about having dirty socks in our eggs.

Breakfast was an extended affair, with Jean leading discussions ranging from weather to economy to politics and the royals.  It was obvious that she did not want us to leave, the excuse being that we should wait for the rain to stop.

We left the B&B and walked to the parish church for a brief tour.  The most impressive piece, amongst many artifacts both sacred and profane, in this church is a very old (even for England) Norse stone image of their God Loki, which was interpreted by Christians as the devil and used by clergy to scare people into proper behavior.  The layers of history, people, religion, and culture are impressive - despite the apparent, superficial uniformity of people in this part of England.  One of the benefits of a slow pace is the time to contemplate and digest what we see and experience.

OK...once more into the breach!  We followed the C2C path out of the village, across a narrow bridge and along the river.  The rain had stopped and would remain mostly at bay for the day, with occasional light showers. We climbed steeply up a paved road and around a massive sandstone quarry - obviously where the materials for the village had been produced. The road became gravel and then dirt and then a jumbled rocky path.  We came to our first bog of the day - this one with two wooden boardwalks spanning the worst parts.  (Little did we know that this bog was the least of our day's challenges!)
 

There are three optional paths: Blue and Red paths head up to the peak and the Green path goes around and stays lower.  We chose the Blue path, mostly because it is recommended in the late summer.  We managed to figure out Joe's gps unit and so were able to put waypoints into it, which proved very helpful in staying on the route despite the total disappearance of any discernible path.

From the first bog, the path trended steeply upward toward the Nine Standards.  These are nine large, perhaps 10-15 ft high cairns oriented roughly NE/SW (no idea why) and visible for some distance.  The original builders are a mystery, but some think it may have been the Romans - making them VERY old.  They did provide shelter from the wind and allowed us a short break for a snack.  The views on all sides were panoramic, to the Lake District fells to the west and the Pennine mountains to the north and south.  This is the central spine of England and is the watershed dividing line.  It also marks our departure from Cumbria and entrance into Yorkshire.  Despite the slight drizzle and dark overcast, it was a splendid view!

We moved away from the standards and the path promptly disappeared into the open moor.  Footing became wetter and less firm.  Thanks to the gps and a few isolated guide posts, we found our way without much problem.  All too soon, we were ankle deep in bog with no alternative paths.  There was nothing for it but to pick our way around the worst mud pits, sometimes detouring 100 yards or more to the side and jumping over mud filled ravines.  Occasionally, we would sink several inches into the mud, but we managed to avoid getting seriously wet. (We have been told many stories about walkers sinking into muck up their waist in this section; others losing shoes, breaking hiking poles, and bones.) We commented (whined, perhaps!) that this was no path or trail - it was less than an animal track and was so bad that not even sheep would us it.  Come to think of it, there were few sheep here (hmmm...that should have told us something.)

The scenery during our slog through the peat bogs was dark and dour - altogether a cheerless scene enhanced by grey skies and threatening rain.  (Sorry, no rainbow)  We did find a spot for lunch in a nice valley and enjoyed some sun.  As we worked our way down this beck, the trail became better defined and less boggy - still muddy and poorly defined, but more manageable.

(Notice the black scars on the hillsides - this is exposed peat, which is very soft, easily eroded and always ready to slump and slide.)

After what seemed like forever, we reached Keld and our B&B, the Butt House ("Butt" refers to the butt of a rifle and/or a blind or "hide" for hunters.  It turns out that our host Tony is an active hunter and participates in massive grouse hunts in the high fells.)  We had left Kirkby Stephen at 10 am and arrived at Keld at 6:15 pm.  We required over 8 hours to traverse nearly 16 miles.  When we thumped up to our B&B our hostess, Linda, greeted us warmly and assured us that the next day would be the best walk of the whole path.  Thus reassured, we happily settled in, but had to quickly prepare for dinner.

Keld is a tiny hamlet at about 1200 ft elevation, situated on a hillside overlooking Swale valley.  The weather had cleared and the views were lovely, further enhanced by a glorious purple sunset and a huge, rising full moon.  

As my mother might say, this was a day of "building memories."