If we can walk 1000km, then we can walk 1000 more

Day 39: Kirkby Stephen to Keld

? 17km

?489m

It took a while to get to sleep last night with it being a Friday night and we were at a campsite where big family groups were enjoying beers and BBQ’s.

As a result we ended up sleeping in until about 07:00 and had a slow start to the day taking our time packing up. We checked the weather and to our disappointment, the off road route we had mapped out the day before was going to be in the cloud all day and therefore to reduce the chances of our stuff getting wet again and increase the chance of actually getting a view we went back to plan A and took the road route.

We nearly failed at the first hurdle by missing the left turn and so had to walk back on ourselves 200m or so. Then not too soon after that I managed to loose my hat out the front of my fanny pack so Tom jogged back down the hill to find it. We then continued to gradually ascend the road, passing loads of cyclists whizzing down passed us. We got decent views looking back where we had come from and then ascended further into the cloud, putting on full waterproofs for the rest of the hike.

We arrived in Keld by 14:30 where we were back under the cloud and it was so nice to put the tent up in the dry and for it to be dry.

Keld was a beautiful little village, with walkers being the centre of its activity. The farm and the farm house had toilets, showers, car park and a café run from the main house. It was busy with day visitors as well as a few fellow campers.
We bought a tea and a beer and sat at the picnic benches in the garden of the farm house to enjoy. Tom got a second beer to take away, I cracked open an avocado that I had carried for a day and sprinkled my crushed black pepper crisps on it, what a surprisingly good combo, we then cooked noodles and couscous for dinner.

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Day 40: Keld to Hardraw

? 18km

?618m

Today is the beginning of a few shorter days for us on the Pennine Way, which started with a lush traverse around Kiddon from Keld to Thwaite.
Just as we were passing through the village so were a convoy of expensive looking cars on a bit of a Sunday road trip. It was a cute place with a few holiday cottages, a hotel and a cake shop, none of which were open. We left the road through the village to take the main gravel track which narrowed to a flag stone path to take us up and over Great Shunner Fell. We met a lovely older couple from London who quizzed us about the trip, asking about the finance side of things and we left agreeing that many people don’t make the most of the choices that they have available to them.

The descent down was a bit in the clag but the sun tried it’s best to shine and we took the opportunity when it did show itself to eat our lunch rolls, scotch baps, with salami, lettuce and edam, a combination we have been putting together for most lunches since we left the West Highland Way, as we go past some sort of supermarket every 2 to 3 days.

We arrived at The Old Hall Cottage Campsite, Hardraw by 13:30 and were pitched up in their field for £7 each. It felt like an easy day, but we wanted to give feet and bodies a bit of a rest and there are only so many ways you can split the Pennine Way.
We settled in the pub with a pint, the WiFi and the F1, then caught up on blogs and started ordering a few bits to be delivered for our next zero day.

To give you an idea, our socks are a bit worse for wear being worn every day, so we ordered another pair each, my t-shirt has worn thin on the back from my back pack so I ordered a new one and “operation blister” means I have been getting through KT tape at an expensive rate, so ordered more to keep the supply up. Also my sleeping mat has needed two repairs already and there is definitely a third hole in there somewhere so I took the hit and invested in a new one for the final month or so and hopefully many more adventures to come. Tom broke a trekking pole near the beginning and has been making do with a repair job, but now ordered a replacement pair, again hopefully for many more adventures to come.

Day 41: Hardraw to Horton In Ribblesdale

? 26km

?521m

We were woken in the night by a furry visitor to the empty rubbish packets that were outside the tent, so we scared it away and went for a wee. We then woke at 06:30 and snoozed until just before 07:00, packing up the tent again in the dry with only a few midges and were on the road by 08:00. 3km down the road was the small town of Hawes where we raided the well stocked Spa (supermarket) for 4 days worth of supplies as we would not be passing much until Hebdon Bridge. With our bags heavier we headed for a café as Tom had not had breakfast and we decided as we had a shorter day and the weather looked clear we didn’t need to rush. I had eggs benedict and coffee and Tom had a full English. We then set off to the outdoor shop for gas but they had sold out, so we carried on and started a nice ascent up from the beautiful church in Hawes. We passed through the fields belonging to Gaudy Farm House which looked like it was being beautifully renovated.

At the top we let a couple of cyclists on e-bikes pass and also met William, who then joined us for the rest of the day. He had quit his job, gone to visit his parents in Newcastle and decided he was going to walk back home to Huddersfield via the Pennine Way. He had definitely got his hill walking mojo back after a tricky first couple of days and we were all grateful for each others company for what was a scorcher of a day. We walked at a manageable pace, grateful for the rare gust of wind and shared stories as we made our way towards Horton.

We saw loads of cars ahead in a field and wondered what was going on. As we reached the top of the hill it became clear they belonged to a big group hoping to fly off the top in thier microlights. The views were beautiful, classic Yorkshire Dales like you see in the tea adverts, and as we decended we bumped into a guy who had retired and was doing the Pennine Way 10 years after his first trip, he insisted that it had got steeper.

He recommended some pubs for Tom, and an ideal swim pool just around the corner, we gave him a Tunnocks in return for his tips as he said he had not had any chocolate since been on the trail.
Tom couldn’t resist taking a dip in the recommended spot, the water was a bit on the orange side with a slimy bottom but he insisted it was worth the cool dip.

We carried on down into the town and the first building we came to was the Crown Pub so I had a Coke and the boys had an Orange and Lemonade. We said our goodbyes to William and headed to our campsite, but not without stopping for an ice cream at a small shop on the way. The man running the campsite was very particular about how he ran the place but it’s a nice local farm so was quiet and pretty chilled.

Tom had a bit of an icky tummy and as a result didn’t finish his dinner and nibbled on bread, I think we were both a bit dehydrated. It was warm going to bed and then the rain came, but the thundery drops soon sent me to sleep.