Author Topic: C2C 28 June - 02 July 2018 - Part 2  (Read 817 times)

johnberman

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 50
C2C 28 June - 02 July 2018 - Part 2
« on: 22:07:56, 19/07/18 »

28 June - Day 4   Grasmere to Patterdale 10 Miles

Stayed at the YHA and had a good experiene

BLOG ENTRY - Morale Returns

The best day so far!! We left the youth hostel relatively early after a fry up and another shower – got to take advantage when it’s there!

We set off and enroute popped into the co op as that seems like quite a luxury at the mo. Got our fave dry pasta mix for lunch and a smoothie for a bit of a boost. Also the essential chocolate which in this case was twix I feel like Gavin’s chocolate draw is following us around! When we actually got going we double checked with all the locals we were going on the right direction after the previous days mistakes. This climb was 1500 feet which actually seemed pretty easy compared to some of the others. It was a very sweaty hot climb but there were lots of people around and we were all in a good mood whilst trying to keep our balance with our packs.

Got to the top where there was a lovely view of a tarn aka lake. We walked down and set up there for lunch. John got his key boiler going and it was time for pasta lunch. I had to have a quick dip before as the water was so beautiful! Surprisingly it wasn’t that cold and there were a couple of others in. It just felt glorious the cold water on the feet so I made John and Lucia paddle.

We got the packs back on and it was a gentleishhh (for Lake District) walk down hill to the town of Patterdale. We stayed at a nice youth hostel again where we pitched our tents. It was the England game this night so we headed down to the local pub to get some food and some beers. We got there and it was half time. Sat outside and had a look at the menu, we all had fantastic burgers. England lost but the beer was good then off for an early night after a fab day!







29 - Day 5 Patterdale to Shap 16 Miles

Despite the  planning I booked New Ing Lodge for the wrong day (check your dates) so we ended up staying at the back of a car park by the Crown pub

BLOG ENTRY - People are funny

Had a great fry up at the youth hostel and also fruit salad as we are not feeling the most healthy – just been piling in the stodgy for calories!!

One thing to note is northerners are nuts. They do crazy challenges and run up cliffs. We saw some guy running the same route as us twice. I mean Lucia and I weren’t too sorry as there hasn’t been much eye candy around. Think more old guys in khaki shorts with bad hats and poles (sorry John). This very morning we met one of those nutters. He was doing all the summits in the Lake District and this day he was taking on 7. He was easily 70+ and had done coast to coast there and back in 2 weeks. We were having a chat and then he told us how photogenic we all are and if he could take a photo. The three of us lined up and he took three photos, each shot getting closer and closer to mine and Lucia’s chest! We had just had breakfast so there was no scaffolding in place and a fine breeze came along. He left a very happy man!

Johns boots had started to come unglued at the base so we asked at the youth hostel for tape or strong but they didn’t have any so the lady suggested we try the local shop. Low and behold they had duct tape so check out his new silver kicks below!!

We then packed up and got our boots on ready for our last day in the lakes. We had a very steep climb that even the book states an annoyingly steep climb. It just kept on coming, you got over one hump

And oh yes there were several more waiting.

We had some amazing motivational encouragement from a lovely gent called Barry. We were a bit lost and he was trying to do the same route as us so we stuck together and worked it out. It turned out he had done coast to coast twice so was nice talking to someone who knew the deal. He was very impressed we were carrying our packs! After about an hour of walking with us we took a break and he carried on. About 2 hours later we bumped into him again and he said how amazingly we are doing and that he wanted to buy us a drink later. We also met another gent called cliff who we were chatting to. I said we are doing it for charity and I started explaining he said he really wanted to donate to us as he has an autistic grandchild who bizarrely goes to school in Kingston! What a small world. We gave him the link to the blog so thanks cliff for giving us that encouragement we needed to complete the hill!

The worst bit was the reservoir it just went on and on and that’s all I am going to say on this one as it was too painful to try and remember.

We rang ahead the campsite that we had booked and we had booked it for the day before. So frantically ringing around other places and everywhere was busy. We were also very sweaty and I had fallen in mud again so could all have done with a shower. There was also about 2 miles of these evil brambles that we all had a bit of a reaction to. Eventually got to the town and it had just gone 8 and the chippy closed at 8. We legged it in and they had a steak pie and 2 fish left. We took it all and demolished it outside on the pavement with a can of Coke. The worst bit was we had been told they did halloumi fritters which I really wanted to try out! We kept walking down the street and there was a pub called the crown that said it had camping. I egged it in and they had space! We were shown to a very small green space which was 3x4m but it was better than nothing! We told the barmaid we needed food and she came out to see what we wanted. She offered us chips, gravy and cheese which my face lit up to as I have never had chips and gravy!!! It was delicious and filled a hole. Lucia was then knackered so went to bed but I managed to twist johns arm for a couple of pints. As I walked in there were about 6 people in there all roaring drunk and not a lot of teeth between them. There wasn’t a lot of good beer on offer so we stuck to a Guinness as you can never go wrong with that. Then after the locals laughing hard about our walk it was time for bed. Annoyingly we didn’t take any photos but there was a very strange thing round the back of this pub it looked like a pigs home the circled dome ones but when looked inside it was for humans and there were a few tatty duvets in there. We figured it was for the locals when they were all too drunk!! So all in all quite an experience!!

















30 June - Day 6   Shap to Kirkby Stephen 21 Miles

Stayed at the Pennine View Caravan and Camping park and saw my first Red Squirrel

BLOG ENTRY - More moors!

We woke up at the pub, unfortunately there were no outside taps that we could see and nature was calling. Thankfully we found some public loos across the way where we could do our business and clean teeth etc. The book we had been following recommended a cafe up the road for cakes and pastries. They opened at 8 as did the co op so we were the first customers. Had a lovely coffee and genuinely one of the best pastries ever. They also had freshly baked cheese scones on the counter that reminded me of my nan so had to get a few of them for a snack. We also realised it would be a better sarnie for lunch from there than the co op so ordered lunch to take away. I could have sat there all morning but unfortunately that wasn’t a luxury that was available!

We set off and by this point we were out of the lakes and according to our sources the route would be sign posted which would save so much time getting the book out and checking we were going the right way! The best bit was it was considerably flatter. John kept describing it as rolling hills which was far more welcoming than evil peaks! We had 21 miles to walk today which didn’t seem to daunting. We stopped in a really nice village and stopped for a can of Coke and the cheese scone. It was hilarious because there were a cycling club sat next to us that we were having a chat with. Mine and johns rucksacks were pretty compact and we weren’t carrying much. Lucia however had a towel and a speaker hanging from hers. The best bit was what she referred to as her flag which was a pair of knickers she had tried to dry but in taking the bag on and off and got dirtier so she decided to leave them tied on! The cyclists found this a very amusing sight!

We set off again and we were aiming to do about 5 more miles before lunch then we would have done 12 which broke up the day a bit. Conversation was great talking about 90s films involving Tom hanks. The fave was obviously big!! We then stopped for lunch trying to seek shade which meant leaning up against a wall. Lucia took her boots off which was when we realised how hilarious the tan lines are. Her feet belong to Anne Boleyn and legs, arms and shoulders Frida kahlo! She has also managed to burn which says it all. This was factor 50 sport sun screen so me and john didn’t have a hope in hell!! We set off again and then it started to become long and tedious. There were some annoying hills which you just didn’t need after walking 18 miles. It was getting late by this point as well and we were ringing round places working out where we could eat. Basically, nowhere seemed to serve food past 8:30. I asked one of the people we called and she said our only options were Chinese and Indian so obviously we went for Indian!!
It was quite a sight walking in as everyone was semi dressed up and we could barely walk and were the exact opposite! A couple of curries, naan bread, rice and several cobras fixed our fatigue but added to the hysteria of the whole thing!

We then set off on the mission of finding the campsite. We got there about 11:30 and didn’t know where to pitch the tent as there were lots of caravans and we were definitely the feral lot of them all! We started pitching near some trees then I double checked with a guy going for a wee and he told us to go to the next field where the other tents were. By this point Lucia had started to put up our tent and really didn’t want to move! So we dragged her and the semi erected tent across the site. Pitched up and before you knew it was snooze a clock.

Day seven is day off so I need a rest from all this writing and thinking. We have blisters than need to be popped!!

















01 July - Day 7 - DAY OFF




02 July Day 8 Kirkby Stephen to Keld 13 Miles

Stayed at the Rukins Park Lodge site by the river - perfect spot

BLOG ENTRY - Rested and recuperated!

Today’s walk was from Kirkby Stephen where we had the day off yesterday to Keld. It was a nice 13 miles so we woke up early so we could have a longish lunch and a few breaks.

The highlight of the morning was seeing a red squirrel whilst we had our breakfast and coffee in the campsite (not really mine as I think squirrels are rats with tales but each to their own)!

We were lucky with the weather as it was fairly cloudy but with some sun. Then the sun decided to pop out for the last couple of miles that made it a bit more of a mission.

After we had set off we realised it was Monday as there were a couple of school kids bunking off underneath a very pretty river bridge- don’t get that in London.

There were a few hills but nothing too evil. About 4 miles of the wall was on a road with beautiful scenery. We all added to the beautiful scenery by each having wees at separate points on the road making sure there was definitely a car driving past!

We stopped and had an alfresco gourmet lunch of bagels with ham. We treated ourselves to three slices per bagel!! The next treat was the standard lunch time snack of a twix. As we had been feeling a bit stodgy I got two bags of satsumas so we were snacking at that. It felt like being back at my desk! Then onto coffee, the steel cafeteria has been the best thing we brought. Then we were off!

More talks of Tom hanks films then reminiscing about die hard. I also was told that Alan Rick Man is dead!! Didn’t remember that one!

Got to keld where we were staying. It was a very small village consisting of a church and hotel but the hotel did beer and food so we were content!! The campsite had the best showers yet. A bit of a basic wet room but they were powerful and hot. Lucia had a hilarious moment where a guy was moaning about how long people took in the shower. She was glad he wasn’t still waiting when she came out!

Off to reeth tomorrow!

















 

Terms of Use     Privacy Policy