Coast to Coast walk Day 6 – Kirkby Stephen to Keld
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Day 6 of the coast to coast walk was the first shortish day spent walking between Kirby Stephen and Keld. In my forecasts I still had us taking over 6 1/2 hours which is down to the fact that there is some elevation built into this leg and also that I am as previously reported a slow walker (short legs!).
The highpoint of this day is passing Nine Standards Rigg which is the halfway mark and is also the watershed, after which the rivers start to flow East instead of West.
Update:
We didn’t follow the prescribed route today. Gave the knee a rest by following the road that runs parallel. It’s what Wainwright tells you to take if the weather is bad at the top.
The Fletcher House B&B was a nice building. Breakfast was nothing to write home about but ok and we when we went down at 8am we were hit with the statement “oh by the way they are coming to pick up your bags at 8.15”. Back to the room we went to pack.
At breakfast we met the person who runs Packhorse – the baggage porting company. Came in to chat. He told us they were growing and booked between 10k and 15k room nights (can’t remember exactly).
Afterwards we picked up our lunch, some blister plasters from the outdoor shop and some paracetamol and after sun from the chemist.
Bumped into Ajax and Luke and then set off in our separate directions. They up to 9 Standards and we along the road. It was a lovely walk. Very scenic. Quite a long uphill section but nothing unmanageable.
We saw lapwings (farmer’s wife told me what they were). The same farmers wife advised me to pick some wool from the hedge and use it in my boots to cushion the impact. I’ve picked a pocket full. Their farm has 1300 breeding ewes – 2,000+ lambs a year.
The walk down along the river Swale was absolutely delightful and we are now ensconced in the residents lounge of the Keld Lodge Hotel having a beer and doing this update. Ajax and Luke are staying next door and are swinging by for dinner at 7.
Outside we met a chap called Richard who has just retired from the police force. He is doing the Lands End to John O’Groats walk. 1200 miles in 60 days. Work out the average!!!
| starting B&B | Fletcher House, Fletcher Hill Market Street, Kirkby Stephen CA17 4QQ |
| forecast/actual km | 18.1/16.91 |
| forecast/actual time | 6h 37min/5h 40min |
| weather | beautiful sunny day with a breeze |
| forecast/actual ascent m | 604.80/595 |
| breakfast | toasted bacon sandwich and bowl of fruit |
| lunch | cheese and onion sandwich from coop plus orange, mars bar and pack of BBQ beef flavour beef |
| dinner | |
| finishing B&B | Keld Lodge Hotel, Keld DL11 6LL |
Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 6 Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.
While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.
Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.
Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.
A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.
