Captain's Log

Early Start

I was awake at 5am and packed up and walking within the hour. I hoped that my early morning manoeuvres had not woken my two campsite mates at St Giles Farm. The reason for such an early start was that I expected this to be a very long walking day. I wanted to make significant progress crossing the Dales. Initially, I’d head into Richmond where I dreamed of finding somewhere open for breakfast (unlikely this early on a Sunday). I’d then follow the River Swale westwards to Reeth where I was a bit more hopeful for finding somewhere to eat for lunch. The C2C splits at this point, with a lower level route following the River Swale along Swaledale, and a higher level route that crosses the moors to the north of Swaledale. I wanted to take the high route. I had a vague intention of camping at the derelict Blakethwaite Mill, next to Gunnerside Beck. If things went swimmingly, then I’d might even crack on to Keld and camp at Rukin’s campsite. The Terminator had a B&B booked at Reeth and so I was pretty sure I wouldn’t see him today. He told me that he intended doing an extra long day to Kirkby Stephen, the day after. That was my destination for tomorrow too, and so there was a chance that our paths might cross. Either way, I was pretty sure that I’d not seen the last of the Terminator. 

Richmond

The first two hours of walking was mostly field-hopping. In fact, the very first field was full of St Giles Farm’s cows, although they took little interest in me. At Colburn, I came across the Hildyard Arms, a pub which had been on my ‘potential’ list of campsites. Apparently they let you camp in their beer garden. This didn’t seem to be too large a space and so I’m glad that I decided to stay at St Giles Farm. The Terminator had recommended leaving the official C2C route into Richmond and following a footpath along the bank of the River Swale. I was tempted to do this, but wanted to see what the official route offered. I found that it went high above the river and actually provided some good views of the castle stuck on top of the hill of the town. I crossed the river and climbed a very steep hill to the town’s open market place. It was just before 8am and I found a bench and brewed a coffee. As the church bells rang out the hour, I noticed that a queue of people had formed outside Greggs on the other side of the market place. Its doors opened and the people rushed in like it was a Black Friday sale. Bloody hell, a Greggs opening at 8am on a Sunday; how lucky was that! I packed my stuff up and dashed over. I bought an omelette baguette, pasty and a coffee, with some biscuit treats for later in the day. The day had got off to a decent start.    

I followed a gradually rising country lane out of Richmond. One house had an Automobile Association sign indicating that it was the ‘centre line of totality’ for the solar eclipse that occurred on June 1927. We are due to get around a 90% solar eclipse on the 12th of August this year, which is quite exciting. The next full solar eclipse in the UK will be the 23rd of September, 2090 and so I’m looking forward to that one too. 

Marske And Marrick

The tarmac ran out and I started field hopping my way westwards. The River Swale meandered in the valley below me whilst limestone scars traced the horizon above. I felt that I was properly in the Dales now. The easy route followed the contour of the hillside and I made good time. In the village of Marske I found a bench with ‘Best Kept Village 1971’ inscribed on it. I’d found a similar one for 1967 in Bolton-on-Swale, yesterday. I nearly walked past the lovely 12th century  St Edmund’s church in the village. It was a good job I spotted a small sign indicating that it hosted an honesty café. I just managed to get some drinks and a chocolate bar before their Sunday Service started. The additional calories proved invaluable since the C2C followed a road out of Marske that was so steep and long that I felt like Sisyphus rolling his boulder up his hill. Groups of EaBos made their way easily in the opposite direction and smiled maliciously at the effort I was having to put in. I met even more EaBos as I reached the crest of the hill and started heading across fields again. Obviously this was a bubble of EaBos that had been based in Reeth overnight.     

The route was rolling now. I descended through fields to Ellers Beck, crossed it, and then climbed back up the other side of the valley. I passed the farm at Nun Cote Nook where there was a sign advertising treats and even a campsite. I was too close to Reeth now for further diversions and so I pressed on. I crested the next hill and then started descending to the small village of Marrick. I’d walked from Marrick to Reeth in 2022 (see Captain’s Log, Fremlington Calver Divide) and so the route was familiar to me. I descended some stone steps through woodland to Marrick Priory. Unfortunately, the priory was on private grounds and so  it was not possible to get a close look at the place. I joined a single track road that swung close to the River Swale until I was walking along the river bank itself. At last I’d reached Reeth. Just in time for lunch. 

Reeth

I stumbled into the first cafe I came to in search of calories. This happened to be the Copper Kettle. I reviewed the menu and ordered a baked potato and 5 bean stew.  
‘Do you want coleslaw with that?’ asked the woman behind the counter.  
‘Sure. Yes please’ I replied as my stomach rumbled. After 10 minutes or so, my hearty meal was delivered. The potato was presented in a small, white enamel bathtub that looked like a shallow version of my old camping mug. The small potato was so tightly squeezed into this container that there was hardly any room for the dollop of hearty 5 bean stew on top. The coleslaw consisted of a few scrapes of purple cabbage smeared with a bit of mayo. Five minutes later, I was out of the cafe and searching for more sustenance. I found it at the Post Office grocery store on the other side of the village green. My food selection wasn’t particularly healthy, but it stopped my stomach rumbling. Before I left Reeth, I procured a rum and raisin cornet from the Ice Cream Parlour. It was remarkable in that it neither tasted of rum nor raisin. I’m sure it added to my calorie intake though. I headed off out of town in search of the C2C high level route. 

High Level Road

C2Cers have a choice between a high and low level route between Reeth and Keld. The low level path follows the River Swale along the Swaledale valley, before swinging north at Muker, towards Keld. The high level route gradually ascends high on to the moors following a route parallel to Swaledale, before converging with the low level route, just after Swinner Gill. I’d done a lot of the lower level route before, but the majority of the high level route was a mystery to me. I hoped to find a suitable wildcamp spot on the high moors, with one provisionally booked in my mind next to Gunnerside Beck. As the afternoon progressed, the day got greyer. Mist drifted off the tops of the hills. It felt like rain was in the air. I wondered if I’d made the correct decision. 

The C2C followed a contour high above the Swaledale valley, before swinging towards Surrender Bridge. I’d actually driven over Surrender Bridge about a month ago, on a road that you hoped and prayed that you didn't meet any oncoming traffic. Apart from a couple of parked cars, the place was deserted today. The name of the bridge actually derives from the Old English word sur (meaning sour/damp) describing the surrounding peaty moorland. The C2C now followed a wide stone track alongside Mill Gill. To be honest, the area started to look a bit grim. The mist drifted in and out and it seemed to be getting darker. The gill had obviously once been very industrialised. This became very evident when I reached the derelict remains of the Old Gang Lead Smelting Mill. There was a square chimney still standing and walls of many buildings were still in place. There were even some rusted remains of old machinery. The ruins date back from the 18th and 19th centuries. The place must have looked hellish when that chimney was kicking out black smoke. 

I continued uphill on the stone track. The signage was hit and miss on the high level route. You definitely need to be able to navigate since it is a high and exposed area. There are several roads and tracks leading off into the moors and it would be easy to take the wrong one. I crossed  Level House Bridge and headed westwards onto the moors. I was walking in mist now and it was quite eerie with the strong headwind and the remains of the old mining industry looming out of the gloom. I was surprised at how devastated the landscape looked, with many areas having no heather or soil. At one point, I found the remains of an old stone breaking machine. The writing on its frame said that it had been made in Leeds. 

I dropped out of the mist and into the top end of Gunnerside Gill. I had a plan to wildcamp at the ruins of the Blakethwaite Mill there, but as I approached I noticed a couple of tents pitched in the grassy flat spot I’d earmarked from a previous visit.
‘You are quite welcome to pitch with us’ suggested the elder of the two campers there. They were each sipping from a bottle of beer. The pupils of the younger one were so glazed and his grin so fixed, I wondered if he’d been consuming a bit more than beer. To be fair, they were friendly enough and their presence wouldn’t have put me off pitching there. The problem was that there wasn’t really another good, flat pitch in the area.
‘I’m going to crack on to Keld’ I told them. I wished them a good evening and started up the steep side of the gill. I was about 22 miles into today’s walk and the high level route was far more undulating than I'd imagined. I ascended into mist again and the wind was so bad that I’d find later that it had blown away my sit mat and a water bottle from my rucksack. There were more desolate moorland meanderings and then I started the final descent into Swinner Gill. I dropped out of the mist and I was back on familiar territory again now. The path down Swinner Gill was steep and demanded concentration, especially after a long day. It passed more derelict lead mines and the view opened up southwards, down the valley holding the River Swale. I followed the trail past Crackpot Hall and a stone track gradually descended to the East Gill waterfalls. It was actually too dark now to get a good photo of the waterfalls. I had plenty of photographs of them back home anyway. 

Keld

A footbridge took me across the River Swale, much narrower now than the one I’d crossed this morning at Richmond. I climbed the steep stone tramway up to the village of Keld. It was 7.30 pm and I wondered whether Rukin’s campsite might have closed for the day. I rang the bell and was thankful when a woman appeared and booked me in.
‘Have you come from Kirkby?’ she asked.
‘No, from Catterick’ I replied. She looked a bit surprised. Despite their shop being officially shut, she offered to temporarily open it if I wanted anything for the evening. I thanked her, but I didn’t. I pitched my tent and within an hour I was asleep. 

It had been a 25 mile walk with 1,269 metres of ascent and so had been a very tough day at the office. It had taken me from the outskirts of the Dales to its centre though and I was happy with the progress. The route from Richmond to Reeth had been pretty and enjoyable. I was glad that I’d done the high level route over the moors, but I have to admit that it was pretty desolate and grim up there, especially on a misty, grey day like today. Tomorrow would be an easier 14 mile haul over Nine Standards Rigg to Kirkby Stephen. The Terminator would be walking from Reeth to Kirkby Stephen. I wondered if we would meet again tomorrow.