Captain's Log

Kirkby Stephen

I was the first backpacker up at the Pennine View campsite in Kirkby Stephen and I packed away my tent as quietly as I could. Today was going to be about a 20 mile haul to Shap and so I wanted an early start. Looking at the OS map, the route meandered over fells and fields. None of it looked particularly high, but it did look undulating. Although I’d driven on the A685 across the region I’d never actually done any walking around here. 

It was a grey and muggy day as I set off through Kirkby Stephen’s streets. It felt as though there might even be some rain in the air. Over to the east I could see the massive lumps of High Seat and Nine Standards Rigg, although the nine cairns were not visible on its summit due to cloud. I reached Greenriggs farm and the field-hopping started. Sheep would keep me company for most of the day. The fields tended to be large and so the field-hopping didn’t seem too intrusive to my enjoyment. 

Smardale

I briefly joined country lanes before heading on to Smardale Fell. The fell was still partitioned into large fields and sheep were prevalent, but there was more of an open feel to the place. I reached its crest and started dropping down the other side into a valley. Looking north up the valley I could see the impressive Smardale Gill Viaduct. This was a 14 arch 27 metre high structure that spanned the valley. It was completed in 1861 and was closed 101 years later. A Google search revealed that the deck of it was now accessible to walkers. I made a note of including it on a future walk.  

The path headed down into the valley and I crossed the a using Smardale Bridge. This was a very pretty area. As I climbed up the other side of the valley I saw a Red Deer bounding along the path I’d just walked on. I met my first EaBo of the day descending to the bridge. It was still early and I wondered where she’d set off from this morning since there didn’t seem anywhere obvious on the map. The area around here looked suitable for wildcamping, but then I spotted some cattle grazing in the far corner of the field. I never found out where she’d camped since she scooted past me issuing a brisk ‘hello.'     

I thought I’d escaped the cattle, but in the next field I found a collection of cows, calves and even a bull. They were all congregated around the exit gate to the field. There was no way to avoid them and so I walked through the herd making what I thought were soothing bovine noises. Apart from one scraping one of its hooves along the ground, they seemed fairly passive, just keeping a canny eye on my progress through them.  I blew a sigh of relief once I was on the other side of the gate. Some Wheaters joined me for a while. They’d stand on the stone wall and wait for me to approach. When I was close, they’d  then fly 10 or 15 yards further along the wall and wait for me again. The birds are ground nesting and this behaviour is a defence mechanism, drawing you away from their nests,

Honesty Fridge

On Ravenstondale Moor I came across one of the most unusual sites that I’ve ever seen whilst out walking. In the middle of the moor, a fridge had been placed next to the C2C path and the writing on its door indicated it was an honesty fridge. I looked around 360° and saw a complete lack of civilisation. I wondered who maintained this. For one moment I even thought it might even have been plugged into the mains since the electric lead led underground, but of course it wasn’t. It was well stocked with drinks and treats though and so I bought myself a couple of orange juices. 

As I was making my way from the fridge, I met a couple of elderly Kiwis. I talked to them about trekking in New Zealand. They said that there were some long distance paths, but none of them were accessible to your general hiker like the C2C. A few hundred yards behind them were a couple of Aussie women. I joked with them that they should be embarrassed to let a couple of elderly Kiwis get ahead of them on the walk. I think they took it the right way. 

Terminator Returns

I missed a turn-off just after my meeting with the Aussies. I suspect there wasn’t a sign. It meant an extra half-mile on my walk, but it was a lesson that you really need to keep on your toes with this walk. The trail led to Sunbiggin where I found a farm that had a wonderful honesty café. Three EaBos were already sitting around a patio table, drinking pop and eating treats. I entered the well stocked shed holding a bountiful selection of treats and bought a couple of drinks from the well stocked fridge. I pulled up a chair and joined the three EaBos at the patio table. They were guys in their 50-60s who were completing the C2C in stages. This stage was from Shap to Richmond. They were ex-military and had at one time been based in Catterick. I suppose it was a bit like heading home for them. One of the blokes asked where I was from and the interchange finally deduced that I lived a couple of streets away from him. We’d both moved to the area at the same time  years ago and yet we still didn’t recognise each other. What an incredibly small world. As we reminisced about happenings back home, I heard some clomping on the tarmac. I looked over the garden wall to see the Terminator making his way up the country lane. Crikey, he was still on the C2C after all! 

I hadn’t seen the Terminator for a couple of days now and so there was a bit of catching up to do. He’d walked from St Giles Farm to Reeth and stayed in a B&B the day before yesterday. Yesterday had been a long day for him; he’d taken the lower level C2C route along Swaledale, before turning north to Keld. He’d then taken the same route as me over Nine Standards Rigg (see Captain’s Log, Nine Standards Rigg Gig). He’d treated himself to another B&B in Kirkby Stephen, which is why I’d not seen him on the Pennine View campsite. I’d already been at the honesty café for over half an hour and so I  decided to make a move. The Terminator was going to stay longer for a rest. We were both heading to Shap and so our paths might cross again. I’d decided to camp at the King’s Arms there on the recommendation of an EaBo at the Pennine View campsite. The Terminator said he was going to camp at the New Ing Lodge. We said our farewells and I set off on the next stage of the journey to Shap. 

Crosby Ravensworth Fell

Most of the EaBos that I’d met during this morning had stayed at Orton. This was a village that was slightly off trail, but allowed this section between Shap and Kirkby Stephen to be split into two stages. The bubble of EaBos that I started to meet now had started from Shap. I chatted to one of these walkers. He asked me where I intended to stay in Shap and I told him that this was the King’s Arms.
‘No, don’t stay there. Stay at the New Ing Lodge. I’ve stayed at both places in the past and the New Ing Lodge is a lot better,’ he replied. With a recommendation like that, I really had to stay at the New Ing Lodge. The field-hopping that I’d experienced since the Sunbiggin honesty cafe gave way to a road walk, and then a roadwalk to the access point for Crosby Ravensworth Fell. The turn-off to the fell was yet another occasion where the signage on the C2C was poor. There was one C2C post there that was definitely pointing in the wrong direction for EaBos. It was all relatively clear on the OS map though and I started making my way across the fell. The route went past Robin Hood’s Grave, although I very much doubted whether his skeleton was really under the pile of stones. The path was undulating, but still a fairly easy walk. The views around here were far better than I was expecting. The moor itself was relatively low lying, making the surrounding hills seem higher. To the south I could see the rounded silhouettes of the Howgills. Over to the west, the tsunami of the Lake District hills grew higher by the hour. To the north, the northern Pennines looked majestic. I got a wonderful view straight down the High Cup Nick valley. I always wondered what you were looking at when standing at the head of High Cup Nick and looking down its valley. Now I knew; Crosby Ravensworth Fell. 

M6

I joined a path heading northwards to Oddendale and met an EaBo walking the other way. I’d not seen anybody for ages and so I was curious as to where he was heading.
 ‘Kirkby Stephen’ he replied, when I asked. It was now about 5pm and I’d set off from Kirkby at 7am this morning. It seemed to me unlikely he’d reach it today. He said that he’d camped along Haweswater last night, but hadn’t set off until 10am. I suspected he wanted to wildcamp before Kirkby, but just didn’t want to tell me.     

The path reached the massive Shapfell Quarry whose works span the M6, the quarry being on its east side and the works on its west. The quarry started in the 1950s to provide high purity limestone for the UK steel makers. In fact, British Steel took over the quarry in the 1970s and by the 1980s the quarry was producing ⅔ rds of the steel maker's requirements. Due to the demise of the UK steel industry, quarrying has ceased at the site since 2009, although the limeworks is still active using limestone from elsewhere. 

The M6 had been an ever growing presence on my left. The path gradually went down to a footbridge across the motorway. There’d been an old chap standing on the bridge watching the traffic and I caught up with him on the far side of the bridge. I was surprised to find that he was a doppelganger for Alfred Wainwright. He even sounded like him with his rumbling, grumbling Cumbrian accent. Presumably he was a local farmer since he disappeared across a field where there wasn’t a public footpath. 

I had to cross another footbridge over the west coast main railway line to get to Shap. The houses of Shap backed right up to the railway embankment and the bridge offered a lofty view into their gardens. One garden was dedicated to a large model railway. It consisted of multiple lines, buildings and trains. The owner was doing a bit of gardening and I wondered about shouting down to him to see if he would switch it on for me. I didn’t want to disturb him though. It seemed rather ironic that he had a full scale version of thing running alongside his garden just a few metres away. 

Shap

Shap was quite an unusual town in that it basically consists of one very long high street. The C2C delivered me to its south end, directly opposite the King’s Arms where I’d originally intended to camp. The New Ing Lodge was one of the buildings at the north end of town. I started plodding up the high street. I found the Co-Op and stocked my rucksack high with food for my tea and some treats for tomorrow. I eventually reached the New Ing Lode which turned out to be quite a large building that also served as a B&B. Campers had a good pitch in the large garden at the rear of the building. There was a shower and toilet in an outhouse. More importantly, there was a bar and I immediately ordered myself a pint of Windermere IPA and sat at one of the patio tables in the garden to drink it. Yes, this place did seem like a good camping spot. An intercity train screamed past the bottom of the garden. Although, there was the potential for it getting a bit noisy. 

Terminator Problem

The Terminator had clomped into the camping area just as I was heading for the shower. When I was on the way back to my tent, I could see the Terminator on his knees looking intently at his tent that still wasn’t pitched. This was unusual since the Terminator was usually quite efficient at pitching his tent.
‘Problem?’ I asked.
It seemed that the slightly narrower inner tube of one of his poles had slipped down into the slightly larger outer and he couldn’t pull it out. Basically, he couldn’t fit two of his poles together. Until this was resolved, he couldn’t erect his tent. He’d tried to pull the inner tube out with a pair of pliers , but it was stuck fast. For problems like this, or bent/snapped poles you can use ‘pole sleeves’ that bridge the gap of the problem area. The Terminator was an ultralight backpacker (well, mostly) and he didn’t have one. There wasn’t an outdoor gear shop in Shap and so he was a bit non-plussed. I went to my tent, and dug around in my ‘bits-and-bobs’ bag and retrieved a ‘pole sleeve.’ The Terminator’s eyes glowed with relief. It did the job perfectly and he was able to put his tent up. His C2C double-crossing was back on schedule.  

As I expected, the trains along the west coast main line did provide a disturbed night’s sleep. It wasn’t the trains though that was the main problem; it was the heat. I slept on the top of my sleeping bag, but I still felt far too hot. Little did I know that this overnight  heatwave was the harbinger of a 4 day heat-bomb across the Lake District. Things were about to get very difficult.