Yorkshire Dales Walk

(Read December 2 and 5 posts for Parts 1 and 2 of this tale of two friends walking across Northern England.)

Day 2 Walk, Leaving Lake Windermere -- from our overnight lodging near Grasmere we followed the shoreline of Lake Windermere for much of the morning with rain threatening. By mid-morning Dave, our walk leader, called a tea break in the lakeside town of Ambleside. How long before the Wayfarers learned? This stop was the first of many tricks Dave would play on us. Any kind of treat like shopping, tea break or ice cream parlour stops meant that we would soon be huffing up a mountain or slogging through bogs and streams. Immediately after tea, Dave fulfilled his evil plan by leading us out of Ambleside and up the Cumbria Mountains in the rain.


When we crested the mountain we had our last views of Lake Windermere and walked on toward the village of Troutbeck. Just outside the village we stoppped at this little jewel of a church, Jesus Church Troutbeck, known for its beautiful stained glass windows. About this time we began seeing our first "free range" sheep which meant that we were getting closer to the Yorkshire Dales farmland. At Troutbeck Church I was amused to see sheep "trying out" the resting places in the church yard.












By mid-afternoon we stopped for our customary pub lunch at Mortal Man Pub in Troutbeck Village. The pub sign read: "O Mortal Man that lives by bread, What is it makes thy nose so red? Thou silly fool that look'st so pale, tis drinking Sally Birkett's ale." The Wayfarers enjoyed some of Sally Birkett's ale and a rest while looking out over the rolling farmland.


We end Day 2 of the walk in Crook on the eastern border of the Lake District.


Days 3 and 4 Walk, Yorkshire Dales--we are definitely in the countryside made famous by the Yorkshire Dales vet, James Herriot of All Creatures Great and Small fame. Walkers are permitted to pass through farmers' fields of grain or sheep pastureland. However, there are rules to follow. The last walker to go through a gate must be sure it's closed. If there's no gate, you climb over fences and the dry stone walls using stiles of all varieties--stone,wood,
ladder,kissing(a double style that ensures close encounters). Once in the field, walkers are expected to keep to the paths by the fence. And just in case you forgot, watch out for a multi-tasking border collie to warn you to mind your manners.


Sheep's Wool and Sore Feet--by Day 3 several of us were walking on feet that hurt despite all the blister remedies that Dave and Bill, our walk manager, had to offer. I no longer had Happy Feet.The combination of climbing up and down rocky hills and walking for long distances had turned my feet into a mass of blood blisters from heel to toe--up hill your heels got it, down the toes. At stops we lost interest in drinks and snacks, instead comparing the sad condition of our feet. That's when the sheep became important. As we walked across the sheep pasture, several of us started collecting wool to pad our boots the next day. It wasn't a cure for sore feet, but at least made walking another day more bearable.

At the end of Day 4 we had a wonderful surprise waiting. We followed the banks of the River Ure, tired and dispirited after a hard day of walking in the rain and wind. Dave kept building our anticipation that something good was going to happen. Boy, he delivered as always. We came off the river path near the town of Masham onto a vast parkland to find this castle at Swinton Park waiting for us! Our rooms were totally luxurious. In fact, someone from our group said that her bath was large enough to fit a small 3rd world county in it-not much of an overstatement. At any rate, it was just what we needed to restore body and spirit for the final push to the North Sea in the final two days of walking.



WALK CONCLUSION--NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS TO NORTH SEA, POSTED MONDAY, DEC. 10