2 July 2011 - Hardraw to Kirby Stephen
Distance - 16.3 miles
Weather - Overcast
We stayed at - Kings Arms Hotel, Market Street, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, CA17 4QN Cost - £60.00
The good thing is that this is the last of our uphill today, ignoring the inevitable rise and falls you get when walking along rivers like we do in the last stage of the walk. The next six miles or so are gradually down hill, curving gently from facing East, to heading North. The views are amazing, looking down to the railway viaduct at Garsdale Head, or up, across the valley at Wild Boar Fell, or Mallerstang Edge and the appropriately named Hangingstone Scar on our right.
The sheep and/or oyster catchers have been at it again along this high part of the day, though there are many live rabbits sprinting around too, as we approach.
Along this section we cross a number of small streams. One is the river Ure, which we started following yesterday. Its source is only a mile away, but it's another 200m up and we're not that energetic. Interestingly, the next stream, Hell Gill, is the source of the River Eden, which we follow for the next day and a half. Looking at the map shows the sources of these rivers are maybe 250m apart. The Ure ends up flowing into the North Sea via the Humber, while the Eden goes North, via Carlisle before emptying into the Solway Firth and Irish Sea. If we'd thought of it at the time, we'd have scooped some water from the Ure and carried it to Hell Gill. Not sure why, though.
The rest of the walk is along the Eden, already quite big. Having spent most of the last week walking upstream, we are now walking downstream. It feels like the river is going the wrong way. At last we arrive at Nateby, a village 1.5 miles from our destination. After a long, hot walk, we are ready for a beer, a cuppa, or an ice cream. We'd talked to some guys up the track. 'Don't worry,' they said, 'the pub at Nateby is open.' You can guess where this is going. The PH in Nateby does exist and is open. Except between 2 and 6, when it shuts. Even on a Saturday! There is an ancient petrol station across the road with a sign saying 'Walls Icecream.' The petrol station is shut on a Saturday. We didn't press our noses against the dirty glass to see what we were missing out on. Neither did we cry, but we felt like it a bit.
Kirkby Stephen is a thriving market town. We stayed at one of the pubs, which did good food and had some nice beers on tap. After getting washed we had some drinks. I must have been thirsty because I finished my 1/2 pint before Alistair had had a single mouthful of his pint.
This day promises to have the best views of our holiday. We start along the Ure, a more subdued river along here, before crossing the main road and starting up a 'byway'. It starts off a good track, but we can see all too clearly where it is heading: straight up the daunting hill in front of us. It's a ridge called Cotter Riggs, which only rises a couple of hundred metres, but seems more. We puff and pant to the top, called Cotter End and have a long sit on the bench (supplied) and look at the view down Wensleydale.
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| View to Garsdale Head |
The sheep and/or oyster catchers have been at it again along this high part of the day, though there are many live rabbits sprinting around too, as we approach.
Along this section we cross a number of small streams. One is the river Ure, which we started following yesterday. Its source is only a mile away, but it's another 200m up and we're not that energetic. Interestingly, the next stream, Hell Gill, is the source of the River Eden, which we follow for the next day and a half. Looking at the map shows the sources of these rivers are maybe 250m apart. The Ure ends up flowing into the North Sea via the Humber, while the Eden goes North, via Carlisle before emptying into the Solway Firth and Irish Sea. If we'd thought of it at the time, we'd have scooped some water from the Ure and carried it to Hell Gill. Not sure why, though.
We head down to meet the road and disappointment. There's a PH marked on the map, with a name, 'The Thrang'. It is, however, no longer a pub, it's a house. It has a jaunty 'The Thrang' sign outside suggesting it might be a restaurant, possibly, as soon as we leave. But for now we carry on our way.
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| Remnants of old castle |
The rest of the walk is along the Eden, already quite big. Having spent most of the last week walking upstream, we are now walking downstream. It feels like the river is going the wrong way. At last we arrive at Nateby, a village 1.5 miles from our destination. After a long, hot walk, we are ready for a beer, a cuppa, or an ice cream. We'd talked to some guys up the track. 'Don't worry,' they said, 'the pub at Nateby is open.' You can guess where this is going. The PH in Nateby does exist and is open. Except between 2 and 6, when it shuts. Even on a Saturday! There is an ancient petrol station across the road with a sign saying 'Walls Icecream.' The petrol station is shut on a Saturday. We didn't press our noses against the dirty glass to see what we were missing out on. Neither did we cry, but we felt like it a bit.Kirkby Stephen is a thriving market town. We stayed at one of the pubs, which did good food and had some nice beers on tap. After getting washed we had some drinks. I must have been thirsty because I finished my 1/2 pint before Alistair had had a single mouthful of his pint.
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