• Holmes Travels
  • Valerie Holmes
Jul – Ogo 2019

Coast to Coast

Val and Bob are hiking Wainwright’s 300 km Coast to Coast Trail, passing through three National Parks: the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. Baca lagi
  • Permulaan perjalanan
    23 Julai 2019

    Leaving Toronto for Edinburgh

    23 Julai 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Getting ready to leave Toronto for Edinburgh. The trip is uneventful so far apart from the torrential rain when we left the house. Luckily it stopped when we arrived at Whitehorse airport.

  • First Day in Edinburgh

    24 Julai 2019, Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We arrived in Edinburgh at 6:50 am local time. So we’ve had a whole day here of being jet-lagged. We are staying at Motel One which is right on Princes Street by Waverley Station and only £120 per night for double accommodation. We spent the day wandering around shops. In the afternoon we visited the “Royal Mile” leading to Edinburgh Castle. It is buzzing with crowds of tourists and lined with touristy shops. So we hightailed it back towards our hotel and had a nice dinner at the Standing Order pub. The food and drinks were good and pretty cheap. The dollar trading around 1.65 per pound really helps. Hooray for Brexit! A pint of beer on tap was around $4.50 Canadian and comes free with fish and chips if ordered before 5. We’re going to bed early tonight as we’re currently like the walking dead. Tomorrow is supposed to bring possibly the hottest day ever recorded in the UK (39 C in London) and it’ll be hot here too.Baca lagi

  • Last Day in Edinburgh

    25 Julai 2019, Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It got up to 31 degrees today in Edinburgh with sun. We had a bit of a late start with the jet lag. We decided to do a short hike up to Arthur’s seat in the morning before it got too hot. It was also a bit of a trial run, to make sure we had brought what we needed for the Coast to Coast hike. There were lots of people already on the hiking trails at 10 in the morning. We got to the top and then came down via Whinny hill, which was a lot less busy. Heather was in full bloom. We then hiked up to the Observatory on Calton Hill, past the Burns Monument, and then walked back to the hotel to shower and cool off. In the afternoon we looked for and bought a new pair of hiking poles for Val. To take advantage of the spending opportunity, Bob bought two light hiking shirts. We had dinner at the same place as last night as we are still tired and the prices were pretty good. An early night tonight and then the train to St Bees tomorrow. Forecasts are calling for thunderstorms and rain for the weekend. We’re not sure what’s better - extreme heat or extreme rain and lightening?Baca lagi

  • On to Saint Bees

    26 Julai 2019, England ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We left Edinburgh today. We caught the Virgin Train to Carlisle, traveling First Class (for the first and last time this trip). We then transferred to a regular two-coach train that rattled its way to St Bees. This is the start of the Coast to Coast walk. From here you can see the Isle of Man out in the Irish Sea. The place we are staying at is part of the old railway station. Friday is a busy day here. The workers at the Sellafield nuclear fuel decommissioning plant come into St Bees to party. Luckily today isn’t pay day. It’s strange to see them carrying full mugs of beer out of one hotel and heading down the street to the next hotel. We had a huge dinner at the Manor House restaurant. The portions are big here and we figure that we may not be able to finish this walk if we get too fat and heavy along the way.Baca lagi

  • St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge

    27 Julai 2019, England ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We left St Bees after touching the Irish Sea and taking a small stone which we plan to leave on the other coast. It was grey but not rainy. The first few hours were along the top of the cliffs on St Bees Head. There were lots of birds offshore and cows on shore. The cliffs are protected as a bird sanctuary by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, or RSPB. Some of the Path was in high grass and shrubs. We turned inland at an old sandstone quarry. Red sandstone is quite common around here - apparently sandstone from this quarry was used in the past in buildings in Canada! After turning inland, the path skirted several small villages, with many twists and turns so that we had to watch the gps route carefully. We counted on finding somewhere to eat along the way but nothing was open and so we had to settle for the granola bar we bought in Edinburgh. It’s a good way to lose weight though. After this it started raining more heavily. We had to follow a diversion at Cleator Moor over Flat Fell. There really was no path on the way down but we followed the gps and rejoined the original path. By the time we got to Ennerdale Bridge we were pretty wet. Fortunately our B&B was right at the entrance to town and doubly fortunate there was a coffee and tea shop right beside it that was open! We each had two large lattes and scones. Tonight we are having dinner at the Fox and Hound pub. It is looking very wet for tomorrow. The area we are heading into has the highest rainfall in the UK - an average of 4.7 meters of rain a year (4 times Vancouver’s average).Baca lagi

  • On to Rosthwaite via the Haystacks

    28 Julai 2019, England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We left Ennerdale Bridge after a nice breakfast. We were all decked out for rain but although it was misty and the clouds were low, it was dry. As the day went on it got brighter and so somewhere at the end of Ennerdale Water (Lake) the sun broke through and we could see the mountains. The walk along Ennerdale Water, and further up the River Liza valley, was fairly flat but with nice views. Given the good visibility we decided to go off the Coast to Coast route and do a side hike up to Haystacks. A good trail led to Scarth Gap where we had our packed lunch. Then it was a scramble to the top of Haystacks. We then dropped down to Innominate Tarn. This was Alfred Wainwright’s favorite tarn in the Lake District and his ashes are spread there. He was the writer of the famous guide books to the Lake District and creator of the Coast to Coast Walk. We carried on to Blackbeck Tarn and then to an old slate mine with a slate building. Past this point we met up with the Coast to Coast Trail again. Further on, the active Honister Quarry is operating with a cafe and souvenir shop that sells things like slate coasters and slate house numbers. We had a cold Coca Cola there, which was great! Itwas a long walk down from the slate mine to our hotel in Rosthwaite. We are staying at the Scafell Hotel. It’s an 19th century hotel and has been a centre for the mountain walkers for many years.Baca lagi

  • High Route to Grasmere

    29 Julai 2019, England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We left Rosthwaite after breakfast with our rain jackets on, after it rained all night last night, but soon enough took them off when the rain stopped. We walked past Stonethwaite up to Lining Crag. The path was very wet with water pouring down it from all the rain. I don’t know if the path was built first or if the stream was there first, but they’re both in the same place now. We were up to our ankles in water at times! We eventually got to the pass, where we wrung out our socks and had lunch. From there you can then either descend into Far Easedale Gill to Grasmere or choose the “High Route”. We chose the latter and walked along several nice craggy hilltops with spectacular views. The day had turned quite clear, by that time. There were quite a few other walkers on the route, and many with dogs. We met one particularly nice “Patterdale Terrier” (a breed that originated in the town we will be staying at next). We got to Helm Crag and then descended the steep path to Grasmere. We checked into Heidi’s Grasmere Lodge, got cleaned up and then went for drinks and a mackerel fish dinner. We bought a lunch for tomorrow. We took a day off the Coast to Coast to try and climb Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain. We have arranged a taxi to take us to the Scafell Pike Trail Head at 9:30 am tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.Baca lagi

  • Scafell Pike

    30 Julai 2019, England ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We took a day “off” walking the Coast to Coast Trail today and spent it getting up Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England. We’ve managed now to do the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales (the three peaks). This one today was probably the hardest due to a combination of distance (from our trail head to the summit), difficulty of the trail (wet rock and loose scree) and weather. The day ended up being around 28 km round trip and 2000 meter elevation gain with lots of rain. From start to finish it was 9 hours.
    We took a cab and started from the old Dungeon Ghyll hotel in the Great Langdale Valley. When we got to Esk Hause three hours later the trail split, and we headed towards Scafell Pike. There is a large boulder field to navigate and then you come out of it looking over a 150 meter drop before you can climb up again to the summit all of which involves lots of loose scree and boulder hopping. We took a different route back via the Corridor route as it looked like easier footing. The footing was easier but it was longer and there were a few spots where you had to use handholds to get around steep sections. It started to thunder and rain and then we had steady rain for the last three hours hiking down to where we started. We caught the last bus with ten minutes to go and made it back to Grasmere. We went for a nice dinner and are now in our room with sore feet and knees and thinking that we’ll never finish this Coast to Coast unless we stop doing these mountain side trips.
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  • Grasmere to Patterdale

    31 Julai 2019, England ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    We had a relatively short walk today; only 14 km but a 550 m elevation gain and drop over a pass. There were beautiful views along the way. It was a wet day and we got pelted with rain in the last half of the walk. When we arrived in Patterdale we went into the White Lion pub.. There were towels by the entrance for patrons; first time I’ve ever seen that. So we sponged ourselves off, ordered drinks, and relaxed until our B&B opened. We’re staying at the Old Water View (which used to be the Ullswater View until the trees around it grew up and blocked the view). It was a favorite haunt of Albert Wainwright, the guide book writer, and there is a page from a 1944 guest book signed by him, his wife and son. it also has a great drying room. We had dinner back at the White Lion and sat with Andy and Anne, from Whitehaven, who are staying here on a short fell-walking trip. Then we came back to the B&B and watched a Julia Bradbury video of the Patterdale portion of her Coast to Coast walk.Baca lagi

  • A Rest Day

    1 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We stayed in Patterdale today in order to take a break before we go on to the next stage. After a nice breakfast we took the bus into Penrith. We spent the day looking in shops, going to the visitor centre and museum, and stopping for tea and lunch. It poured rain at one point but it was short lived. Tonight we went back to the White Lion in Patterdale for dinner and drinks. We’re now back in our room getting ready for tomorrow - it will be a long walk of over 24 km with 900 m ascent and descent.Baca lagi

  • Farewell to Lakeland

    2 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We left Patterdale around 8:30 after a nice breakfast (as always). We had a long day today and for once it didn’t rain all day. In fact, it didn’t rain at all! The long climb out of Patterdale took us over the High Street chain of ridges. We passed Angle Tarn, with a flock of Canada geese on it. Then we climbed up to the High Street. This is a long line of ridges on which the Romans built a road to move their legions to and from the key forts in West Cumbria. The road stays high on the ridges and we followed its path for a short distance. Then we climbed to Kidsty Pike which is the highest point on the Coast to Coast path, at 780 meters. From there the valley of the Eden River and farther away the Yorkshire Dales came into view and we said goodbye to Lakeland. But it didn’t let us go easily. The path down to Haweswater Reservoir was steep with a couple of handholds needed. The path along the Reservoir was also long and rock filled. Once we got passed that and into the rolling hills, there were a lot of mud holes and wet patches. So it was a long day getting into Shap. But Margaret, our hostess at the Brookfield House, made us a pot of tea and served scones. After that and a shower we were fine again and went out for dinner at the local hotel nearby - the Greyhound. So all is good. We’re getting an early start tomorrow - it’s the second longest day of the trip.Baca lagi

  • A Rest and Recovery Day?

    3 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We had a long day yesterday but our guidebook said not to lose heart. Even though today was to be even longer (32 km) it’s easy going and so it should be considered a rest and recovery day. Well we made it ok after 8 1/2 hours and were pretty tired when we arrived at the Old Croft House in Kirkby Stephen. we didn’t feel rested and recovered. We took a slightly longer route today to see the town of Orton and our Old Croft B&B owner actually spotted us there while he was there visiting at noon, so knew we were on our way. We saw some interesting things today. This is limestone country so we passed a few quarries and farm buildings and fences built with limestone rocks. We saw limestone pavement which is limestone with cracks between blocks looking like paving stones. We last saw this in the Alps. We passed several stone circles and pillow mounds, which are a bit mysterious and used to be called “giant graves” but people now think they were used for drying bracken. We passed a few Neolithic settlements but there wasn’t much to see; just ridges and mounds in the ground. There were a few monuments we passed. One is called “Robin Hood’s grave” but look as we might, we couldn’t find it. We passed a disused railway line with a viaduct still standing. A steam train passed us tooting it’s whistle with black smoke pouring out. Kirkby Stephen was a welcome sight after a long day. The owner Nick was very welcoming and we have dinner lined up at the Black Bull hotel tonight.Baca lagi

  • Through the Peat Bogs

    4 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    We traveled from Kirkby Stephen to Keld today. The weather was nice all day and we arrived early so that we could enjoy sitting and relaxing a bit. It’s 6:30 now and pouring rain out with loud thunder and lightening.
    From Kirkby Stephen we climbed to Nine Standards, which is a high hill over 600 meters with great views in all directions. There are nine cairns which are very old but no one knows why there are there. One theory is that it was to fool the Scots into thinking the English had a lot of soldiers nearby. From there we picked our way carefully through the grasses avoiding the peat bogs. We stepped around lots of flowing water and mud holes and it was slow going. We stopped at Ravenseat farm where they serve tea and scones and it’s obviously popular with the locals as well as hikers. The owner (Amanda Owen) is famous in these parts for moving here from a city and having nine kids and raising sheep. There has been an ITV series about her and a book. From Ravenseat we walked to Keld where we are staying at the Butt house. We were able to actually do a laundry here! Supper is here too with other guests which is nice so that we don’t have to go to the local hotel in the rain. Keld is a very small town with only a few buildings.
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  • To Reeth via the High Route

    5 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We left Keld with cloudy and cool weather and walked towards Reeth. The Pennine Way crosses the path of the Coast to Coast at Keld, and we walked along it for 100 meters or so until it veered off. We then passed a whole succession of old mining buildings and waste rock piles from the centuries of lead mining in this area. Britain produced half the world’s lead in the 19th century. We passed an old smelter from that period that had warnings not to climb on its crumbling walls. Much of the higher elevation walk was rock piles and gravel roads but as we descended we saw more and more of the heather and peat moss. There were grouse everywhere. Grouse hunting is a big business here. The land is privately owned by several Dukes. They manage the grouse population with controlled burns of the peat and heather. August 12 is the start of the grouse hunting season and it’s called “the Glorious 12th”. People are charged 20,000£ to shoot and get to keep two grouse and the rest end up in restaurants. It’s way more expensive than a week long hunt in the Yukon with an outfitter. We entered Reeth around 3 pm and had drinks at the Buck Hotel. Then we had Yorkshire ice cream cones. Reeth is cleaning up from a terrible flood just a few days ago. Tonight we’re going to the King’s Arms for dinner.Baca lagi

  • On to Richmond

    6 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We walked from Reeth to Richmond today, which wasn’t too far (16 km) and only 260 meter ascent. The weather spit rain a few times, just enough to make us stop and put on our jackets before it quit. It’s amazing how the laws of probability work on the trail. You stop for a pee just as people show up. You stop to eat a snack in an inconvenient spot and then find a nice spot around the corner. You meet a traffic jam at the narrowest spot in a road. But the good luck balances the bad all in all. At one point today we met a sign saying the path was closed with no indication of where to go. So we decided to follow a bridlepath down to a paved narrow road which went past farm buildings. We got off track - luckily a farmer came out to tell us that we were about to go into a field with a bull. He set us on the right path, so that was an example of good luck, especially since Bob was wearing a red shirt; but it was a little awkward trying to figure out the way around old farm buildings, passing a dead sheep, avoiding stinging nettles and thistle. There are bridlepaths everywhere but most are badly grown over and poorly marked. I guess people don’t walk much anymore and certainly don’t take bridled horses. We got back on the Coast to Coast path at Marske, the ancient home of the Hutton family, with a big obelisk on the hill dedicated to a Hutton from 1816. The trail was great from there to Richmond. We arrived early (around 2:30) and had coffee at Costa, and visited a nice pet shop. Then we checked into our B&B (Williance House) - beautiful room with a window seat! Our limbs are tingling from going through stinging nettles today when we were detouring.Baca lagi

  • Across the Vale of Mowbray

    7 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    This section of the hike left Richmond and ended at Ingleby Cross. It was 35 km long and is the longest section we will be doing. This section is called the Vale of Mowbray and crossed from the Swale River valley to the Cleveland Hills. It was mostly flat with lots of farming. We saw fields of barley, wheat, corn, rapeseed and hay. The roads and paths were lined with beautiful trees like oak, willow, ash and maple. As has been the case all along, the Coast to Coast avoids large towns and takes the public bridle paths. Many of these paths are rough and consist of squeezing through a stile or going through gates and looking for where the grass or shrubs have been trodden down. The scenery was quite nice though and we had beautiful weather today.
    We passed over the Catterick bridge and on the other side walked along the River Swale where the remains of a Roman embankment are still obvious. We also stopped at Bolton-on-Swale and visited St. Mary’s Church, where we saw the monument and plaque to Henry Jenkins, who reputedly lived to be 169 years old. We stopped at Danbe Wiske and had lunch and bought two ice cold cokes. When we got to Ingleby, we had to cross the A19 which is a divided expressway. There was no overpass or underpass! We took our time and dashed to the median and then across. We arrived at our B&B in Ingleby (the Ingleby House Farm) pretty tired. For dinner we went to the Blue Bell pub and saw a few of the other walkers we’ve run in to.
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  • Along the Cleveland Hills

    8 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    We spent the day walking along the Cleveland Way which goes up and down the edges of the Cleveland Hills. There was a nice stop along the way at Lordstones where we had a coffee. We met lots of friendly Yorkshire people interested in where we were from. The Cleveland Way is a very nice path and easy to follow with flagstones along most of the path, which was a welcome change. We were picked up at the Clay banks pullout and driven to the B&B in Chop Gate, which is 6 miles south. We’re now having a nice dinner. We’re finding the meal portions in the UK way too big for us. It’s become like the US. Tomorrow looks very wet and windy as rainy weather is blowing in and we have 30 km to do tomorrow.Baca lagi

  • To Glaisdale

    9 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    We started out today from the Buck Inn in Chap Gate. The walk started as a slog uphill but then it was pretty level after that. The weather was awful. It was driving rain with probably 60 km winds gusting to 80 km or so. Visibility was also bad as the mist was at our elevation. After a long trudge of 4 hours we arrived at the Lion Inn which is located on a road that cuts through the moor. It was great to stop and have lunch and take the wet stuff off. After lunch we set out again. The mist was still bad but the rain stopped and then it began to brighten. We had sun and warmth for the last few hours into Glaisdale where we are staying at the Red House Farm. Tonight we went for dinner with Andre and Ruth who are also traveling the Coast to Coast and staying at the Red House Farm. We got a cab to the local pub and back as it is a 20 min walk one way. It was a long 30 km today and our feet are sore from all the wet weather. Tomorrow is 31 km and is supposed to be wet again. It’s our last day on he Coast to Coast tomorrow.Baca lagi

  • Finish of the Coast to Coast Walk

    10 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We had another long day of 31 km. We made it to the end at Robin Hood’s Bay around 5 pm. It was very windy all day. We didn’t have any rain though, until the last ten minutes into Robin Hood’s Bay when the sky opened up and it poured. We arrived at the B&B (the Villa) soaking wet and the owner dried us off with a towel with us still wearing our jackets. The Coast To Coast Trail today was a little frustrating as it seemed to turn south then north then south again even though the ocean is east. It climbed and then descended only to climb up again. It took a long time to get to the ocean even though we saw it three days ago. We haven’t yet been down to the beach and the official trail-end due to the bad weather, but we have the day off tomorrow and will do so then.Baca lagi

  • More Sights Along the Coast to Coast

    10 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Here are some more sights along the Coast to Coast.

  • End of the Coast to Coast!

    10 Ogos 2019, England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Celebration of the end of the Coast to Coast