Encounters

Our first encounter for the day was the Chocolate Shop. Thanks Allison for the yummy peppermint chocolate she shared with us at our stops.

Next was a mob of sheep coming down the lane towards us, the lane had high stone walls on either side, we were able to get off the road into a gate way as they came past.

We crossed Ravenstonedale Moor, and had a lunch break on Smardale Bridge, then up onto Smardale Fell, and then down to Kirkby Stephen. After one of our “green room” stops I left my poles behind and had to do a quick sprint back to retrieve them. The team entertained themselves with wild flower photography while they waited.

At about the last stile before Kirkby Stephen, there was a cow poking her head through the wall. OK we thought, and John gently urged her away and climbed to the top of the wall to find a large bull in the field, just the other side of the stile. Luckily the bull was much more interested in the cows than in us so we quietly edged around him and headed across the paddock.

Our B&B host at the Jolly Farmer greeted us with scones, jam and cream and a cup of tea. It’s a great little town with a 13th century church, built on the site of an old Saxon church. It is now the parish church for all denominations. Just inside the church is the Loki Stone, carved by Vikings.

We’re ready for a big day tomorrow, Julie even has a new pair of boots.Read more