C2C Day 7&8 To Yorkshire Dales

Previous: Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Day 5&6 Lakes District NP

Bampton Grange to Raisbeck (Yorkshire Dales in Sight)

July 20

14.5 miles
Had breakfast at the Crown & Mitre and left around 9:00 AM with Xavier and Katrien. It was raining, and we caught up with Wainwright’s Coast to Coast trail via a public footpath toward Shap that started from an old stone church across the street.

The hike today was far easier than the days prior, as we were now past the rigorous ascents of the Lake District. It was mostly level grade and, pleasantly, dirt and grass paths replacing rocky roads. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes of hiking.

Within an hour we stopped at Shap Abbey, a monastic religious house built in 1199 to see the ruins. This was very cool, with stone coffins built into the ground of the Abbey.

Then not far afterward we encountered some cows on the path who did not look too endearing. One cow was moving about looking at us with what appeared to be intent to attack. Xavier was in front and we thought he was going to be charged. We all got close together, and Em gave me one of her trekking poles for defense if needed, and we very slowly walked past. This was the scariest cow encounter, but we had several more over the next couple of days as we found ourselves getting more into cow country, though still lots and lots of sheep.

After about 1.5 hours we got to Shap, a small but active village. Here, we stopped in the local food coop to stock up on some snacks. Em and I found a bench nearby on the sidewalk of the main street to snack and adjust clothing. We lost Xavier and Katrien here and so we completed the rest of the day’s hike on our own. We would catch up with them at the bnb for the night in Raisbeck.

We hiked over moors toward the now in sight Yorkshire Dales. It was desolate and wide open. Some scenery looked like South Dakota, some like the moon. We played leap frog with a group of 4 young English men (looked about 18 yrs old). They were very nice, and they were wild camping their way across Wainwright’s Coast to Coast trail via paper map.

We also were passed at one point by a man running the trail…very weird to see this, but apparently people are known to run the 192-miles. The footing is tricky with not much that is actually flat, with lots of places to break an ankle walking let alone running.

Our target was Raisbek, though most people were heading to Orton. This meant we were hiking about two miles further than most. The last couple of miles were deceptive. We could only see land as far and wide around us, yet we knew we were fairly close to Orton and Raisbeck. The rolling hills act as amazing cover for these finely tucked-away little hamlets in the countryside. We suddenly found ourselves on a road leading to our bnb, The Rookery Barn. There must be 7 or 8 houses and/or barns in Raisbeck. The BnB is a very nice house with gorgeous views of the green hills, and acres of sheep filled grass. Xavier and Katrien were here as well. They arrived about 30 minutes before us. We were the only guests in the house.

The BnB host drove the four of us to the George Hotel in Orton for a wonderful dinner. Here we met up with Kit and Sue from Australia for dinner as planned, and then Guy showed up and he joined us. The owner of the restaurant drove us back to the BnB after dinner.

Raisbeck to Kirkby Stephen

July 21

13.5 miles

After breakfast we set out around 8:30 AM.  We were following Xavier and Katrien for about 2 hours, but they were within sight, and we could see that they had been joined by Mark and Dave who had stayed in Orton overnight.  About halfway through the hike we caught up with them and we all finished together.
This day we mostly had flat, dry, and actually pleasant terrain to hike…until now, this type of terrain had been the exception. So, this was a quick hike, and perhaps the easiest hike of the trek.

We got to the town of Kirkby Stephen at 1:30 PM. All six of us were staying at the same place, the Jolly Farmers Guesthouse on the main street of the town, but we could not check in until 3:30. So we all went to a nearby pub, the Black Bull Hotel, and had beers on the picnic table outside. This was not a village or hamlet, but a real town. As we sat and drank, we saw many other C2C hikers in town. Guy, Olga, and Chris all walked by and joined us at the picnic table.

We then went to check in, and were greeted with tea and homemade scones with cream in the parlor…very civilized. Guy and Olga joined us for dinner a little later back at the Black Bull Hotel pub.
The Jolly Farmers Guesthouse staff did our laundry for 10 pounds….the best part of being there!

Next: C2C Day 9&10 Yorkshire Dales