3 June to 19 June 2017
After hiking the Pennine Way, Mike met Sherry in London for an evening before taking the train to St Bees to start the Coast-to-Coast trail. The C2C is the horizontal red line in the picture below.
Because it can be hard to find accommodations in the smaller towns along the way, we decided to use "Mac's Adventures" to book our hotels along the way. They also arrange for your bags to be forwarded from inn to inn. Since there was no discount for carrying our own stuff, we took advantage of their service and brought a few extra nice things that we would have left at home.
The itinerary that we received from the booking agency seemed nice. We decided on the slowest, most leisurely route that they offered, and the daily mileage for the trip is shown below. 16 days of walking to cover 200 miles - not too ambitious, especially with day packs.
There was the plan, and then there was what actually happened. Here is what actually happened:
Day 0 - Meet Sherry in London
Sherry had booked an Airbnb in Camden Town, a section of London close to the Kings Cross train station. She had arrived a few hours before me and was settled in by the time I got there. Sherry found a street art walking tour in Camden Town, so we set off to wander around. Amy Winehouse is from Camden Town, so a lot of the art was dedicated to her memory.
Day 1 - Arrive at St Bees
All went well with our train trip from London to St Bees. The trains were on time, the hotel was right next to the train station and St Bees had a nice selection of pubs in which to eat and drink. Not too many photos from Day 1 except for Sherry on the train.
Day 2 - Walk to Ennerdale Bridge
First day of hiking and the weather was excellent. We had many miles along the ocean until the trail turned inland and started heading east. The last few miles, though, got a little sketchy. There was one unbelievably steep downhill that went on far too long, and then a few tricky turns that we were able to navigate without any real problems. We actually knew someone in Ennerdale Bridge, so we called him up and met for drinks and later for dinner. All in all, a lovely day.
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| Here we are at the start of the trail |
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| Sherry is climbing over a very, very tall "stile" to cross a fence |
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| Our accommodations for the night |
Day 3 - Walk to Rosthwaite (the beginning of the end)
Day 3 was supposed to be a point-to-point hike first going past a lake (Ennerdale Water) and then over some hills to the next town. A long-ish 16 mile day, but we have done more than that before. The trail followed the south side of the lake and, little did we know, it was nothing but rocks with lots of scrambling. As you can see from the photos, the weather had deteriorated and it was raining. The combination of the poor weather and the slippery rocks made the first four miles nerve wracking and unpleasant. We opted to just walk around the lake, back to Ennerdale Bridge (10 miles total) and then taxi over to Rosthwaite. You can see Sherry's "hiking burka" in one of the photos below.
Day 4 - Walk to Grasmere (The day that tried to kill us)
The trail that tried to kill us.
Today's hike was supposed to be an easy one. Just nine miles or so. Hike up a valley, go over a pass, and hike down the valley on the other side. Sounds easy, right? A navigational error (my fault) early on made it an 11 mile day. Normally, this would be fine, but today's trails were mostly just streams running along slippery rocks. We forded at least five knee deep rivers (I fell right into one of them) and each of us plunged into deep bog mud a few times. And then there was the wind. It actually blew us off of our feet and made walking on wet rocks and slippery mud really difficult. I found it hard to navigate in the high winds and rain. Paper maps get wet and fly around, and the phone GPS app is hard to access and read in the rain.
We were in over our heads on this one, and we were not alone in our difficulties. There was a pair of German women that we caught up to late in the hike. They were even worse off than we were. They did not have a reliable GPS, and did not really know where they were or how far that they had to go. One had fallen twice on the same wrist and had it wrapped up. They were very glad to see us and get confirmation of where they were and how much further they had to go. They had only the map that was provided by their outfitter (the same map we were given) which is not nearly detailed enough for the conditions that we were going through.
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| Our hotel for the night |
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| Sherry, early in the hike when things still seemed good |
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| Starting to get a sense of what the rest of the hike had in store |
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| Yes, this river running over slippery stones is actually the trail. |
We have no pictures of the worst part of the hike. I think that we were both too scared to think about pulling out a phone. Being cold, wet and alone on a windy, forlorn mountain pass with only the most vague sense of being on the trail and heading in the right direction is not conducive to photography. We were both very much thinking that, if we twisted an ankle, we would be really screwed.
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| Slowly descending the last part of the hike. We now know where we are and that we will survive this day. |
Day 5 - Walk to Patterdale
Sherry was pretty wiped out after yesterday's hike, so Mike hiked this section alone. The weather was really nice and the trail was better maintained. However, the element that made today so much easier was the ability to navigate. Gentle winds and clear skies allow you to see the trail ahead and use a map or GPS much more easily. Also, there were a lot of hikers on the trail today, making it much safer.
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| Look ma, no rain and no rivers on the trail |
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| The mountain pass with a nice little lake |
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| Coming down from the pass |
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| Almost back into town |
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| The obligatory selfie |
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| Downtown Patterdale, about a 15 minute walk to our lovely and secluded B&B |
Day 6 - Walk to Shap (and get really wet again)
Option #1 - Walk 16 miles over the mountains in the rain
Option #2 - Take the ferry the length of Ullswater and then hike 10 miles of relatively flat trails
Of course, we took Option 2. This was a "Boy Scout Mike" day because the trails were not part of the official C2C route and there was a good amount of route finding. We had picked up a number of other hikers in Patterdale with our plans of an easier route, but they didn't have strong navigational skills, so I had some ducklings today.
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| On the boat - the brave souls were on deck but we were down below where it was warm and dry. |
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| Does Mike blend, or does he clash? You be the judge. Wet and drizzly were the words of the day. |
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| Sherry learns the sign language for "if you make me hike ten miles in the rain just one more time, you're a dead man" |
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The sock weave
Here in the UK, most bathrooms have towel warmers. They are often cold but, when they are warm, they make great clothes dryers. Thick wool socks are good for hiking, but they dry slowly. I've developed state of the art sock weave technology to ensure dry and happy feet in the morning. Today was another 10 mile slog through the rain. Sherry, the smarter of the two, opted for alternative transport.
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The "New Ing Lodge" B&B was really nice, but it was not open yet, so we had to wander around looking for a pub to sit in for a while before we could get into our room. At this point, we are soaked and cold and it is breezy and drizzly. Sherry is not happy. It took us too long to find a pub that was open, but finally plopped our soggy asses down on a bench and had a well-deserved cocktail.
Day 7 - Walk to Orton
Today was a nice short walk with good weather. There were a few ancient stone circles along the way and the Rookery Barn B&B was lovely. We arrived dry and happy. The owners of the B&B were not there yet when we arrived, but we just relaxed in their sunny patio until they showed up soon after.
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| One of the old stone circles of unknown origin or meaning. |
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| Good weather and nice scenery today |
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| The thistles are starting to bloom. |
Day 8 - Walk to Kirby Stephen (start getting sick)
Sherry's knee was still hurting from the Trail That Tried To Kill Us so Mike walked alone to Kirby Stephen and met sherry at the visitor center. Our hotel was having a special menu which had sold out already. Apparently, we were supposed to contact them a few weeks ago for reservations, but that detail escaped us. However, they were very accommodating and set us up with a nice dinner in our own little room upstairs away from the other guests. Just as well, it was loud down there.
There is a castle in town so we went to the castle for a bit of walking around and taking photos. That evening, I get the feeling that all is not well in the land of my intestines. Rumors of an insurrection are in the air.
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| Sitting at our own little table for two upstairs |
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| Our view from the table, looking out towards the castle in the distance. |
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| The ruins of the castle in Kirby Stephen |
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| Mike at the castle |
Day 9 - Walk to Keld (or not)
In the morning, I realize that something is definitely wrong in my guts. I'm a little nervous and Sherry's knee is still painful. So, we are definitely NOT going to "Walk to Keld". It just so happens that the Gypsy Horse Fair in Appleby is going on this weekend, so we walked to the station and hopped the train to Appleby.
After returning to Kirby Stephen by train, we took a taxi to Keld. The B&B was at the remote top of a long hill. From our taxi, we saw the two German women laboring up the hill and gave them a lift the rest of the way.
I had not really eaten anything today and I immediately crashed in the room. I skipped dinner but ate all of the cookies in the jar in our room, but nothing much else. In the morning, I couldn't eat breakfast - an unusual condition. I just looked at the food and couldn't do it. At this point, I have started making regular sprints to the commode.
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| Showing off their control of the horses by walking and swimming them through a river |
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| The midway/mudway of the fair |
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| Racing the pygmy ponies |
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| More horses along the raceway. You really need to get out of the way when these horses come racing past. |
Day 10 - Walk to Reeth
It was really windy in the morning when we headed out, with the Germans in tow. The one with the injured wrist was doing OK - she had found an ace bandage and was trying not to use her hand much.
The day was a mostly flat, rambling walk following a river valley. We saw some sheep being sheared
along the way, and stayed in Reeth, a forgettable small town with a pub.
Day 11 - Walk to Richmond, then quit.
Another relatively flat day following a river. In addition to the usual sheep fields, there were quite a few small roads that we were following today, some gravel and some paved. This is day 3 of Mike not really eating anything and not getting any better. Sherry's knee is still painful and she is not up for walking another 12.5 miles tomorrow. Tomorrow's B&B is in a tiny town with a pub and a pay phone and we would have to take a taxi there.
We woke up in the morning and looked at one another and pulled the plug. Mike called "Mac's Adventure" to cancel the baggage transfer and the remaining accommodations and set to work getting train tickets to Edinburgh. Sherry worked Airbnb to find a place for us to stay for the rest of the days that we had in the UK. We walked to the main square of Richmond and caught a bus to Darlington and then a train to Edinburgh. We were both instantly happier once we made the decision to stop the hike and start having a vacation. The past three days were not much fun for either of us.
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