No rain today, but it always threatened
The sun was out first thing, a nice morning. I set off at 9 a.m. and walked into Hawes where I replenished my Mars bar supply and bought some sandwiches for lunch. I liked Hawes - it wasn't as obvious a walking centre as Malham ,but there was a good mix of walkers, general tourists and locals and the town has great character. It was busy and bustling with some interesting shops, a good bakers (where I bought my sandwiches) , a rope makers and several shops selling cheese, as you might expect for Hawes-in-Wensleydale.
I found the start of the path near the car park and rope makers and spotted Dave standing on the corner looking at his map. We hadn't seen each other since Malham and swapped notes about our experiences in the mist and rain the day before. I left him at the roadside and walked north along the road to join the path north-west through meadows to Hardraw.
Hardraw is an attractive little village and people come here mainly to visit Hardraw Force which has a drop of about a hundred feet and is reached along a private path from the Green Dragon pub. A small charge is payable to use the path. I didn't take the diversion to see the waterfall as I had already seen it some years ago and new experiences beckoned!
The path started to climb and I could now see Ingleborough to the south - it was hidden in the mist yesterday. The climb continued and there was soon a return to moorland which became high moorland, peaty and boggy in places. Moorland birds were prolific here, Lapwings, Golden Plovers, Grouse and Curlews. I'd seen them before many times since I had left Edale, but never in such numbers as I would north of Hawes. I would also see Dunlin, Sanderlings and numerous Skylarks.
I had been aware for some time on the approach to Great Shunner Fell (2350 feet) of a walker a little distance ahead of me carrying a very large rucksack. I caught up with him just as we reached the summit . There is an excellent wind shelter there and, as the wind was quite high now, we sat and sheltered, he eating his lunch and me - a mars bar!
He was from Germany and walking the whole of the Pennine Way . I marvelled at the speed he had been walking because the rucksack really was huge. He was planning to take a few days longer than me and I didn't see him again after Great Shunner Fell. After about 10 minutes Dave joined us and we all three spoke briefly about our experiences thus far.
The views from here are quite outstanding - it was fairly clear and sunny. Dave said there was a good tea room at Thwaite and he would be stopping there for a pot of tea.
I left them eating their lunch and started the descent to Thwaite, passing several people sitting enjoying their lunches and the magnificent scenery. One couple, coming from Thwaite, said 'There's a great tea-room down there!'
Tony Hopkins says (in the National Trail Guide, Pennine Way South ) of The Kearton Restaurant, Thwaite ' a sublime opportunity for a pot of tea that should not be dismissed lightly' and so I sat outside in the sun , devoured a cream tea and watched the occasional walker pass by. Thwaite is a lovely village and both the descent into and ascent out are a rewarding part of the walk. The views are particularly magnificent on this section of the walk, rolling hills, patchwork fields and pretty villages.
Thwaite - home of the Kearton Restaurant and great cream teas!
From Kisdon the route turns and heads northwards, following a steep sided valley. The path becomes quite rugged in places here and eventually enters a wooded section and reaches Keld, a typical Dales village.
Just south of Keld
I walked the short distance from the Pennine Way up to the village.It only takes a few minutes to look around, but it's well worth the detour to see this remote village. I took this photo heading back to the path just south of Keld.
The Pennine Way crosses The Coast to Coast walk at this bridge near Keld
I continued the climb past Keld and to my overnight stop at Frith Lodge, superbly isolated on high ground. The scenery here is bleaker than it has been for a day or two and is a good introduction to tomorrows walk, over the infamous Sleightholme Moor. I arrived just after another walker, Jack, who was walking the Coast to Coast path, and we sat and talked over a pot of tea, swapping information on the two routes we were following. Within 10 minutes of arriving, the heavens opened and we were treated to a fine display of real Pennine weather. The rain started to come in the house, the porch leaked, and we were both pleased our walks had finished for the day.
After a shower, I was changing in my room when I saw Dave approaching through the torrential rain, down the track to Frith Lodge. It was 5:45 pm. I had known he hadn't booked accommodation for the night and had told him about Frith Lodge. Accommodation is hard to find in this area . There isn't much apart from Frith Lodge and the YHA at Keld. I expected to find him at dinner that evening, but he wasn't there. When I finally caught up with him a few days later he told me how he had been told there wasn't any 'room at the inn' at Frith Lodge and he had continued on past Tan Hill, across Sleightholme Moor, past Trough Heads and finally ended the day at 10 pm at God's Bridge just south of the A66. He slept under the arches of God's Bridge.
After a marvelous meal of soup, roast pork with yorkshire pudding, potatoes, peas and cauliflower, then coconut and jam pudding and custard accompanied by a can of beer, I retired to bed to the sound of rain and wind, feeling excited at the thought of tomorrows walk which I knew would be interesting if the weather didn't improve. I was now halfway in terms of number of days and felt I had broken the back of the walk. It would be easy now as the distance walked would become increasingly greater than the distance left to walk. It did me good to think this, even though it was wishful thinking. The Pennine Way has surprises right to the end and difficulties arise when you least expect them. I slept well.
Rating for day out of 10 :-