After a very good breakfast and a quick replenish of
supplies at the Co-op, I was off. Except for watching the pack of hunting hounds running
through the village, hunting at 9am, seemed a little extreme! Today would mark
a change in direction of the rivers, so far I had been walking against the
tide, but later today I will be walking in the same direction as I traversed the Pennines. So it was a long
uphill climb to get the legs warmed up, destination the Nine Standard Riggs.
Look them up on Google, why they're there I haven't a clue but they are
impressive. This was going to be a tough day because of the notorious boggy
sections that awaited. Half way up to the Nine Standards the weather closed in,
mist and rain made the going difficult. A couple, who I'd met previously,
joined me and between us we made it to the top. The Cairns are massive
structures and looked quite eerie through the thick mist. There was no way we
could proceed through the bogs (blue route) in these conditions, so like many
others we headed back down to link up to the green route, which followed the
road through to Keld. It was not long before we entered the second of the three
national parks, the Yorkshire Dales. The walk along the road had great views
with the sun peaking through the dark clouds, lighting the hills around. And so we
entered Upper Swaledale. More limestone kilns buried in the hill sides and the
rivers dyed brown giving away their origins in the peat bogs. Finally entering
the little village of Keld and like many Swaledale villages it was at the heart
of the lead mining industry in the mid 19th century, but more of
that tomorrow. Keld a village of few
houses around a small triangle of roads situated on the river Swale. The Butt
house, a B&B as it should be with the archetypical landlady.
A milestone reached I'm now half way through my Coast to Coast walk, Yippee!
A milestone reached I'm now half way through my Coast to Coast walk, Yippee!