Walk 57 (C2C 8) - 14.2 miles - Total 788.5 miles - To Go 211.5 miles

A Walk for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS.

Kirkby Stephen, Birkett Hill, Hartley Fell, Nine Standards Rigg, Whitsundale Beck, Ravenseat Farm, Keld and Thwaite.





Wainwright

'...there are different theories about the origin of the nine large cairns so conspicuously sited on the Pennine watershed between the valleys of the rivers Eden and Swale. They are certainly old, appearing as the Nine Standards on eighteenth century maps and giving their name to the hill top they adorn. They have multiplied in number, modern visitors having added a few more of lesser stature to the collection. One romantic suggestion is that they were built to give marauding Scots advancing up the Eden valley the false impression that an English army was encamped here. MOre likely is that they were boundary markers (the county boundary passed through them) or beacons. Harder to believe is that the builders were local lads with nothing better to do to pass the time. Whatever the purpose, the cairns were meant to endure and have suffered little from the storms of centuries.'

The Jolly Farmers is one of the best places we have stayed and Carol one of the most welcoming of hosts. Welcoming scones, a clean crisp white dressing gown, time to sit and have a chat and a comfortable sitting room, dining room and bedrooms. This is a must stay place along the route. We see off our friends Dave and Margaret and Phil and Diane as they set out on their way. Our big decision is green, red or blue route over breakfast. Green is road so not interested in that and it seems the big issue is the route through the bogs. Later we will learn what it means to become a member of the Peat Bog Club.




We set out over Franks Bridge, along the river Eden as we leave Kirkby Stephen behind. Our first destination is the Nine Standards and somehow we have chosen the blue, hardest route across the top. As we climb and climb the wind gets stronger and stronger and is gale force by the top. The Nine Standards are an amazing feature. Clearly put up by expert dry stone wall builders but even so when you imagine the wind that must hit this spot in the winter you do wonder how they have lasted hundreds of years. It is a wonderful thought to imagine they were a warning to marauding Scots but could us English be that smart? We think it was a dry stone wall competition hundreds of years ago with each master seeking to outbuild his or her local competitors.

Now we take on the bogs. You must have met people who have walked bogs or told you stories about why you should avoid bogs. These are our first bogs and shortly after the Nine Standards we learn what they are all about. All of a sudden you are confronted with stretches of bog where there is no clear path. After a long time sticking our walking poles into deep porridgy bog we stand back and watch others for a clue. But it seems they are watching us for a clue. Eventually you just have to go for it. Then the only question is how deep you sink in to the peat. I go for it and end up knee deep scrambling my way out. Rob follows and asks me if I can tell him next time I set off so he can capture me deep in peat. This goes on for several miles and our only saving grace is meeting Hilary and Steve. Hilary seems to have an instinct for the safest route across these obstacles. After a while we just follow her and are lead to safety with just a few more knee deep immersions. We now understand why you must not come this way if visibility is poor. There is no way of knowing which way to go if you can't see the next post ahead.

The scenery is stunning all the way. We look down on the winding Whitsundale Beck and stop beside it for lunch. A spot out of the wind and in the sun to rest our weary limbs after walking less than 1 mile each hour. That is how slow it is to make progress walking through bogs. But it is a new experience aAheadnd we now feel we are true members of the Peat Bog Club.

The wind returns and now a heavy shower as we reconnect with the red and green route. Ahead is an offer of scones and cream teas in the barn at Ravenseat Farm. Timing is perfect as a heavy shower is soaking us through. We enter the barn and who do we meet but Dave, Maggie, Pete, Diane, Craig, Mary, Hilary and Steve. A fabulous meeting place where for an unbelievable price of £2 you can enjoy with friends a cream tea of scone, clotted cream, fresh jam and tea. Amanda meets you at the farm with a big smile and welcome to take your order and shortly after brings it out on a tray. Amanda appeared on Julia Bradbury's Coast to Coast programme and tells us what a really nice person Julia is. She keeps in touch with Amanda and is grateful to Amanda's husband for a rescue mission for a twisted ankle during filming. Amanda's husband became Julia's knight in shining armour as he raced across the moors on his quad bike to bring them back to safety. There are photos of him with his arm around Julia who is grateful for the rescue but there is no jealousy from Amanda. Yeah right! Her husband can't understand why all the people he knows now call him Colin as he goes to all the farmers events that take place as part of normal life. Eventually he discovers his rescue mission is written up and published and the story is told of how Colin rescued Julia and her team. His name is Clive so all his friends and acquaintances took the opportunity to use his professional name in media circles. Amanda wonders what he will be called now he has been asked to play a part in a forthcoming filming of Wuthering Heights. Rob has renamed Amanda Cathy and Colin/Clive as Heathcliffe. Clive will be wearing film make up and needs to play the role of 'grumpy farmer' which Amanda thinks he may be able to do well.

The scenery all around continues to captivate.
We descend in to Thwaite to our bed tonight where there is no mobile reception, no internet and no television. And yet the place is fully booked every night and thriving which tells you something about the beauty of this part of the world. Standards, bogs, cream teas, friends again, gale force winds and amazing scenery make for another very special day along our way. These were tough miles and tendons and knees are complaining tonight but we sit back and hope the research is making similar progress and bringing hope for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS.

Walk 56 (C2C 7) - 13.2 miles - Total 764.3 miles - To Go 235.7 miles

A walk for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS
Orton, Sunbiggin Tarn, Ravenstonedale Moor, Severals Village, Smardale Fell and Kirkby Stephen.





Wainwright

'Sunbiggin Tarn has no pretensions to beauty; its appearance is that of a large reedy pond in the middle of a morass difficult to negotiate. The attractions of this desolate place lie in other directions; it is the haunt and nesting place of many varying water fowl, a rewarding 'station' for bird-watchers. Botanists too find delight in the profuse display of the delicate and lovely bird's eye primrose, rampant on the roadside banks in this area. Geologists will seek to find a reason for the existence of so large a sheet of water in surroundings so dominated by limestone cliffs and outcrops known to be porous and unable to contain static water, and discover the answer just below the road where the limestone ends abruptly along a line of many bubbling springs, the tarn itself, of course, occupies a base of impermeable rock.'

I know it is cheating to borrow such wonderful prose but it is such a perfect description of a big part of todays walk. Wainwright feels like a close friend now as he directs us first to look at this, be surprised by that and a little bit of 'would you believe it' as we turn another corner. Friendship and camaraderie are strong sentiments as we start our seventh day. Last night in the George we sit and chat with Dave and Maggie from Sussex. We have shared many happy moments and great scenes already along the way and feel at ease together like long lost friends meeting up and reminscing over good old times. Over breakfast we talk with Craig and Mary from Australia. Again there is the Nikon Canon rivalry between Rob and Craig but a shared love of photography and I can tell Craig that Karen has facebooked Jelenek (who Craig went to medical school with and is an inspiration to many with MS) and he has responded with his support and a comment on how small the world is. Tonight in the Kings Arms at Kirkby Stephen I enjoy a drink and great company with Dick and Jane and Mary and Liz from Essex. Liz and I have in common that our bags are not delivered by Sherpa which is a real pain when you need dry clothes after a very wet day. We meet, we move on, we meet again, tell our stories, move on and by day several new friendships from shared relationships are blossoming and enjoyed by all. Dick (happy birthday and I hope you get to taste a real Malbec rather than the tale of a promised bottle leaving a bag on its way home from the shop), Jane, Mary and Liz finish today and will complete the other half next year. It was great seeing you and sharing moments together. To you and all the other great people we are meeting thanks for the companionship, conversations and campaign encouragement you have given us both.

We set off this morning with waves from friends at the George Hotel as we make an early start. The weather forecast is horrible and Rob has decided it is going to be a miserable day and suggests we get this walk over with as quickly as possible. Long miles of misery are no fun so it is time for a 'conversation'. Football exhausted and cook book recipies reviewed we need a distraction. I know my beautiful and wonderful wife Karen is at this moment thinking 'poor Rob' as she reads this. I suggest to Rob we play with some theories about reality and enquire in to whether today is miserable or amazing. We delve in to theories of how each of us creates reality in the moment from theories of the world, memories and environmental data we choose to use. I make a mistake of offering to play the role of misery and for him to coach me to see the world in a better way. This is a disaster as he agrees wholeheartedly with every piece of misery I can create! The result is that the 'conversation' takes us at least eight of our miles and passes in a blink. And yes just after Sunbiggin Tarn I get Rob to stop, take a look at the grey view ahead and around, breathe in and say how wonderful it is to be alive.

The walk is real moorland walking and we are buffered, battered and bruised by a gale force wind. Torrential rain is lashing across the scene and horizontal at times as it attempts to play its tune of misery to those who will listen. But by now we are in the zone and all is wonderful. Every now and then we need to turn a corner and face the wind and rain which both hit us with their full force and sting the face and make us realise how good the decision was to walk West to East with the wind on our backs.

We arrive at Kirkby Stephen at around 1.30 and can't check in to The Jolly Farmers until 3.30. We settle down in the Mulberry Bush for a deliciously welcome Brocolli and Stilton soup and a panini for lunch. A wonderful spot where we sat and steamed and so many people came to make donations and support us in our cause. We are both touched by the generosity people show us and how they want our campaign to succeed and bring hope to people who have MS. Rob has to be at the Jolly Farmers for an important call to the City by 3.30 so we head back and are welcomed by Carol who tells us the scones are in the oven. She shows me to my room and most importantly a dressing gown so I can get out of my wet gear. A deep luscious soak in a jet massage bath takes me to another world and I join a dozen other guests for the tea and scones. Delicious. A photo opportunity missed by Rob with everyone else dressed as you would expect and me in my dressing gown.

Now the day is done. Another great experience. The weather doesn't look great for tomorrow, the rain is lashing my bedroom window tonight but ahead are more friendships from shared moments and more miles and pounds to bring hope to Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS.

Walk 55 (C2C 6) - 12.5 miles - Total 751.1 miles - To Go 248.9 miles

A walk for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS.
Bampton Grange, Rosgill Bridge, Shap, Oddendale, Crosby Ravensworth Fell and Orton.








Wainwright
'This section of the walk is also out of the ordinary by reason of its prolific evidences of prehistoric and primitive settlements: hut villages, stone circles and tumuli are all present in the vicinity, indicating that large communities existed here before the dawn of history, scraping a poor livelihood from land that remains today unhospitable, bare and uncultivated.'





Yesterday we arrive at the Crown and Mitre in the delightful hamlet of Bampton Grange. Just before Rob tosses our GPS eTrek on to hard ground and breakes it. Then as we arrive he turns and wacks me painfully on the knee with the point of his stick. Cheerfully he tells me watch out these things come in threes. Total misery descends as he discovers his bag has not been delivered by Sherpa. Having been admonished for the size of his bag two days earlier he is convinced they have it in for him and have not dropped his bag on purpose. Boy did he do misery well. Turned up after a phone call and story was Sherpa list said there were two bags to be dropped off so they dropped off two bags. We wonder what they were going to do with the third - his big bag!

The Crown and Mitre is one of the most comfortable and hospitable places we have stayed. In a stunning spot near a bridge over the river and by the church the owners have taken great care to make guests feel comfortable and welcome. We sit in the dining room which would grace any family home and are offered a mouthwatering selection of dishes. We opt for the Lamb Shank which Rob spotted when we arrived. Early afternoon he asked if we had to book to make sure we had a shank and were told there would be no shortage. The food was superb and we got talking about cooking shanks. We begin to sketch out the possibility of the 1000miles4hope cookbook. Now you will understand why Gordon, Heston and Jamie are all looking so worried. We invite the chef Andy to come and talk to us about his cooking. Andy is a lovely and modest young man. We compliment him on his cooking which he calls just normal pub food. We tell him it is a cut above anything we have tasted in pubs up and down the land and tell him he is doing a great job. Ever spotting an opporunity when it comes along Rob is off to the kitchen to catch shots of Andy at work. A great memory of a great meal for us and when the cookbook comes along we can show we work with great chefs. Do go there. A great stop on the Coast to Coast.

We walk across some lovely fields by a stream on the way to Rosgill Bridge. We then head on to sad Shap. Once a thriving stopping place for people on the A6 on their way up north overnight it was bypassed when the M6 came along. It is quite a worrying spot on the walk as you are confronted by the smoke stacks from the cement works and then come upon the M6. Rob stands on the bridge over the M6 which marks the Coast to Coast crossing and looks up and down wondering where people are going and how many have already passed this way.



We need not worry as the sight and sound of the M6 recedes we enter moorland with the Penines ahead and Kidsty Pike now in the distance behind us (the high point at the point of my finger!). This is classic moor land with memories of Worlds end on Offa's Dyke as it goes on for ever. Lovely heather covering if full purple bloom. It is gently up and gently down walking. Along the way we meet Australians visiting Robin Hood's grave. One of them in fine voice singing the Robin Hood song. I hope I didn't spoil their day by telling them that Robin Hood belonged to Nottingham and not these unsubstantiated claims he worked around Yorkshire.


As we approach Orton we get a taste of tomorrow with delightful Dales views to come. Again we meet generous people including our first walkers going East to West who support our cause and wish us well. We now have less than 250 miles to go and as we move towards our target we are hoping research is making similar strides to find a treatment for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS.

Walk 54 (C2C 5) - 12.8 miles - Total 738.6 miles - To Go 261.4 miles

A walk for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS
Patterdale, Angle Tarn Pike, Satura Crag, The Knott, Kidsty Pike, Birks Crag, Haweswater and Bampton Grange.





Wainwright

'What I shall never forget is my visit to the small settlement there, the hamlet of Mardale Green, I walked down the lane to it in between stone walls draped with ivy and stained with lichens aware of an eerie stillness and absence of movement in the scene: there was no sign of human life and the cows and sheep had gone from the fields. I came to the Dun Bull, which for two centuries had kept an open door for passing travellers, only to find it empty and unoccupied. The tiny church in its surround of yews was deserted. The few nearby cottages had been abandoned. I felt uncomfortable, a trespasser. The birds were singing and the hedgerows were fragrant with flowers and wild roses, but over all was an awful silence. It was the silence of death. The place was doomed.'

Describing a memory that had stuck from a walk a long time ago and since then Mardale Green is now below Haweswater Lake behind the dam now providing water to Manchester and around. At occassional droughts the church spire pokes through the surface eerily calling out its stories of visitors and dwellers from the past.

Today is supposed to be the hardest day of the whole Coast to Coast according to Wainwrights Guide. After our day in the torrential rain of yesterday it doesn't seem so bad. We start out in rain again and ascend up and up and up until we reach Angle Tarn Pike. Just like passing Eagle Crag out of Grasmere it is wondrous to look up at a peak with trepidation and a couple of hours later to be looking down on the same peak with satisfaction. The views are just so stunning all around. Another day of every ten paces Rob having to stop to take another shot.

About three hours in and with just 4 miles of walking behind us I get a text from Karen telling me to 'tell Rob I just got an email from a friend telling me how amazing the photographs are'. This is great and they are great photos but Rob made me read the text to him ten times and preened himself a little more for each of his next shots. Across from Anlge Tarn Pike is an amazing ridge and down below we look on Brothers Tarn before approaching a turning point to High Street or Kidsty Pike. I had thought we were going along High Street and had continuosly been coaching myself to stay in the moment and not fear the future footsteps along the frightening ridges of High Street. As we were ascending I met a group of experienced walkers who told me they were going round High Street as it would be far to dangerous today on the top. I stop at the top and wait for Rob and look ahead at the High Street path ready to take it on. Rob ambles up and tells me we are turning left to Kidsty Pike as only a fool would do High Street today. Just shows stay in the moment. If I had worried there would have been no value from it.
Not that Kidsty Pike doesn't have its moments as I look ahead and see people standing at the peak. It looks scary. I keep breathing easy and in the moment focus on the path ahead and say it will be fine when we get there and it is when you turn the corner.Rob working for the team has a momnent at the top where he is looking smug. Smug about heights, smug about his photography and just smug.
We marvel at the adaptive capabilities of the human body. Our own in fact. Two days ago struggling to descend ten steps down stairs in a hotel and now easing our way up 2500 feet and then down 2500 feet and actually enjoying it.


It is the end of the Lakes and all of a sudden the terrain switches from great fells and lakes around us to gently rolling dales ahead of us. It was truly amazing and we have enjoyed it so much.





Once again we meet lots of great people contributing to our cause and wishing us well. Every mile counts, every pound counts and we hope research can make the progress we want for a treatment for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS.

Walk 53 (C2C 4) - 7.9 miles - Total 725.8 - To Go 274.2

A Walk for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS
Great Tongue, Grisedale Tarn and Valley and Patterdale






Wordsworth

There was a roaring in the wind all night
The rain came heavily and fell in floods
But now the sun is rising calm and bright
The birds are singing in the distant woods
Over his own sweet voice the Stock-dove broods
The Jay makes answer as the Magpie chatters
And all the air is filled with pleasant noise of waters.

The shortest walk of our 700+ so far and by far our wettest. Like drowned rats arriving in Patterdale our bags have not arrived so we steam in the bar waiting for our wet gear to dry on us. William Wordsworth was with us on our walk today as we pass the stone he last saw his brother and a barn he sheltered in. His words in his poem above are spot on except the sun didn't come out and although pleasant in a different way it was the noise and sight of roaring waters that filled the air on our walk today.

We set off from Grasmere with all the fells around hidden behind thick grey clouds and heavy rain falling on us. We soon encounter thick mud against a backdrop of clouds wandering down in to the valleys as if sent down to play by their grey elders above.
We start the ascent of Great Tongue climbing up a gentle slope at first with water cascading down towards us. At our first crossing of many Rob calls me a pussy cat for taking the bridge. The words are not out of his mouth before he is deposited firmly on his behind as he slips taking his brave route. I think there will be a bruise there later.




We catch up with our smiling Australian friends and exchange words about how wet inside we are and even wetter outside. Although a short walk today it is full of challenge. Trickling streams of yesterday are now torrents of water hurtling over rocks. It is slippy under foot and there are some very tricky stream crossings. We meet someone who has fallen in. Some of this was quite frightening and in the moment we are saying what are we doing here. When we have passed the trouble we feel ok but in the moment it is a worry.
I am grateful today for contact lenses and to Steve, Catherine, Sarah and Katie for my walking poles. I would have been in serious trouble without the latter and saw the benefit of the former as Rob dealt with steamed up glasses covered with rain droplets.


The rain got heavier and heavier and we entered the clouds and it was truly wonderful!!! At Grisedale Tarn we meet Adrian, a tree surgeon from Cambridge. Young, fit and cheerful we learn he has just done Striding Edge. I bow down to him in admiration. He talks of having to skip either side of the edge to deal with the wind and rain. Carrying his camping gear on his back he had inteneded to stay out on the peaks for three days and try out being alone in the wilds. He is going to give up until the weather improves telling us it is too dangerous even for him.
Rob had been wanting to do Striding Edge ever since seeing Julia Bradbury take it on in the Coast to Coast show that inspired us to do this walk. Meeting Adrian confirmed the sensible choice to take the safe route today but Rob still looks up wistfully (at grey cloud which is all you can see) at what might have been. He tells me he will be back.

The waterfalls around us are an amazing display of the force of nature. The rain is relentless and as we turn to look around we realise how important it is to have the wind on your back on this walk. Turn in to the wind and the rain stings your face and the cold wind is bitter on your bones.



The descent down in to Patterdale is gentle and the rain gets heavier and heavier. Socks are soaked, boots are waterlogged, we are wet inside, outside and all over but happy, smiling and hoping this all helps progress with a treatment for everyone with MS.

Walk 52 (C2C 3) - 8.8 miles - Total 717.9 - To Go 282.1

A Walk for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS
Stonethwaite, Eagle Crag, Greenup Edge Pass, then split with Len down Far Easedale and Easdale Beck to Grassmere and Rob along the Ridge via Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag.
William Wordsworth
' I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.'

We are in Wordsworth country so we had to invite him to make a contribution to our blog. The daffodils have gone but the sentiment remains. The walk today from Rosthwaite to Grasmere is referred to by Wainwright as a walk in heaven. We both agree it is a perfect description. Early on we meet Jim from Dartmouth. 71 years old carrying an 18kg bag with his camping gear and having taken on Red Pike the day before. Very impressive. He was walking with the amazing Steve who had walked John O Groates to Lands End in a continuous three month journey raising money for Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation. See his website at www.steveslongwalk.org for a truly great effort. Great meeting you Jim and Steve.

We walk along by Eagle Crag standing high above us and on the other side of a stream flowing and waterfalling its way in parts down the hill. We go up and up and up and up for four miles with a steep ascent at the top. When we are at the very top we look back on Eagle Crag below us. Amazing feeling. We meet lots of great people along the way all feeling wonderful with the whole experience of immersing themselves in the scenery and sensations of the place and all supporting our cause.
I remark to Rob that he doesnt even see sheep now. The city boy so enamoured by every new breed is now matter of fact and tells me one has to move on in life. I accept a big problem I have is I am always rooted in the present. It is a problem I love and will stay with it every moment!


At the top we have a choice to either descend gradually over 5 miles down to Grasmere or to do a gentle (ed: it was in no way gentle - Rob) ridge walk with a few more ups and downs and high up views. Being a team we decide to do both with Rob in mouflon mood opting for the high road and me being a scaredy mouse (I admit it) taking the low road. Sounds like it was a good choice for me as Rob would not have been able to resist every opportunity to tell me not to look down and it sounds like there were a few of those along the way.


I think most of the blog needs to be told by photos today so I leave Rob to fill the page with images from another great day.