Day 7 Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Day 7 Kirkby Stephen to Keld. 12 miles (100.67)

HALF WAY

A relatively short day, arriving at the pub before 4:30 and a pint of Black Sheep in my hand almost before I had the boots and gaiters off. Still quite a tough day though. 12 miles is more than we usually walk and we did 20 yesterday, never mind the previous few miles. Kirkby Stephen is an amazingly busy little town with cash machines and food sources, along with an outdoor shop. Loads of religious venues, or previously anyway, such as The Temperance Hall. Nothing other than Christian though! 

A climb up on an unforgiving road next to the local quarry, which turned into a stone  track that continued ever upwards all the way to Nine Standards. These finally loomed out of the cloud in front of me; nine stone columns, each one a different size and shape that stand guard on a ridge. Google to find out more about them!  At the top there was quite a party going on, with my fellow walkers, the four Likely Lads and a new couple.

The route from here was great fun...although I have to say I was the only one who thought so! The terrain was all moor, mostly peat bogs, with different routes in force depending on the month. For August, we had to follow the blue route which was marked by the occasional wooden post showing the intended way across this wonderful, bleak land. Pure Wuthering Heights, minus Heathcliffe. The only way was just to go for it, expecting to sink to ankles and being very grateful if you managed to choose strong enough grasses to carry your body weight for a split second. We could see the other walkers in the far distance to start with, but soon lost them as we helped each other through the worst bits. Once we got to Craygill Scar we stopped for lunch, then carried on in a similar way through, eventually, to Ravenscar Farm. This farm looks like it is straight from a film set. Signs warn of Free Range Children. We saw a toddler being carried on the farmer's lap on a quad bike rounding up sheep, three more playing in a stream. Yet another one called out to us to helpfully get us onto the right route around the numerous ancient stone barns clustered around the hillside. There were two more that we didn't spot and another on the way, yet the farmer's wife still manages to offer wonderful cream teas, that we saw the "St Clements"  couple sampling. To be fair, they had already told us that they hadn't stopped for lunch! Photos can't sum up what this little scene was like...Julia
Bradbury also enjoyed visiting here. 

The last couple of miles showed how busy this community must have been, with many unused cottages and barns that would have housed other families. On arrival in Keld we were delighted with the choice of Keld Lodge. The view from our bedroom window is of the idyllic hamlet...a picture has been taken and if the Internet in the bar works, I will try to upload it to the blog or to Facebook. 

No time to write more as we need food and more beer now Rachel has done her laundry, patched up her feet and made herself look beautiful! My feet still fine.

Accommodation: Keld Lodge. Wonderful for walkers. Excellent drying room good beer, good food, fantastic views.