Thoughts at the end

Well -it's all over -we made it! Here are a few photos from our last day and arrival in Robin Hood's Bay where we joined fellow walkers at the Wainwright bar for a local brew in the Bay Hotel. As everyone has done before us since Alfred Wainwright first did this walk in 1971, we went down to the beach, dipped our boots in the North Sea and threw in the pebbles we had carried with us from St Bees. Yeah!!

My feelings at the end? For me the walk was an odyssey, conceived and planned for over a year -something that I had to do. I loved every moment of it, wind rain, sore feet and all and I feel so privileged to have had this chance to walk through some of England's finest countryside and meet such lovely people and raise money for Yes to Life at the same time. I found my walking legs - painful at first but they became stronger and stronger and carried me all that way without too much grumbling. Another really big thing to be grateful for. I managed to be chief map reader and not get us lost too often - a big surprise I must say! I loved having the opportunity to spend two weeks with Imogen who inspired me to challenge myself and to enjoy an outdoor life whatever the weather. Imo went in the sea for a dip after the walk - too chilly for me! That's my main feeling - gratitude for having had this amazing journey with Imogen, David and Vidya and gratitude to all of the people who supported us with their donations and good vibes. Thank you all and thank you Alfred Wainwright!!
Jo

first day of summer!

and it was sunny and beautiful! we had a delightful 5 mile stroll today(our shortest day yet) and arrived at a lovely farmhouse with lot's of cats, cows and lambs and a classic friendly farmers wife. Today we had cute male company with a white fluffy dog-a friend of Immos(the boy not the dog). Then the day before we had some of the Daly family as Jo said. All this was sweetly distracting.
The day before was the biggest challenge.....trudging for miles and miles(22 to be precise)through extreme weather(gale force winds and freezing rain)across the bleak and potentially beautiful Yorkshire Moors.....there was nowhere to shelter, my waterproof pants leaked yet again and I was cold and soaked through and felt like i was walking in a wet diaper! We tried to stop to eat our cheese and branston pickle sandwiches in the rain but we got too cold and had to eat walking. It was a test to say the least but we all survived!
Today we really saw the sea on the east coast and it looked so amazing like a deep blue mirage. We were looking down on Whitby which is where dracula arrived in England(I didn't know he came here but apparently he did). Today is the summer solstice so we plan to do a little ceremony. Immo has sparklers and I have a twirling thing that lights up when you throw it in the air plus we are going to do a debriefing. Tomorrow is our big day....eleven miles to Robin Hood Bay. I think we are going to make it yeah!!!!!!!!!!!

Trial by Moor and Summer Solstice

Its been a while since we had internet access so this blog entry has to cover a lot of ground (like us). I will have to describe it backwards from this moment. We are at Intake Farm in Littlebeck which is only 10 miles from Robin Hood's Bay! Today as we walked across our last piece of moorland we saw the North Sea shining blue in the distance and we shrieked with delight - hard to believe we are actually nearly there and only one more day to go! Since our last post we have been tested by the gods and goddesses of the Yorkshire Moors who must have thought that we wimps from USA needed a greater challenge. On Saturday we set out at 7am from Ingleby Cross to walk 22 miles across the wild and untamed moors of north Yorkshire. Oh yeah! It started to rain as we left the farm and so we chose our "full metal jacket" rain gear with gaiters. Lucky. As we climbed steadily on to the moors the wind picked up to a howling gale so I was hardly able to stand upright and the rain came down horizontally "like stair rods" as they say here. We battled on (at least there were no bogs!)knowing we had no choice but to keep going and had one oasis in the form of a small isolated cafe called The Lord Stones cafe in the middle of nowhere where we had great cappucino and scones. Then we hurled ourselves out into the wind again. It was impossible to stop walking even to have sandwiches as the wind and cold grabbed you and threatened to toss you into the air so we just kept going -Vidya listened to her "moor mix" on her ipod and 10 hours later we staggered into the famous Lion Inn pub at Blakey Ridge. People were in there having dinner and they looked at us like we just arrived from an arctic expedition as we came through the door. After hot baths (and a gin and tonic) we were in good shape again and ready to greet our guests Robin, Nancy, Myrren and James who had driven from London to meet us. What a banquet we had that night!! Now as I look back on that day -it was wonderful - wild intimacy with the elements that is not something I usually experience and an incredibly beautiful moorland impression. Next morning -better weather - James and Myrren walked with us from Blakey Ridge to Graisdale where we had lunch together before they set off back to London. It was great to have had company! We walked on to the village of Grosmont last night which is famous for its steam railway. We were joined this time by Imo's friend Henry and his dog Louis who came up from Derby to walk with us. We had another pub dinner in The Station Tavern with other C to C'ers and one highlight of the evening was the look on the barman's face when Vidya asked if they had extra virgin olive oil! Today we set off in glorious sunshine for Littlebeck - a short 5 mile day to allow us to "rest" and enjoy the beauty of this delightful hamlet with a trickling brook or beck through the middle of little cottages. The farm where we are now is a working farm - we were greeted with tea and chocolate cake and then played with two tiny kittens - part of a gang of farm cats here as we waited for Shepavan to arrive with our bags. Tonight we are celebrating the summer solstice and reflecting on this amazing journey that we have been lucky enough to share. Tomorrow we finish!

arrived in Ingleby Cross

wherever that is.....actually it's somewhere in North Yorkshire, close to where me mum and dad used to live for many years(practicing my Yorkshire accent). Last night we slept in a bunk barn...i had visions of chickens running around our bedroom but it wasn't that bad...just smelt of cow poo! But I slept like a baby. We had no internet there...so not always easy to blog. We had two relatively easy days of 14 then 9 miles. We did a lot of traipsing through fields of wheat, nettles and thorns...sometimes on tracks and sometimes creating our own tracks....which the farmers probably don't appreciate! The weather was super sunny for two days and it's the first time I got a sun-tan in England. Today was overcast but dry and we arrived early afternoon...in time to catch up on internetting and do some yoga practice and prepare ourselves for a major 22 mile hike through the dales tomorrow. We are nursing some blisters and sore feet and manifesting a smooth walk for tomorrow......so send us some really good vibes for a happy hike tomorrow!
Tomorrow night we are staying at a famous pub called the Lion's Inn and Robin, the founder of Yes to Life, who we are walking for is driving 6 hours up from London with his wife to meet us for dinner....so we have to make it!!

June 15th - Swaledale - and on across Yorkshire

Last night we arrived in Keld after an average 13 mile day (did I really say that?). We walked across the Yorkshire dales and it was the day of BOGS. The heather on the moorland turns into peat over the years and when the peat gets wet it turns into thick pools of black mud. Grass grows on top of this so you can't always see where the bog is until you step and the ground gives way and you sink down. We had our gaiters on and had to pay close attention with every step. Luckily it was not raining as well so we managed to negotiate the trail.
We stayed in a fabulous barn in Keld next to a waterfall in the Swaledale Valley. Its so pretty - hard to believe its real and not a Disney filmset. Here we stayed with a Dutch couple who walk very fast and they helped Vidya tend to her awful blister. They are pro walkers! We also met three delightful Welshman -Brian, Peter and Cyril (the PCB's) walking together and we spent a happy evening over dinner sharing stories and glasses of wine. We were sorry to say goodbye this morning as they set off back to Wales. See our photo!
Today dawned sunny and we happily set off to walk by the river down the Swaledale valley to Reeth. It's hard to describe how beautiful this valley is. The fields are all full of wild flowers and we have seen enough sheep to send us to sleep for a hundred years. We were dive bombed by lapwings and also saw curlews, stoats and a thousand rabbits. We ate our lunch in a field and then stopped again for tea in a village, arriving at The Buck Pub in Reeth for the night. Tired but happy and peaceful and Vidya was a trooper managing 11 miles with a big blister!

half way!!!

Well yesterday Jo, Imo and I clocked up 21 brave miles across the moors...most of them in slattering rain! I found out my waterproof trousers leaked...rather nasty! We all kept stiff upper lips and squelched on. We were happy to find a warm farmhouse that served delicious cappucinos and hot crumpets and tea cakes. After many wet and tiresome miles....finally the sun came out and the scenery was resplendant and beautiful. The last 3 miles on a tarmac road into Kirby Stephen were gruelling....the only way I made it was to listen to my ipod and find a rhythm and keep on marching....arriving was blissful. Kirby Stephen was a lovely little town and we found an Indian restaurant and chowed down.

Today we made it across rolling moors past the nine standards( a group of ancient cairns) trolling through thick bogs...trying to avoid falling in up to our necks.....past the grouse buts(where Prince Charles likes to go with his friends and shoot innocent birds who can't fly, past a black hut where apparently royal butlers serve lunch for the hunting party on silver platters......passing by a remote farmhouse with a lovely farmers wife who served us a devonshire cream tea right at 4pm. It was a shorter walk(thankfully) today and we rolled into keld at 5.30pm in record time and have had a restful evening.

Don't worry - we're OK!

Sorry we went AWOL there for a while, but we've discovered that internet access is definitely not a given in this part of the world, and we haven't had it at the places where we've stayed for the last three nights. On one hand that's a delightful relief, especially at the end of an exhausting day when all we want to do is eat and fall in to bed. On the other hand we want to keep you all posted and each internetless(?) day was a bit frustrating on that count. Let me catch you up on the events of days three and four (Which I had written before I discovered we had no internet access!)

Day Three – A day of Challenges
The walk (that’s what they call it here – no hikes thank you very much!) from Ennerdale to Stonethwaite village was a real test for us. I had been hoping to start the day with a stiff climb up on to Red Pike and then walk along the high ridgeline for three or four miles (‘the high route’) before meeting Jo and Vidya where their trail would intersect with mine. However the weather was pretty lousy in the morning, so I opted out of the high route, which according to the hostel manager at Ennerdale required a working knowledge of map and compass navigation in this kind of weather. I wasn’t that confident of my orienteering skills, and tales abound of people wandering around lost for hours up on the high fells in misty weather. It was also windy, so I imagined that up ‘on top’ as they say, what looked like mist from down here would actually be driving rain up there. Didn’t seem like it would be much fun!
The low route took us along the Ennerdale valley floor to the Black Sail youth hostel – the most remote hostel in the UK, where we stopped for a cup of tea – before pitching us up the bottom of the almost vertical climb up the aptly named Loft Beck. I think it must have been close to 1000ft of stair-climbing before we poked our heads over the rise in to the clouds (thick mist) on the fell top. It was our most severe climbing challenge so far, and although it was definitely arduous we took it in stride!
On top conditions were pretty rough for a June day (I’m sure they can be far worse in winter) – the wind was howling and the mist was thick enough that at times we couldn’t see 50 yards, which made it tricky to pick out the cairns which fortunately marked our route. The air temperature was probably about 50F, but with the wind chill it felt more like 35F. Out came the fleeces and the rain jackets, and even, after a while, the gloves! We walked through the clouds for about 45 minutes, following a line of cairns and the instructions in our guide book very carefully before the path turned downhill on an abandoned slate mining tramway. After that things eased up and we wound up at our destination in Stonethwaite in Borrowdale at about 5.30pm, tired but happy. We had overcome our first really challenging set of conditions, and suddenly felt confident that we could handle this business!
I’m happy to report that I enjoyed two pints of excellent, local, prize winning Black Sheep Bitter’ before dinner, and rarely was beer so well earned! As good English beer is, it was served at cellar temperature (rather than chilled), which makes it that much easier to drink, and the rich smell and flavor that comes with that relative warmth gives the sense that one is drinking a fresh live beer rather than a sterile one. It’s more like drinking an organic liquid food than a characterless chemical concoction, which is how chilled beers sometimes taste to me. (sorry America!)


Day Four – Stonethwaite to Grasmere: In the lap of the gods!
A day spent wandering the grassy pathways of heaven! After a strenuous climb out of the Borrowdale valley where Stonethwaite lies, we arrived at the peak of the spectacular Lining Crag which offered a wonderful view back down the valley, and of a ‘basin of drumlins’ which we had crossed to get there. (I’ll let you figure that oneout!) We then crossed a boggy plateau in chilly winds to arrive at Greenup Edge which, when the mist parted for long enough, allowed us some peeks of the promise of the Grasmere valley below.
The weather was improving as we sat and ate lunch enjoying the view. We then set off along the ridgeline toward the distant peaks of Gibson Knott and Helm Crag, which towers over Grasmere – our destination for the day. Wainwright, who created the Coast-to-Coast walk said "the best part of walking is fell walking, and the best part of fell-walking is ridge walking". This must be one of the most glorious of all ridge-walks, extending for a couple of miles with small rises to peaks with astonishing 360 degree views, valleys falling dramatically away on both sides, and the ceaseless movement of clouds creating an endlessly unfolding drama of light and shade on a gigantic canvas of mountains, valleys and tarns (small mountain lakes). I had to stop about every thirty seconds to take photographs! It was one of those walks where I found myself wondering "how did I get to be so lucky as to be doing this?"

Looking down in to lush, stone-walled farmland of the valley on the Grasmere side of the ridge was like looking down on ‘The Shire’ of Hobbits, and gave us the feeling of being on a Tolkeinian quest.

After sitting a while on Helm Crag to take in the view and recharge on Cadbury’s chocolate, we headed down the steep trail – sorry, I mean path (they don’t have ‘trails’ here!) in to Grasmere, getting lost briefly at the bottom (the last time you want to get lost of course – when you’re most tired!) where we met up with our fourth team member Imo, who had just arrived from Seattle by way of London. Celebratory drinks were in order of course and local beers were to be had, as everywhere in the north of England. Sorry,but it’s too late to get in to beery details right now! Bed time!

onwards and upwards

well....today we trudged on up steep unbelievably high mountains(or fells as they call them here), into the clouds, through artic winds with no gloves(well Jo took pity on me and loaned me one of her gloves...so we had one each). We ate more cheese sandwiches with branston pickle(a rare english delicacy) and drank a lot of well-timed cups of tea, at a remote youth hostel and a cafe in a slate mine, a warm shrangi-la which we reached after descending the freezing slopes.
After that things mellowed out and became more like Bag End with sheep dotted around and bucolic rolling hills and stone houses and I listened to David Bowie and The Clash for a while on my ipod as we descended into picturesque valleys. We eventually arrived at a lovely country Inn in Stonethwaite, Borrowdale, where we all had much needed hot baths and the best meal since we got here. Heading to Grasmere and hooking up with Immo tomorrow.

Day 3 - Beautiful Borrowdale

This is Jo. Right now I am sitting in a comfy couch at the Langdale Country Inn (with wifi) in a valley so beautiful it makes you want to weep. Its been a trip since our last post and we have come quite a journey to this beautiful place!
After Ennerdale Bridge we had a so-called easy day with just 5 miles to the youth hostel. It was raining when we set out - so we had a chance to try out our full wet gear as we walked around Ennerdale water. The whole day was spent putting on waterproof pants and then taking them off again only to put them on half a mile later when the weather changed again! We decided to try two different routes - David took the high road and Vidya and I took the lower route and we planned to meet up later. Vidya and I found ourselves rock climbing with a 40 foot drop down to the lake below - hairy to say the least but we made it. We met up with David who had a less intense hike over Robin Hood's chair. We made it to the YHA for late lunch and a cuppa - after which we all had a nap in our 'family room'. When we came to it was s till raining so we all hung around, did some yoga, talked to some other walkers until dinner. The Youth hostel was all organic, fair trade and green and we had a good dinner followed by a lousy game of Scrabble. No-one could think straight and in the end the YHA manager came to help out. We slept like babies and woke to a grey day but no rain. Today was a 9+ mile day hiking over Loft Beck to Borrowdale. We started at 9 after breakfast and the first four miles was easy walking to Black Sail Hostel - the most remote hostel in England. We stopped for tea there. Then we hauled ourselves up Loft Beck - stunningly beautiful in good weather but we were in thick mist (see photo) It was a long climb to the top, up a flight of slate steps that someone had carefully set in the side of the hill - and we had to get out the gloves I brought and didnt think we would need. It was cold!! But over the other side we walked down to Honister slate mine and lunch! It was great to warm up inside a building. Then we set off again to Borrowdale which is the nearest place on earth to Hobbit country. So sweet and full of lambs and wild flowers. I would write more but I am falling asleep and tomorrow is another days walking...so thanks for reading !!

If the rest of it is even half this good....!

What a tremendous first day! I got a good kick-off with the 'full English' breakfast on offer at the B&B. You've got to load up with serious fuel for a 14 mile hike! We set off in to the morning gloom in full expectation of a drenching, but were treated to what became a beautiful summer day. I'd forgotten just how glorious the English countryside in summer can be. It's intoxicating!
The first few miles along the coast cliffs north of St. Bees were dotted with spectacular viewing places to see the colonies of thousands of seabirds living on the cliffs and feeding in the sea - razorbills and guillemots, including the rare black guillemot which only lives in this one location in the whole UK. Meanwhile above the cliffs the skylarks treated us to their amazing lung-bursting aerial arias. For a bird lover it was quite overwhelming!
We wended our way along paths and country lanes full of spring flowers and fresh farm smells finding it easier than we had expected to navigate as there were far more signs than we had been led to believe. The direction of our particular trail is often helpfully marked 'C2C'.
In the mid-afternoon after a pretty strenuous hour of climbing we found ourselves in the place where heaven and earth meet, and where the 360 degree views were breathtaking - all the way from the very southern end of the Lake District (Black Combe') in the south, to the Selway Firth and the mountains of southern Scotland in the north, by way of the Isle of Man (out in the Irish Sea). To the west we got our first really good look at the high fell landscape of the Lake District which lies ahead on our path. I don't know any other landscape like it, with the great treeless domes of the mountains looking imposing and tranquil. The sense of space - not so common on this small island of Britain - was immense, and standing there in the sun and the breeze, with the skylarks singing high overhead I felt suddenly giddy with joy.
The descent was steep - very steep - the steepest descent of the whole Coast-to-Coast walk actually - and it's a real toe-cruncher, believe me! After a very civilized stop for tea at the side of a beck in a gorgeous little valley, we pressed on, chewing on Wine Gums now to supplement our rapidly dwindling store of energy (yes folks, even Vidya was on the wine gums!).
We finally staggered in to Ennerdale Bridge at about 6pm having taken 1.5 hours longer than most people, but boy did we enjoy it! Our host came to pick us up and brought us to out B&B for the night. The view out back was so improbably spectacular I just started laughing when I saw it. Dinner wasn't much less spectacular, but alas it's a wine-only joint. so I didn't have the opportunity to sample the local beer. As much as I may enjoy the pleasures of the magical amber brew, this was one evening when I wasn't about to set off and walk to a pub!

Day 1. St.Bees to Ennerdale Bridge

Here we are in Ennerdale Bridge after 14 incredible miles of gorgeous walking!! Yes -our feet are sore - yes our knees are creaky - but we have had a blast today!!!
We woke to no rain!!! Cloudy and gray but dry! Had a huge breakfast in the Outrigg House in St Bees with our delightful hosts and set off.....
We saw many sea birds nesting including the rare black guillemot
We heard skylarks, sheep and a cuckoo
We smelled sheep and lilacs
We saw bluebells, gorse and many many more wild flowers.
We saw the Isle of Man in the far distance.
We climbed Dent Hill which was a strenuous climb with a view from the top to die for and then an even more strenuous descent the other side down to a beautiful, bucolic valley.
We had lunch at "The Walkers Pop-in Cafe" - the only place for miles and very very welcome.
We arrived very tired in Ennerdale Bridge and got a ride up to our B and B where we have just eaten a huge dinner looking out at one of the most amazing views of the lake district you could ever find.

Vidya: Yes...all of the above happened....perfect weather...gorgeous views...sore feet but surprisingly good energy right up until the last mile and then we just collapsed on the pavement waiting for our ride to our B&B. My healthy diet went out the window on the first day.....you eat what you can find here. We only found one tea shop and lunched on baked potatoes, Heinz Beans and branston pickle.....thank God I will be in Italy in a few weeks!

On the eve of the great adventure...

We are gathered in St.Bees at The Queen's Hotel for dinner and a drink. It's now 9.45pm, and it's still quite light out - one of the delights of summer in the more northern latitudes. It's raining of course but we are not daunted! Well only a little bit.

Vidya - Arrived today in Whitehaven in the pouring rain. The station was closed and no taxis or phones in sight. Fortunately i had my rain gear in my rucksack so I tested it out. Whitehaven was the unfortunate site of a mass murder a few days ago when a psycho taxi driver shot 12 people.....so there was definitely a strange vibe in the air. Met a schoolkid with a suitcase at Tescos next to the train station and found out he had ordered a taxi to St Bees, so I hitched a ride. Our taxi driver knew the psycho-killer well and told me he was a really nice guy(must have been having a really bad day!). I made it to our guest-house a few minutes before David and Jo. We weighed our luggage prompted by our friendly landlord and found out we are all overweight(what's new?...I find it impossible to travel light and am bringing my goji berries, bee-pollen, hair-dryer and gazillion supplements and other essential items). Tomorrow we will find out how lenient sherpavan.com are about a few extra kilos:).

David - Jo and I drove up to St. Bees today with my brother and mother from Preston (my hometown in northwest England). It was a 2.5 hour drive, and the last 1.5 hours was in torrential rain! Hah! - the Lake District (not for nothing did it get that name!) is trying to intimidate us already! I could see Jo's face turning to dismay through the rear-view mirror. I had tried to tell her what the weather is like up here, but apparently it hadn't sunk in. "I see what you mean now" she said. Too late!
With the help of an iPhone we managed to locate our accommodations for the night and met the kindly proprietors - Craig and Linda. Linda immediately pointed out that the damp looking ceiling in our room (which we hadn't noticed!) was caused by "a sweating chimney". The mind filled with strange images in an attempt to grasp this architectural feature. Yes, see what I mean?!
The beer here is good (Jennings bitter). Plenty more beer reports to come in the days to follow!

Jo - what more to say? We are off to bed soon to get a good nights sleep before setting off tomorrow for Ennerdale Bridge -a mere 14 miles....but the carrot at the other end, apart from taking off our hiking boots, is a HOT TUB!!! It had better not be out of order!

So...onward until our next blog tomorrow - if they have wifi in Ennerdale!

Only a few days to go..

This is me training hard.

If every day in the Lakes is as beautiful as this one then all the blisters will be worth it! Today I went shopping for band-aids, bandages and power bars.

It's a real luxury to have fourteen days of walking through beautiful English countryside with hours to contemplate. To be raising money for such a worthy cause at the same time is very rewarding. A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sponsored us so far -and if you haven't - WHY NOT?? -get to your computer now and go to www.justgiving.com/DalyC2CWalk and lay it down!

Prelude to a walk

Its May 26th – still in New York and getting ready for the BIG trip. Last week David and I did a practice 11 miles in the Shawnagunk mountains – so beautiful and not too exhausting. We have been trying out the gear, wearing in the boots and getting those leg muscles prepared for their marathon ahead. I decided that a thermos flask of tea is essential equipment so this will be going along. I keep checking the weather forecast in the lake district every ten minutes – it keeps changing which I guess is what the weather there does.

Still hoping to get more sponsorship money in. If you are reading this and haven’t donated yet…please go to our website and throw some down for a very worthy cause!

Here is St Bees where David, Vidya and I start walking.

We will hope to update you every day with stories and photos so watch this space!