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.