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!