Part of the Coast to Coast

26/7/23 – 29/7/23

After 5 weeks off, I finally got back out hiking!

It is not like me to have so much time off from hiking, but I had no car for 3 weeks and then I decided to catch a virus that took it out of myself and my partner! Which meant no hiking for a while!

Partner you say? Well remember the guys I told you about that we met on Haystacks….Well, it is one of those guys….Yes I have one of those cute stories on how we met, rather than a typical dating app story. So yes, I feel cute! Anyway! The reason you are here, isn’t about my love life, it is because you want to know what I am getting up to in my hiking life.

Well, you will be glad to know I am back at it and for my first hike back, I decided to join my partner to do part of the coast to coast, while he was completing the full thing in just 12 days! (Very proud of him). My part of the coast to coast included walking Yorkshire, from Kirkby Stephen to Richmond and having a faff on getting back to Kirkby Stephen!

I stayed in Kirkby Stephen on the Wednesday evening, While he camped, I decided to car camp outside of camp site. Although, we did have tea and drinks on the camp site. The campsite was called Pennine View Park, and is 100% a camp site I would recommend to anyone. It had very decent bathrooms and showers, some of the better ones I have seen! They have a lovely dining area too, it gives you the ski slop kind of feel, with a bar and a kitchen that offers a small menu, but a menu that is good! The girls behind the bar were so helpful too. We had been searching for days on ways for me to get back to my car after a few days of hiking, and it is a lot harder than it looks!

There are no trains that go direct from Richmond to Kirkby Stephen, There are also no buses that go directly from Richmond to Kirkby Stephen. They do have a bus that runs once a week to Kirkby Stephen but this is not a straight run, you have to get 2 or 3 different buses just to get there. Or you can get the train….down to Leeds and back up to Kirkby Stephen! This 45 minute drive turned into a journey that would take between 3 and 9 hours, Which I was not willing to do! Also it was going to cost about £80! So we looked at taxi’s….Well they wanted £65, slightly better and I came to terms with maybe having to pay that! It would of been worth it to have joined my partner for a few days! But the girls from the bar! The girls, they came through for me! They knew someone that worked for the baggage transfer company that was based in Kirkby Stephen! And before we knew it I was booked on and only paying £20 to get back to my car and it took around 45 minutes! I was parked about a mile away from where these vans park, but the driver was very helpful and offered me a lift to the car! I would recommend them! Shout out to Sherpa Van Limited who came to my rescue!

The next day, we started our travels! The weather wasn’t great right from the beginning, So waterproofs were on straight away. We decided to have a coffee in Costa and some breakfast at a local cafe to try and miss some of the rain, which we did manage! We finally got a move on and started our hike, by the way with camping gear that was not made for long hiking trips! My tent weighed just under 3kg, by sleeping bag not much less, my mat was light but massive. My partner has since told me off and given me a much lighter sleeping bag, We are currently looking at light weight 3 man tents and I am looking for a lightweight decent mat (Which in the mean time while writing this….I may have just found)

Day one of the 3 day walk through hike!

We travelled from Kirkby Stephen to Keld

As I mentioned above, it was already raining to start our day, what a fun way to start! Not the weather we expected in July but so be it! It did clear up but due to the amount of rain we have had the last few weeks, we had no clue what was about to come!

While I haven’t hiked for 5 weeks, along with my lungs hating up hills….We started our day on a up hill….Obviously we did lol! We headed up slowly to the 9 standards, taking breaks when needed and not pushing ourselves too much. We were flying through water with the weather being wet but warm and uphill, so I got to use a water filter for the first time ever and we filled up our water bottles at one of the rivers. The Flies though. MY GOD! Those flies! Like is there a need, Hiking in wet weather is not fun because all the flies decide to start following you everywhere you go! Every day we had flies in Yorkshire! Not all day, mainly in the morning and I just wanted to kill them all. Honestly I had never hated flies more in my life!

On our way up to the 9 Standards we hit a big bit of bog….where normally you would go over the bridge, the bridge was also flooded! So we did manage to find a way round and stay dry which was nice! We eventually got up to 9 Standards and they were beautiful, Not much of a view around them due to the weather but we did get to see all of them together, all different shapes and sizes and even a chair for you to sit in in front of them all for a picture! Which of course we had to get!

From here we started to head to Amanda Owens house, who used to sell the best cream tea’s I have been told…..Although she no longer has the cafe so that was a bit gutting! We did see her fly through a river in her car and the kids playing out on their bikes, even their cute little dog came over to join us while we enjoyed a sit down with another family! But I am jumping a head! In between 9 Standards and Amanda Owens house was a long walk up and down hills, through lots of bog and even some rivers! This is probably the worst bog I have EVER been through! It didn’t matter if we took the July route or the August route, they were both as bad as each other we later found out!

We did take the July route, I feel very lied to by whoever put these signs up! The bog started off annoying but okay. You found yourself getting more and more annoyed with it throughout the day and then it just became unbearable! We started hitting parts where there was no way round, you were just trying to find places that were safe enough for you to jump over, this felt like it went on for hours! Eventually we hit our worst part so far! It was pretty much just a river from the amount of rain. We spent about 10 minutes trying to find a way around and it is safe to say even my waterproof shoes were soaked on the inside by the time I finished that section. I was not happy by this point but I HAD to carry on and just get over it.

On our way down to Amanda Owens every few minutes there was more and more and more and even more rivers to cross! Out of all of them we had 1 bridge which lets just take a minute to realise how pointless it was because the river then came back round on the other side and they have only bothered to put in 1 bridge where 2 was needed….so Thank you for that whoever put that there….Waste of time bridge and it was needed more on the other part! Anyway complaining over…….We were managing to jump most of the river crossings apart from one, where we did manage to make our own bridge out of stepping stones! By the end of all of this my feet were wet but nowhere near as bad as they could of been!

We finally got to Amanda Owens and had a rest on the benches and to let our feet dry out a little! We enjoyed the sun coming out for a couple of minutes before setting off on our adventure again! The sun came out properly, enough to have to stop quite quickly to put on sun cream, which really helped us feel better about the rest of the day! On our last stretch to get to the camp site in Keld, we came across a guy that is currently rebuilding one of the old abandoned properties, he was nice enough to stop and speak to us for a few minutes about what he is doing to the house. Due to the national parks, they have to show what materials they are using to rebuild the property and show their work throughout. It sounded like a lot of faff and hassle but I am sure it will look stunning by the end of it and hopefully worth it!

As we were coming close to the end of our day, we headed through loads of trees and our annoying friends the flies decided to join us again. I have honestly never wished anything dead so much in my life! As we finally hit the roads they disappeared…For now! We finally got to Keld to find all of the local cafe’s and pubs closed…We needed food! Luckily, where we had to check in to our camp site, there was a small cafe selling sausage rolls and toast. We…I say we! I stocked up on chocolate, crisps and sweets for the next day and later that day as I am a fussy eater and a pain in the arse when it comes to finding something I will actually eat so I have to be prepared just in case!

We headed down to our camp site to set up our tent and before we knew it the damn flies were back again! Not just flies anymore though…midges too! You couldn’t lie down in the sun because of flies but it was too hot to lie down in the tent. We did manage a brief time outside to sit and have one of the wild camping food packs….They are not as bad as I thought they would be but they are lacking a bit of flavour like salt! So note to self….In future take salt packets! The showers and toilets were nice but I couldn’t stand the rest of the camp site due to all of the flies. We managed to get a good nights sleep, ready to start our day 2.

Day two of the 3 day walk through hike!

We travelled from Keld to Reeth. We started this hike very early on as the tent was warm, it was due to rain and wanted to get our stuff away quickly and as soon as you opened the tent door the midges would not leave you alone. My poor boyfriends legs were just spotted red by the time we were ready to leave! Have to say I don’t think I will stay in Keld again even though it is a stunning area! Been there, done it and delt with the flies.

We headed up to Swaledale and it was only as I got here I started to realise I had already been here! Only a circular route last time so I hadn’t done the full walk we were about to embark on. Isn’t it funny when you don’t realise you have done something until you see a certain point of interest! Swaledale, is just a stunning place and one you have to visit. The old buildings are worth a visit and the waterfall is beautiful too. We got to see a lot of grouse including many babies, which I haven’t seen before.

This hike felt much easier than the day before, my body had got used to being back out hiking but we also took the ups slowly so they didn’t hit us hard which was nice! They looked really steep but due to how we were taking them, they seemed okay and we were up them before we knew it. This I was happy with and I despise ups! We managed to get down to the river and back up the other side within an hour which was nice and good going! Especially when some of the up was just scree. We reached the top and I don’t think either of us was expecting what we saw at the top, it was odd and just felt like a something you would see in the middle of nowhere in a desert instead of on top of a hill. The good thing is we had a proper path to walk down, which was nice after what we had dealt with the day before! We also had a much better day with the weather which was fantastic! You forget what a difference good weather can do to you! Heading down we met a lovely guy who lived local and was telling us about the local grouse and the hills, which was lovely and interesting to hear. Just as we thought we were done with the ups, we got surprised by a small up but one we did not want to be doing as we were already tired!

As we hit the top, it had really taken it out of me and we decided to have a sit down while we looked at maybe changing our camp site to a B&B for the night. After no hope or £300 odd later we decided to just stay with our camp site and to be honest, I am glad we did! After a long walk to our camp site, we go to the town, headed to where we were staying and got ourselves set up. They had great showers at 20p for 5 minutes and I did share mine with a spider which I wasn’t too impressed about! I was made up to find like only one or two flies and that was it, and they didn’t bother us! Later on we did see some midges but again they didn’t bother us either so we were happy! Managed to wash our clothes too! Even better! Once we were set up, showered and happy we headed back to the town for some food. Here there were so much to choose from! Everywhere you looked there were pubs. But first off it was to the shop…Again to stock up on crap food we did not need but wanted anyway…You could tell it was pay day as I think I spent about £25 lol! But so worth it! It gave us picky bits for the night, the next day and Breakfast for the next day too!

We headed over to one of the pubs and got ourselves a proper meal and a drink, time to relax! We enjoyed our meal, had our drink and £45 later we headed back to the camp site to relax before an early night! Day 2 sleep was so much better than day 1!

Day three of the 3 day walk through hike!

We travelled from Reeth to Richmond. We headed out early as I had a bus to catch back to Kirkby Stephen. Looking back it was too early, but o well! We live and learn!

Our first stop was somewhere to have our breakfast….Breakfast being a cheese and onion barm! We headed out of Reeth and headed for Fremington. On our way to Fremington, we had to walk down a road, with cars flying down it and trees over hanging. This would be the moment we found out that there are dangling tree spiders! Yes….Dangling tree spiders are a thing. As we are walking down this road, Tom points out that there is a spider dangling down, not that I can see it until I focus for a minute, and low and behold at the eye level of Kerry (Me being 5ft4) There was a spider dangling down from the tree. From this day forward I will be scared of dangling tree spiders. We finally got into Fremingham and seen there is not a lot going on but we did find a random seat in the middle of the town to sit on and enjoy our breakfast while the sun lasted! We enjoyed a sit down for 15 minutes and gathered ourselves up and headed back off, just in time for the rain to start. When I say rain I mean RAIN! It rained so much for about an hour while we were out in open fields and in and out of forest areas. It was not fun and we were not happy! Eventually as we got to the top of one hill, the sun started to show its face again….Thank god and it stayed out for the rest of the day!

We headed up on the roads for a little while which was very boring, until we hit Marrick Priory, As we hit here, there is a left turn into a sort of forest area, that for the end of July was very wet and soggy. I got many mosquito bites from walking through there. As we got to the top, we hit a field that seemed lovely with the views until we got over the hump and found out there were a lot of cows just sitting off in the same field! We rushed past and headed through a gate that sounded like something out of Silent Hill, to make matters worse the old building on the right hand side also looked like something from Silent Hill. If it had been in the dark, I proberly would of preferred to stay with the cows. We got to the other gate and back into reality.

From here we were in and out of fields and roads, with flies following behind at certain times due to the type of weather we had been having. It wasn’t a very eventful day, it was just a nice day that were were spending together before I was leaving Tom to carry on the rest of his adventure while I went back to work! We had some lovely views, seen some stunning houses and spoke to some very lovely people who were really interested in our adventure.

We finally hit Richmond and the emotions started to kick in, knowing I was about to go back home and leave Tom to continue without me. We had some lovely food and a few hours of rest within the Town Hall Pub and Dining. A place I would recommend! As Tom prepared to leave, we went for a walk up and around the castle and over the water. Tom headed off and I headed to Wetherspoons for an hour or two and played a game of stay away from me with a wasp while I waited for my bus.

The Bus driver was so helpful, for £20, he kept me in the loop with phone calls regarding where he was and how long he would be. He picked me up at the correct place that was easy to find, helped me carry my bag to the back of the van and closed the door behind me. He introduced me to the others on the bus and even told us about some of the towns we were driving through. As we got back, it was just over a mile walk for me, and he was kind enough to offer me a lift back to my car, which was very lucky as it started raining as I got to my car! Overall amazing service from the travel company!

I may have only completed 3 out of 12 days of the coast to coast and only walked from one side of Yorkshire to the other side but it has made me want to go on to do the rest of the coast to coast at some point! An unbelievable experience that has only made me want to do more and brought Tom and I closer together.

One for the memory bank! Next up White to Dark Way!

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