“Over hill, over dale, as we hit the (muddy) trail, and the hikers go trekking along.”
Dad started singing “The Caissons Go Rolling Along” around mile 4 today, and I was singing a slightly altered version in my head for the next 16.5 miles. As annoying as that may sound, it provided a nice tempo as we made our way up and over the green hills of the Yorkshire Dales. If you were to close your eyes right now and try to picture the English countryside, the views and villages we saw today would fit that vision nearly perfectly.
We started our day with an absolutely lovely breakfast prepared by the wonderful Margaret: we started with tea, and fresh fruit salad: this was the first fresh fruit we’ve seen on the trip, although I have taken a particular liking to stewed prunes in the meantime. This was followed by the creamiest oatmeal, toast and marmalade, and a delicious mushroom, tomato, and cheese omelet: the partial English breakfast, reimagined! This was the perfect amount of food to fuel our long day ahead: we didn’t need to stop for a protein bar break for nearly 6 hours after.
We sadly departed Brookview and Margaret, and headed on our way east. Our first stop was the tiny walled village of Oddendale, which was comprised of a few stone farm buildings and mostly sheep (I don’t believe we actually saw any people there, just sheep). We then continued on through the dales: we saw so many animals today, it was hard to get a representative photo of them all! At one point we passed through a pen of sheep, followed by a pen of Shetland Ponies, a pen of Holstein heifers, and a pen of beef cows (the typical mix of Limousin, Angus, and Albion Blue, plus some Simmentals today!). The diversity of these farms never ceases to surprise me, although, to be fair, I’d say 75 percent of what we see is sheep.
As we wound through the dales, we were treated to more green vistas and even a viaduct. At one point, when we were in the Moorish section of the hike, we were passed up by a crew of 5 4x4 off-roading vehicles. We assume they must have been rentals with new off-road drivers, as both Dad and I agreed that, had we been driving, we would have been going much faster and taking the much muddier routes than these particularly cautious drivers were.
We arrived in Kirkby Stephen before 3:30 pm, covering our 20.5 miles in just under 7 hours. Had it not been for a gnarly headwind on the last couple miles of the dales, I assure you the pace could have been much better. The temperature was perfect, and there was a good amount of cloud cover with the sun peaking through on occasion: better weather in the dales could not have been had. Plus, as we enter James Herriot country, I am reminded of the first chapter of “All Creatures Great and Small” when he discusses the whipping winds of the Dales as he was rolling around on a cobblestone barn floor, trying to get a calf out. The winds are authentic, and thus welcomed with open arms, even if our faces are a little wind-burnt tonight.
After some quick adventuring around Kirkby Stephen, we took a taxi to Ravenstonedale (Not cheating! Both B&Bs in KS closed this year, so this was our only option for sleeping somewhere out of that wind.) Upon entering the Black Swan, our Inn for the night, we had a sneaking suspicion something was up, as the whole place was dark. It turns out there was an accident involving the power line to town, and the whole village was without power. Nevertheless, we enjoyed some reading by the daylight we had, followed by a stroll around this perfect little British hamlet. We were a little skeptical when the concierge told us that the chef would still be able to make dinner tonight, as he still had a functioning gas stove. Our skepticism was quickly erased by the first bite of our appetizers (fennel and pea soup for dad; tomato, mozzarella, and watermelon salad for me) and our delight at this chef’s mastery continued on through our main dishes (seafood risotto and pesto mac and cheese). My only regret is that we were entirely too full for dessert.
Tomorrow (or today, probably, depending on when our power and internet returns), we head to the town of Keld, a short day at only 13 miles, but with a particularly boggy stretch that has been known to suck the shoes right off unsuspecting hikers. However, we are not afraid, and will go trekking along!
Kelsey and Brian
Step Count: 43,470
Miles Hiked Today: 20.45 miles
Elevation: 2175 ft
Time Hiking: 6 hours 38 minutes
New UK Breeds Seen today:
Kerry Hill Sheep
Bearded Collie
What a gorgeous day hiking. The pictures are so amazing!!
It sounds like the Black Swan lived up to it’s reputation, even without power.