Lovely stay at the Manor House with Jean. Had a delicious breakfast this morning after a search for Tony’s fit bit that got knocked off his person as he lugged our suitcases downstairs. I needed to stop pharmacy for foot plasters and some cold meds. Got the stuff for my blisters, but no cold medicine. Tony passed his cold onto me as it kept me awake a bit during the night.
Tony and Jean in the kitchen.
Sitting room at the Manor House
Tony found the way through the narrow streets to Frank’s Bridge.
Leaving Kirkby Stephen
View for Frank’s Bridge
Phil and Amy Timberlake, fellow travelers on the Coast to Coast
The route started uphill pretty quickly. It was a steady but not too steep climb on a road at first.
Uphill past the Quarry
Looking back
The smooth tarmac ends and the roads covered in rocks reappeared. My blistered feet were not too happy.
Rocky roads, but not too bad. Lovely views.
It does get rougher and a bit steeper.
Steeper and rougher.
We chose the green route which is lower, and more easy to avoid bogs. I was feeling a bit funky and did not want to have to worry about being sucked into a mud hole too.
We still had to make our way uphill some more. The Green route hugged the wall in parts, but there were dips and bowls in the path that were a bit boggy and required careful footing in many places unless you wanted to fall in the hole or mud.
Mary and Tony –
No rest on Sunday? Just plow right on? Looks like you’re halfway across England now. The pictures are terrific, but I suspect they capture only a small fraction of the atmosphere. And those maps would probably drive even a map lover crazy. Thanks so much for setting up the blog and faithfully keeping up the expedition progress. The coast-to-coast is now something I know better than to attempt!
Safe travels for the rest of the trip.
Love,
Patty
We saw a sign on Tuesday that said we were at the halfway point. It really is a beautiful walk, but quite challenging. I would do some parts again, but others like climbing Loft Beck of going up and especially down Kidsy Pike….NO. Tony is a wonderful traveling companion and we cheer each other on and laugh at our mistakes.
Love to you too.
Had we known then what we know now, probably would hav backed ut. But w found reserves in ourselves, and particularly in each other. This kind of trip can break a relationship..or make a relationahip stronger. The latter for us. People have mentioned that Mary an d I live separate lives together. Not so. We have each others’ back in a way that, if you haven’t been tested, you can’t imagine. Bravest person I know.