Day 2

We wandered into the pretty  little village of Grassington looking for an open cafe so Kay could charge her phone. She has been in charge of directions, so she has seen using the GPS constantly as the markers are few and far between, and there are many walking paths and publuc footpaths to get confused with.  Yorshire Dales is where the Brits come to walk.

We wandered around the village like lost kids until we found the only open  bakery  but there were no tables and no plugs. We were told that cafes don’t open early around these parts because everyone stays in  bnbs meaning they get their bed and a full breakfast. Therefore, no need to buy a coffee until morning tea time.

So off we went in the heat up and over the Yorshire Dales.  The fields are small and bordered by drystone walls. There must be millions of stones in walls in this country.

I deduced that people and sheep have become larger over the years since the walls were built. Wire stretched between posts above the walls as if the sheep can now jump higher to get out of their field.  Sheep are stupid crratures, and many just jumped headlong into the wire when they see us coming even though there would be other, easier, directions they could go to get away from us.

The gaps in the stone walls are sometimes a lot narrower than us 21st century women with big packs on our backs. Probably Lady Anne would have easily slipped through because she would have been wearing a corset.

The day was too hot for me as we walked steadily  up the moors for about 3 hours. I can’t be pleased.

By the time we arrived into Kettlewell I was feeling quite exhausted and was thinking that the kettle better we’ll be on.  The local corner shop didn’t have any electrolyte drinks or tea. However, there were plenty of embroidery cottons, knitting wool, and sparkly pieces of paper on sale. I commented that there must be a lot of crafty people around here and was told that people need something to do when it rains on their holidays. I was beginning to feel that this hot weathet may no last. Thinking this was the only place open for business, we bought some sweets and headed to the local church. Churches have been our havens on these walks.  Somewhere to sit and rest with nice people.

However, this place proved the be the exception.  As I slumped on a bench,  the vicar nearly knocked Kay over in his rush to get away. I gave him the benefit of the doubt thinking that he may be running off to administer the last rites to a dying parishioner. I felt as though I was in need of similar treatment at that moment but he was not to know that.

The lady weeding the garden by the front door was also not very forthcoming when Kay explained that I was not feeling well and could we have some water. No: we couldn’t go inside the church and touch anything because they didn’t have insurance to cover themselves in case we got electrocuted. Eventually, she did offer to bring a kettle of hot water out so we could make a cup of coffee and allowed Kay our water bottles with cold water, as that did not involve electricity. 

Their insurance must have covered the risk of the gardening lady being electrocuted.

I drank a couple of litres of water, had some awful cheese and crackers followed by a little  Nanna nap, then felt much better. 

We packed up our suff and carried on through the village to find at least 4 lovely pubs and cafes with tables filled with tourists.

We walked on to Duckden and looked for accommodation there as rain was predicted for the night. No room at any of the pubs or bnbs  as this was on the tourist trail and the sun was out.

Kay found an information shelter, with seats and a roof  so we put our tents in there. The  predicted rain didn’t happen and we are beginning to realise that the weather forecasts are not very reliable in the part of the world.

There was the added bonus of nearby toilets and a tap for water. 5 star accommodation tonight.

The only drawback was that the  handwashng station with the water tap  was a fancy  automatic thing.

Put your hands under and you get liquid  soap followed by water, then  hot air to dry off.  It took three rounds to fill my first bottle, with me sticking my sweaty wet shirt under the hot air to dry it out during thd dry cycle. Bonus

But my 2nd bottle took a few more rounds as the soap went into the bottle at one stage and took a few more rounds of soap, water, drying to wash out the soap. Oh, the trials and tribulations of a damn long walk.

I had a really good sleep as confirmed by Kay as she said I was snoring loudly. I needed that sleep after my night with the cows.