Left at 7am as we could see the big hill ahead of us from our camping spot. We discussed leaving the Lady Anne’s Way and doing the Dale’s Way instead
They are similar routes and we kept seeing the Dale’s Way signs along flat paths by shady rivers. Our LAW goes up all the hills. Either she wasn’t a nice person, or she didn’t care which way she went between castles as I have read that her favourite method of travel was in a hammock slung between two horses. She definitely wasn’t walking up the hills with a pack on her back. Her servants would have been carrying her bed and all her pretty dresses and corsets for her.
We were heading for Hawes, the highest market town in England. 850 metres above sea water is what we read. Not sea level as we would say.
Up another bloody hill. So much for my plan that England is flat (Kate McKay will be thinking that I have got my just deserves)
Anyway the morning climb was much more tolerable than the previous day because we were shrouded in clouds the whole way. It was cool, but no wind so perfect conditions for a 2.5 hours walk up a hill. The cloud was so thick that I couldn’t see Kay a few metres in front of me. We followed a farm road most of the day, so there was little chance of getting lost or losing each other. We didn’t come across anyone else out there.
After desending into a warm sunny day, we stopped for a nice lunch at Askrigg.
Again, there were lots of people out for walks, drives, or riding motorbikes taking advantage of the tables in the sun. We were probably a bit smelly but sat inside to use the internet and charge our devices and eat.
We had some planning to do as the plan we were following required about 30km a day, which was too much to enjoy.
We decided to take 3 days to do the next 2 on the schedule. We tried to find accommodation but had no luck, so after a couple of hours rest in a nice church yard we walked on.
Found a nice camping spot by a little brook. Instant mashed potatoes and gravy was on my menu. Kay had a cup of soup. She eats much less than I do
Super photos for all of us to enjoy. Such a historic walk with all the beautiful castles and villages. Really differt from New Zealand