Category: Lady Anne’s Way

Our final day was fine and pretty as we were walking through suburban villages and smaller farms as we got closer to Penrith. 

As navigating wasn’t easy, Kay had her head in her phone most of the day because the markers were not to be found.

We came across a retired English couple who had been a day ahead of us. They were the only people we had met doing the Lady Anne’s Way.  They had a map and guide book and no gps so had spent a lot of extra time finding their way.

We met up with them again at Brougham Castle, another one that Lady Anne owned, where we had lunch. Also had a photo with them at Penrith, the end of the trail.

We carried on into Penrith meeting a group of three lads on a walking trip up to Edinburgh. A German, a South African, and one from Belgium. They were in awe of our journey and how far we cover in a day, compared to them.  The German guy had recently been in New Zealand, and the guy from Belgium was very interested in Te Araroa.

We had booked an airbnb for a couple of nights in Penrith, which was such a treat.

Overall, this walk was not difficult, but it would have been better with more markers. We spent a lot of time finding  our way. It is a relatively new trail, so hopefully, it will get better as more people walk the route.  We missed the interaction with other walkers. The weather wasn’t very summery but the villages and farms were just like I have seen on chocolate boxes and English TV programs and movies. I really don’t understand why I am always surprised at this!

Well, it is new to the modern walking trail community, however Lady Anne regularly followed this path 500 years ago. She and her servants must have had a better sense of direction than we do.

I had a surprisingly good sleeping the church, I thought I would have bad dreams about ghosts and nuns, but no, I didn’t.

We walked for about an hour into Appleby, which is a larger market town. We arrived wet and cold and soon followed directions to an open cafe. After piling our wet coats and packs into a corner, we ordered coffees and a scone and started to chat with the staff and other customers.

Everyone we come across is amazed at meeting two old ladies from New Zealand with full packs, including tents and food. Most walkers here are put for the day or use tour companies to carry their gear from pub to pub.

We try to find the next best camping spot or good places to visit but always need to be aware of a locals “just up the road” as it can can be 15km and a few minutes for a car, but 4 hours walk for us.

We visited Lady Anne’s Alm house which was built in 1651.  It is a group of houses for ladies down on their luck. It still operates today in the sane fashion.

We walked on through the countryside.

Walked right through another farm and stopped to look into a big shed. Met the owner and his 2 workers who were shoveling shit for him on their Saturday off from working in a gypsum mine.  Kay always has a good conversation with the farmers. I am the one who asks the silly but obvious questions. They were clearing out what had been  pig pens so they could be used for rearing lambs.

All the farms have big tanks that they shovel all the mess into, mix it up with water, and then spread back on the paddocks. Perfect ♻️. 

On this walk, I am constantly smelling unpleasant (to me) odors, which is contrary to my understanding of “fresh country air.”

The houses are so close to the barns that I guarantee that the washing doesn’t come in smelly like perfumed laundry powder. More likely to be smelling like the back end of an animal.

Come to think about it we have only seen about 4 lots of washing hanging on clothes lines, even though we have spent a fair amount of our time walking in behind houses. Maybe they don’t like the country smells or just prefer to use a drier.

Arrived 2.30 at Kirkby Thore, a little village with no shop and not even a pub. That was a first! We tossed up going further, but rain was expected, and the church was open and welcoming.

It had a kitchen and toilet added in recent years that meant moving the huge organ.

This was the first church I had seen with a clock on the steeple. In my experience, clocks are usually in the town hall or the post office.

So we made ourselves at home sitting around the table, me reading a book and Kay attempting a crossword she had ripped out of a newspaper earlier in the day. She didn’t have much luck with the clues, so screwed up the  paper to suff in her wet shoes.

We had eaten our dinner when a man, with the compulsory dog , arrived to give the clock its weekly wind up.   We had a long discussion  about politics, as the elections are on this week. He obviously enjoyed a good chat, and eventually, his wife rang to make sure he hadn’t fallen down the steep spiral staircase. So he and the dog climbed up the staircase and wound the clock.

He said he would let the church warden know that we were there, so she didn’t lock us in. Kay had already put herself into her sleeping bag by the time the warden arrived to check that we were OK and had everything we needed.

So we had a good chat with her too.

We had a  very comfortable night in this church too.

We left Kirkby Stephen’s hostel 9.30 after I had a much needed sleep in. The walk today was actually flat, about 24km . We had found St James church in Great Ormside on Google and decided it would make a good home for the night.

We had a day with all seasons, rain, sun, and wind but we arrived dry which is always the aim.

I saw a red squirrel today, which shows that the conservation attemps in this area are working. The bigger grey squirrels have taken over in England, so there has been a conservative effort to bring back  the red squirrels. I was lucky to see it but not fast enough to get a photo.

We also went through a rabbit city. Rabbits are obviously not under threat.

The signage wasn’t very good today, with many other walking trails criss crossing ours. So Kay was on her phone all day trying to keep us on track. It did make for an easier day after the last 2 that had us head down and marching all day to get out of the rain and wind.

We stopped for lunch at another medieval castle that Lady Anne saved from ruin after a major fire. Back in the 11th century, it had been the site of a Roman Fort.

Today we met a lovely farmer on one of the narrow roads and had a good discussion about his farming vs. NZ farming. He just stopped his truck in the middle of the narrow lane and chatted for ages with us.

We often walk right through farm yards and look into the barns where the animals are housed when it gets cold. They are full of poop and not very nice at all. Kay says that anyone housing animals like that in NZ would be prosecuted.

The dairy farms are small  herds of only about 50  compared to our 1,000s in NZ.

St James church is completely surrounded by a privately owned farm. One of the owners told us it is the only landlocked church in England.

We found it to be a very peaceful place to stay the night.

We packed up and left quickly in the morning as it was beginning to rain.

We are going to wild camp , part way along the trail today, but the wind was cold and fierce so we walked the roads instead. The high route on top of the hills was not the place to be. I am sure Lady Anne would agree.

It was just heads down and keep walking as it was too cold for much else. At about noon and 20km along, we came to a cute row of houses (actually most of the houses here are cute and in rows).

We needed a place to rest and eat our lunch out of the wind so we went around the back and spied a bench seat that looked perfect. A lady came out and I tried my best at getting her to give us a ride into town by commenting on how windy and wet it was and how we were very cold and wouldn’t be able to camp, so had another 15km of road walking to do.

Wrong lady! She was a tough old bird, a long-distance winter lake swimmer.  Needless to say, she gave us no sympathy,  so we went on our way.

So when we returned to the road, I put my thumb out, and the second car picked us up. Who told us that no one would pick up hitch hikers in UK?

The driver was a young woman, on the way to the dentist, who told us she had ADHD and she drove way too fast for my liking on the narrow winding roads.  It will be Kay’s turn in the front next time!

We couldn’t complain as she  took  us all the way to Kirby Stephens which would have been another days walk for us. We were able to change our hostel booking, which was good. It took 3 different showers in 3 different bathrooms before I was able to get hot water but I was soon clean, dry and warm again. We are supposed to be in the height of English summer!!

We regularly came across book exchanges and defibrillators, sometimes together.

We went to the next door chippy to buy our dinner. A piece of fish and chips was £9.50, about $20 NZD so I had a battered sausage and a fish cake and chips for £7.50 about $15 NZD   Not a cheap meal. Actually, nothing is cheap here. I would say everything costs more than in NZ. They are all hurting economically here, too.

Kirkby Stephen is at the criss roads of the Coast to Coast walk and cycle trail, so their were other walkers and cyclists at the hostel. We gavent met any others walking (Lady Anne’s Way.

The ones who talked to us were a “bit different,” to say the least. I know that we are unusual in that we are carrying our own gear and tents, but I don’t consider us to be  “a bit different.” You may disagree.

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

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.

Lady Anne Clifford was born in Skipton Castle in 1590 and her Mother insisted that she be educated, which was unusual in those days. Her father died when she was a teenager, and as her 3 brothers had also died, she expected to inherit her father’s vast estates.

However they were left to her Uncle. She fought in the courts for many years to get ownership of the properties,  even marrying a lawyer, to help. He lost all the appeals too. Eventually, in 1643 she did inherit because her Uncle had no surviving male heirs and her 3 sons had died.

She used her enormous wealth to restore the castles and halls and do a lot of charity work; building safe houses for women. One in Applyby still operates today.

Lady Anne’s Way follows the path she took as she made her rounds of her 90,000 acres of properties. Apparently  her favorite method of travel was laying in a hammock slung between 2 horses. I am quite sure she didn’t have to climb 20 or so stiles a day, like we had to.

On the first day stopped for lunch at Barden Tower, which was one of hers, and ate the packed lunch supplied by  Amanda and Duncan  in the sun.

Day one was 24km through some gorgeous little villages, slightly rolling hills in bright sun. It was a hot day in England, and as we followed a river, we came across many people picnicking, swimming, kayaking, and walking with their dogs, of course.

We stopped about a mile from Grassington, which is where the series “All Creatures Great and Small” was filmed.  We pitched our tents on the banks of the river. The water is not clear blue or green like NZ rivers, it more resembles a good pale ale. I wonder if  it is tanin from the peat or because of the cows having access to the river? I boil the water.

A few people were still out walking their dogs and they all gave a friendly greetings making us feel confident we weren’t causing any issues

A herd of cows wandered past having a look at my couscous and pork pie dinner. They weren’t interested, which was good because I wasn’t about to share with them. Kay is the designated animal whisperer and does a very good job.

We watched the ducks and birds getting their dinner from the river and a squirrel running around on the riverbank, looking like he had lost his watch.

After a  wash in the river, we were in our tents by 7.30. I have  crappy romance novel to read – light with big print is my measure of a good book when hiking.

The herd of cows that had passed us at dinner time returned just as I was falling asleep.  They were so close to the tent that I could hear them ripping the grass and chewing it. I could also hear their stomachs rumbling and their farting.

Hearing Kay snoring from her tent I knew I had to be brave and deal with the animals  myself. So I lifted thd sides of my tent being careful not to scare them. I didn’t want them to run into my tent while I was stuck inside.

They weren’t really interested in us at all, so I tried to ignore their noises and go to sleep. I wasn’t very successful. However, I must have dropped off to sleep because when I awoke at 4.30 am, all except one cow were curled up asleep near us.  In the morning Kay said she hadn’t heard a thing.

After 2 days rest at Prestatyn beach, we took 3 train rides to Skipton.

Our clothes were all freshly laundered, and my shoes smelt like roses after being well washed in the shampoo provided in our room.  They really needed a good scrub after all the animal poops and smelly mud that I had trapsed through over the previous 13 days.

We both had haircuts 💇‍♀️ and enjoyed some sleep ins and a couple of old movies on the telly. The constant buffering was annoying but gave us time to put the kettle on, pour another wine, or have a pee. Our bargain buy was a 1.25 litre bottle of bubbly wine for £4.50, about $9NZ.

Although we were at a beach resort, we didn’t venture over to the beach at all. We only walked where we needed to!

We trained to Skipton which is 45 mins drive from Great Harwood, the home of my friends Amanda and Duncan and their 9 year old daughter, Isobel. They took us for a walk around Skipton and the castle, which was where Lady Anne was born in 1590. More about her later.

So we had some catching up to do and Amanda gave us a running commentary of all the walks in the district and the history.

Duncan fed us well and after 2 days there I think I put on half the weight I had lost. They were wonderful hosts, just what we needed.

We even soaked our weary muscles in their hot tub.

On the Sunday, they took us to the annual duck race in a nearby village, taking their two dogs along with us, even on the bus. We weren’t the only ones with dogs on the bus. Kay and I are beginning to feel a bit left out as we don’t have dogs.