DAY 8 ... KELD TO REETH ...11 MILES
What a grand breakfast; butcher sausage, thick
sliced bacon, perfect egg, tomatoes and fresh
mushrooms....good coffee too. Three homemade jams.
Can't eat it all, but I try. They say "take some
fruit for later", yes I will. In 2005, I took the
river route from Thwaite to Reeth. This time, I'll
take the high route from Keld to Reeth. I was going
to walk back up to Keld but John insists on driving
me up. I offer gas money but he says its all part of
the service. He worked for the phone company for 30
years, retired at 50 and took over the family farm
and the b&b. Mad cow disease came and he leased the
land. Too much paperwork running the farm and he
dislikes sheep anyway. He seems happy now. I wonder
how many sheep farmers dislike sheep.
Keld seems to hold a certain mystique to walkers for
three reasons; it is the halfway point on the C2C,
it is where the Pennine Way crosses the C2C, and it
is very isolated at the head of the Swale River
Valley. It is feel like a focal point, the keeper of
a tradition.
A Morning Look at Keld
I leave Keld at 9:05 on the path I took yesterday
afternoon, but instead of descending to the Swale I
continue around the mountain, past Crackpot Hall (a
large house in ruins) and on to the upper reaches of
Swinner Gill. Extensive mining structures are here.
The mining ruins are more interesting than I
expected so I spend time exploring. As I leave, I
make a wrong turn uphill but soon realize my
mistake, turn back and meet a couple from the van
group who made the same mistake. They consulted
their map and quickly turned back as I followed.
They don't talk much.
Crackpot Hall and the Swale River Valley
Swinner Gill Mining
Terribly muddy hillside along East Grain, then up
higher around the mountain to Blakethwaite Smelt
Mill at Gunnerside Gill.
As I watched from the mountain path, the van lady,
eschewing the bridge, slipped and fell crossing
Gunnerside Gill, spraining her ankle. It will be
swollen, black and blue and painful the rest of the
walk (she persevered). I met two older couples
sunning themselves at the mill and indulging in a
well deserved snack. They are from Littlebeck next
to Intake Farm where I stayed in 2006.
I left the van couple recuperating and began a long
trod across bleak mountaintops and mining spoil
heaps, down to Level House Bridge then the beautiful
ruins of Old Gang Smelt Mill along Hard Level Gill.
I can sense the activity of a hundred years ago,
workers converging here from the surrounding
villages. At Surrender Bridge, while eating an
apple, I met a walker who said he followed me off
Nine Standards yesterday.
Blakethwaite Smelter at Gunnerside Gill
Walker Crossing Cringle Bottom
A last challenge for the day, crossing the ravine at
Cringle Bottom, steep sides and a water ford. On top
again, I see some sheep. A lamb comes bleating up to
me, I bleat back, She twirls around bleating away. I
bleat again, she runs in circles and bleats again.
Am I caught in a mating game? This goes on and on
until I'm bleated out and I move on. My walker
friend behind me is taking photos at this curious
display of affection.
I reach Reeth by 2 pm, dropped my pack at Walpardo
B&B and hit the bakery for a divine piece of carrot
cake. Then spend time at the tables outside the
Kings Arms with Old Peculier, my journal writing and
talking with a local walker from Richmond. He takes
the bus to and from his walks with his free senior
bus pass. Not bad, eh!
Tree in Bloom
Sunlit Leaves in Swaledale
350 Year Old Walpardo House
Back to the b&b for cleanup and a phone call home to
Cathryn. I'm in a tight little attic room with a
sloping ceiling. Its a 350 year old house under a
preservation district, so the ceiling can't be
lifted, but its cozy and nice. For dinner, I land at
the Kings Arms again. This time, its Black Sheep
Bitters and a vegetable lasagna w/salad. Its very
quiet in the pubs tonight, not many people staying
overnight, but there were lots of day visitors
earlier. Just as I get up to go, a group of older
but rowdy bikers come in. Its a good time to leave.