Ravenber Way – Day 1
7th July 2019: Dufton to Garrigill – 15.5m I knew I wasn’t fit, but today exposed that as one of the understatements of the millennium! I’m in my B&B in Garrigill now, and my feet are quite literally singing, my calves are tight and sore and my thighs feel like they’ve been beaten with rubber […]
Ravenber Way – Day 0
6th July 2019: Home to Dufton I heard the rain on the window before I got out of bed this morning. Bloody typical, it’s not rained for 2 weeks around us and the day I’m setting out for a long walk it decides to bloody rain! I had 150 miles of public transport and about […]
Herriot Way 2019 – Day 4
21st April 2019: Keld to Aysgarth – 14.5m When I set out this morning I had every intention of walking from Keld to Reeth along the new low route, beside the River Swale, that I’m adding to the fourth edition of the guide book. As it turned out, I ended up walking to Aysgarth instead. […]
Herriot Way 2019 – Day 3
20th April 2019: Keld to Reeth – 12m I slept like a log (an expression that has always baffled me), that is to say I slept soundly. Soft pillows helped immensely of course as did not having to listen to a neighbour’s TV all night. I stirred about 5am and drifted in and out until […]
Herriot Way 2019 – Day 2
19th April 2019: Hawes to Keld – 11.8m I dozed off about 8pm last night, but never got a decent period of sleep, thanks to the inconsiderate twat in the room next door who decided that full volume was the only way to listen to the TV. He/she was also one of those people who […]
Herriot Way 2019 – Day 1
18th April 2019: Aysgarth to Hawes – 13.1m I set out from Aysgarth in a mixed frame of mind this morning. It was good to be walking again, but the disappointment from last night was still weighing heavy on me. City’s Champions League quarter final against Spurs was one of the most intense football matches […]
Herriot Way 2019
Next week I’ll be driving to Aysgarth to begin 5 days walking around some of my favourite northern Yorkshire Dales. The primary motivation for this is to do a complete re-walk of the Herriot Way route in preparation for the latest update of the guide book. For those unfamiliar with the walk, it runs from […]
Tributaries Walk Day 2
Another early night resulted in another early rise, I was conscious by about 5am and snoozed until 7am. A quick look out the bedroom window revealed grey skies but I could see all the hills and it looked like it should be a perfect walking day. As usual the first few steps out of the […]
Tributaries Walk Day 1
It was thundering and lightning further down the valley when I arrived at the Moorcock Inn last night. I’d had an easy drive up from home through moderate Friday evening traffic and stopped for sausage and chips at the Haddock Paddock in Sedbergh on the way. Unfortunately it’s Appleby Horse Fair time and the top […]
Eden Way Day 7
Carlisle to Wetheral (again!) – 7.5 miles Breakfast at the Jolly Farmer’s was a rowdy affair. I’d asked for 8am and wished I’d asked for 7.30 – there were 12 other people in the dining room by 8.10 and they all seemed to know each other, which did at least mean they weren’t talking to […]