Day Eight: Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Kirkby Stephen to Keld: 21 km

Another night of little sleep for us. We are so used to sleeping with a window open, and this room had no opening window. It was hot and stuffy and we both did a lot of tossing and turning. We got up right at seven and had our stuff down and ready to go by ten to eight. We had our usual porridge and toast and tea and headed out the door to the grocery store and bakery to pick up some lunch supplies. We were on the trail by just before nine.

Leaving Kirkby Stephen

Hey--It's us!

It soon started to sprinkle and after debating whether it would rain long enough to make it worthwhile to pull out our rainpants and coats and packcovers, we took shelter from the wind and rain under a big tree to put everything on. We trudged on into the wind up and up on steep farmers' roads until we hit the entrance to the open moor.

Yup, still on the right track

This section of moor land is particularly susceptible to erosion and because of the high human traffic there are actually three distinct trails across. We took the one designated for the summer months, which would take us up and over the fell that marked the English "great divide" between water heading east and water heading west. As we hiked up, the clouds came down lower and got thicker and wetter, and the wind got worse.

A very big chair
It's all very Wuthering Heights at Farraday Gill

The Nine Standards are nine (obviously) large pillars made of small rocks. No one really knows what they are for, but our guide book offers the theory of "exuberant county boundary markers" or decoys to worry the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the late eighteenth century. Although the Standards are quite large and evident from the distance, we didn't see them until we were almost standing among them, the mists were so bad.

Ahoy in the distance
Standing giants
Yup, pretty windy
Remarkable Craftsmanship, and they're centuries old

At the top of the ridge, the wind and rain was so bad, I was actually getting alarmed. At times I hiked beside Brent and held his hand, because I felt like I was going to get blown down into the misty muddy mire and get lost (how's that for alliteration?). We pulled out our compass to ensure we took the proper route down off the fells and into the boggy boggy moor valley below. Luckily for us, we were experiencing the first rain the area had received in three weeks, so the bogs were relatively dry. At other times, they are often knee deep or higher, and one can get very very wet and dirty.

Oh yes, we are very soggy

We managed to wind our way down out of the bogs and then got lost crossing through paddocks at the eastern edge. However, we chanced upon the two English ladies who were far better oriented than we, and they pointed us in the correct direction. Our route took us through Ravenseat Farm, which advertised tea and scones. Unfortunately for us, they were not serving that day and so we slogged on into the driving rain.

Explain that to me again?

Had the weather been better, the landscape was beautiful and worthy of far more admiration that we gave it. Each little field or paddock had its own stone barn, and there were fields and barns as far as one could see across the rolling green hills. We were to learn later that the weather in the Yorkshire district can be quite harsh in the winter, and in the past farmers kept their sheep in the little barns each winter.

The beautiful Swaledale valley in Yorkshire

We got to Keld at 2:30, another quick day considering the conditions. I was sopping wet and Brent was no better. However, despite our sordid condition, we were gladly welcomed at our B&B, Keld Lodge. There was a doorless porch off the front step with a bench to untie boots and the floor of the reception area was stone tile, making it easy to clean and soggy socks would do no damage. We were immediately shown to the "drying room," which was in fact the boiler room with drying racks and coathangers galore. We hung up all of our clothes and put newspaper in our boots to dry them out from the inside.

Ah, warmth and light shining in the distance

Our room was fairly small but well decorated and had a nice big shower with lots of hot water and pressure (not a common occurrence!).

After eating a snack, we went downstairs to read our books in the common room. Except we got to talking with an Englishman and then Lou and Peter came over for a drink, and the two little English ladies came in and we all sat there with the coal fireplace going and talked for several hours. There was an atlas in the room, and we got a geography lesson on Australia's west coast and we showed everyone where we lived. We compared climates and obnoxious animals and talked about all kinds of things. It was, as the Danes would say, hyggelige, which means cozy and comfortable. Like I said in an earlier blog, this was one of the best evenings of the whole trip.

We ordered our supper and chose our respective beers for the evening and then waited in the lounge area for our food to be prepared. I had vegetarian curry on rice, which turned out to be a sweet curry with sweet potatoes and grilled vegetables, and Brent had chicken cooked with bacon and bananas with mixed vegetables and curry sauce as well. It was by far the best meal we had the whole trip! I wish we'd taken a picture. The window beside our table overlooked the beautiful misty Swaledale valley; the restaurant was full of happy diners; our waitress was an older lady wearing an apron who was very kind and helpful; Keld Lodge's owner wandered through serving people and asking about their meals. It was marvelous.

Hyggelig

After supper we were so full that we decided to go for a quick walk to settle our stomachs. The rain had stopped and the evening was misty but not too cool. We walked down through the village of Keld proper--our B&B was just on the edge of town, exploring the roads and paths a bit. At one point the tiny community supported a Methodist Church as well as an Anglican Church although it is now home only to a "United Reformed" Church.

The streets of Keld
Keld United Reformed Church and Cemetery
G'night Keld