"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb." - Nelson Mandela

 Today was rather relaxing as we boarded a bus bound for Keswick - as you can tell from the first pic, it was a chance to catch up on a few zzzzzz's. 

Bowness-on-Windermere was a bit of a letdown. Virginia Cottage was located very central to the village core and Saturday night proved to be a raucous and late evening/early morning for the young at heart. Needless to say, Andrew and I did not have a restful night after 8 days of hiking. However,  you pivot and carry on - we caught bus number 599 to Windermere, then transferred to the 555 to take us to Keswick. It was a beautiful drive through the lake district with the hills towering on both sides. We arrived early and unable to check in until 3, we meandered through this lovely spot on a lake named Derwent Water. There are so many shops, pubs, eateries and as we headed down to the lake there is an amazing green space with a mini putt in the middle. The weather has been very windy and chilly and the boat launches were cancelled today. Maybe tomorrow we will take a ferry to the base of Cat Bells (a 1,480 foot fell) beside the lake and hike to the top, but I'm not sure the ferry will be running with the high winds. I'm also not sure I want to put my hiking boots back on.......

Unable to keep my eyes open to enjoy the view.

Fellpack House - our home for the next 3 nights.

Derwent Water - it was very windy.

A dark afternoon - are we really going to attempt that peak in the distance?

A little church tucked in amongst the shops in the town square.

The local independent cinema opened in 1913, one of the oldest in the UK, but they only show movies one day a week.

And the view from our window - so, so pretty.

May you always have 'LOVE' to share, cash to spare, tyres with air! and friends who care. Taken from a sandwich board at St. Martins Church in Bowness

We made it - seeing the lake in the distance was very rewarding but we took the time to rest the weary feet before heading down to Bowness. 

Bowness on Windermere - the final stop of the Dales Way. After 8 days on the trail and not too much interaction with people, it was almost a shock to the system to walk into town with the busyness of a very touristy spot. Between the dogs and the people, I almost wanted to get back on the trail. 

View from our stable door at Howestone Farm in Patton Bridge.

Finding our way through the dales but now in Cumbria.

The scenery today was beautiful.

The higher Lakeland fells to the north where we head

tomorrow, but not on foot!

Ummmmm - which way??

Resting for a minute before heading toward Lake Windermere.

Tomorrow we hop on a bus to take us to Keswick (pronounced Kessick) where we'll catch up on sleep and possibly hike the Catbells, one of the most popular 'small mountain' walks in the Lake District.

Thank you for following along with us on the Dales Way. I will likely post over the next few days, just to have a record of this incredible trip.

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." - Henry David Thoreau

 Second to last day of our 8 day hike through the Yorkshire Dales.

Lots of thoughts rambling about in my head today. Thinking about what my sister said about there being a beginning, a middle and end to this type of holiday. The beginning is exciting, discovering a new part of the country, anticipation of what's ahead, not knowing whether we can actually accomplish it. In the middle, we get our walking legs under us, take the breaks we need, give each other space to take in what we came to see. At the end, we remember how far we've come, give each other the encouragement we need to finish the next day. Somehow, the 8 days have slipped away and there is a part of me that doesn't want it to end. 

Today, we left Sedburgh around 9:30, arriving in Patton Bridge around 5:30. Another long day, but the weather was on our side and we enjoyed a 20 km ramble with another 2 tacked on to the end as we navigated the hill country of Cumbria, trying to locate our B&B. We are now at Howestone Barn, where we were served a delicious homemade meal (chicken vegetable soup, fillet of salmon with roasted vegetables and a delicious chocolate cake served with raspberries and cream). A great way to end the day.

Photo time-----

Leaving Sedburgh and looking into a convex mirror that seem to be quite common with the narrow streets.

This was built for the daughter of Charles Edward Taylor who contracted tuberculosis and the family wanted her close by while in isolation. They named it Pepper Pot.

Snack break along the way.

The Friends (Quaker) Meeting House was built in 1675 at a time when non-conformist meetings were illegal. The founder of Quakerism, George Fox, preached to about 1000 folks near here on Firbank Fell in June of 1652, fresh from having a spiritual vision on Pendle Hill, and the movement was born.

A simple interior.

Wooden church door leading into the Quaker Church.

Walking toward and under the Victorian-built Lune viaduct.

'Escape to the Country"?

Not sure what 'dead slow' means? 

Following the Dales Way through hawthorn hedgerows.

Blue sky! Haven't seen that for a couple of days.

All the sweet baby animals this time of year!

The M6 - thankful we didn't have to cross this - there was an overpass.

"The nicest thing about the rain is that it always stops. Eventually." - A.A. Milne

Leaving Lea Yeat at a delayed 10 am.

Our bathroom at the Sportsmen's Inn, very small, very antiquated with not a whole lot of water pressure.

Now on to Day 6 of our 8 day hike. We were a little sluggish getting away this morning and I think it had a lot to do with the weather. However, we knew Sedburgh was waiting for us and so we set off to cover 14.5 km on this very wet day. We kept to the official trail for most of the way but the river was very angry and full today from the amount of rain we had. The pictures tell the tale today, but we are here tucked in the 'book town' of Sedburgh, although we were too late to visit any book shops.

What a start to the day!

We were constantly coming across very full streams coming from the hills and we eventually hit one that was unpassable and ended up backtracking about a half km back to the roadway.

What a slog!!

Heading to Dent for our first stop.

The very higgledy piggledy village of Dent, cobbled streets, whitewashed buildings and fairly deserted but we found this lovely spot to shed our wet things for a bit and shared a lovely lunch. Just the break we needed before continuing on.

Departing Dent.

Inside a lovely church in Dent - the stained glass was beautiful. The first vicar in this church was in 1290.

The views are still spectacular regardless of the weather.

We ambled up a track beside a stone wall high enough to prevent the curious eyes of wayfarers. The wall enclosed Gate Manor. Andrew appreciated the ornate hinges on the old door.

Following the trail into Sedburgh.

Breathing deep and absorbing what's in front of me.

Sedburgh School is a well known independent (private) day and boarding school (since 1525) where the majority of students are boarders. There are about 500 students aged 4-18 years.

Sorry, not sorry. They are so sweet.

"Words of encouragement have their own power, and when they are said by the right people, they can change everything." - Bob Goff

 We knew we were in for a hard day according to the weather forecast. For 17.5 km from Oughtershaw to Lea Yeat it rained, it blew and it was rather chilly. We stayed in Wensleydale House in Hawes last evening and then had a taxi hire take us back to Oughtershaw to reconnect where we left off yesterday afternoon. We didn't stop for respite and arrived 6 hours later at the Sportsmen's Inn an hour before check in. Thankfully, they were sympathetic, seeing 2 foreign drowned rats desperate to get their wet boots off and find warmth. So we are tucked away at a 300+ year old inn, looking forward to a good sleep.

This morning, Andrew tried the beans, sausage, hatted egg and soldiers - sticks of toast.

Another very old post box this time with the letter VR which is the royal cypher for Queen Victoria (Victoria Regina) installed between 1853 and 1901.

Beginning day 5 of our hike - we started out smiling.

About midway and getting wetter - took a lot of encouragment to turn that frown upside down. This is the junction with the Pennine Way and the paths coincided for a ways. This section was on the Cam High Road, an old Roman road that was used to march soldiers and move supplies across England 18 centuries ago.

Another climb and we were so wet - really need waterproof boots in this weather.

Bear with me as I give you another picture of cuteness.

We crossed over the Pennine Way, meeting a few other hearty walkers, but didn't chat long, we were all anxious to be on our way. This picture is the Ribbendale Viaduct (you may have to enlarge the pic to see the viaduct through the heavy mist) - carrying the Settle-Carlisle railway. It is the longest and third tallest structure on this rail line. The viaduct was necessitated by the challenging terrain of the route. 

Getting closer to the end of our day.

Belted Galloway cattle, a traditional Scottish breed of beef cattle.

Down to the pub and a warm fire - grand way to end the day.

Thoughts from today - were we wet? - yes, were we tired? - yes, were we chilled? - yes. But the satisfaction of walking another day of our hike outweighed all of that. So thankful to be healthy enough to share this experience with someone who takes my dream and makes it a reality. Andrew took the lead today, guiding me through the rough patches, testing the crossing of the becks, always scouting the best way and waiting for me on the other side. He really came through today - encouraging me with every soggy step.