Day 8 - Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Distance today - about 14 miles (forgot to switch our watches on at the beginning)

Distance so far - 104.4 miles

Lovely walking themed planters in Kirkby Stephen

Sheep themed carved benches!

Sally trying to look glamorous like the statue!!

Leaving Kirkby Stephen

Walking up onto the moorsSomething that clearly taxes many walkers on this section is the choice of route over the moors. Red, Blue or Green. Each has been devised to suit the season and  minimise disruption to any nesting birds and reduce erosion to the moor.

The Red route would take us to the (must see) 'Nine Standards Rigg'  but with the prospect of low cloud and poor visibility above 600m, our decision on whether to walk the red or (recommended) green route was hindered by our intermittent and infuriatingly temperamental GPS signal. This meant that once in the cloud, we would lack any certainty as to our position.  Regardless...  we decided on the Red route and pushed on through the descending cloud to the Nine Standards.

Map showing the different route options over the top

More to come………

Sally with the Nine Standards

Their age and their purpose is uncertain but being in close proximity to them is very  atmospheric!

After a quick celebratory cup from the flask of coffee, we walked Southwards into the mist - we reckoned the visibility to be less than 200 metres.

The surface was very boggy.

Despite the low cloud and with the adept use of a compass, we managed to find the trig point which locates the watershed between the East and West coasts - the point from which rainwater will eventually find its way to the North Sea or the Irish Sea!

Also, this delineates the border between Cumbria and Yorkshire. From now on we'll be in the Dales.

In these conditions let the cairn be your friend! 

Stepping into uncertainty….

Though we were on the way down, the visibility wasn't improving and because of the boggy ground, it was very difficult to follow any route. It was strange how with no visibility one's concentration is purely on trying to identify a path ahead through the furze and heather.

 However, once safely below the cloud line, we were able to navigate more safely and heard Lapwing and Curlew.  As we were having to move slowly, we came upon a Grouse. He seemed less excited by us than we were by him,

By now we were hungry and keen to find shelter. We fortunately located a bothy where we met two Dutch women who we'd met in the pub last evening.

Lovely shelter from the wind

One of many cow houses

Choose your route…..

Keld is notionally the half way point on the C2C so before reaching our welcoming B&B for the night, we decided on a celebratory pint of 'Black Sheep' at the Keld Lodge