Miles walked today: 13.2

Total trip miles: 86

Elevation gain today: 1422 ft.

Trip total elevation gain: 19,942 ft.

Accommodation: The Fletcher House

Before we left today, our host made sure we knew the best way to get back on trail. Today was another day of really studying the maps and guide to make sure we were going the right way or at least the way we wanted to go. (There are lots of trails in this area!) Once again I left Gary in my pack and I used the OS map app. If we had got off the trail, there would have been lots of paths back to it, but we weren’t really looking to add additional miles. We left Orton by the road then turned off on a track that passed a rock circle—I guess I’ve seen too many rock circles, this one seemed unimpressive today. After that, we were back on the C2C and started climbing through farmland.

We traversed a lot of fields with sheep and cows today—none of the cows were interested in us—they were mostly lying down well away from the path. At Sunbiggin Farm we were delighted to see how they have improved on their refrigerator from 2015. It wasn’t just an honesty box now, it was a whole tiny “house” in an area that looked like it would have been the site of a house long ago. The stepping stones and stairs for a doorway were still there. Inside the little house, they had an array of goodies and drinks. I bought a slice of chocolate cake that tasted so good at lunch.

We had been walking for a couple of hours through farmland when the scenery started to change. We were going up and over Tarn Moor. The land started getting a little wilder; there were still sheep but not enclosed in the nice green pastures. Once again the wind was at our backs blowing us along. Just before we started to cross another moor, Ravenstonedale Moor, we saw four people sitting in a sheltered area waving at us. We thought the large party that had passed us on the road had split up, but as we got closer, we realized it was Alan and Susan and the other couple from St. Bees. We stopped to talk a bit and then headed on up the moor. After a while Nancy and I stopped down in a little depression to take a break ourselves. There weren’t many places out of the wind. The St. Bees couples passed us and remarked on the rain clouds moving in. We decided to put on our rain gear so we wouldn’t have to dig it out when it started to rain. That must have done the trick because we never did get really rained on. There was just one bit of a shower. We kept our rain gear on though, because it—the rain pants especially—helped block the wind.

After coming off Ravenstonedale Moor, we followed a stone wall for a long way and then started to descend. For much of the way we could see the St. Bees couples but eventually lost sight of them. The descent down became much steeper as we neared the bottom. Along the way, our maps noted “Severals Village, Archeological Site” and another archeological site further on. All there is to see are some bumps and dips. It has not been excavated but apparently is one of Britain’s most important prehistoric sites. We passed that area and headed toward an abandoned train cottage and the stream. As we were going down, Nancy heard voices and looked over the wall to see the St. Bees couples heading towards us. They had taken a wrong turn somewhere up top and were getting back on course. We walked together on down to Smardale Bridge where they stopped for lunch. We thought they might pass us when we stopped for lunch later on the long climb back up from the stream, but that was the last we were to see of them. They were on their last day of walking and would end at Kirkby Stephen. It was fun to meet and walk with them. They and Sarah were the ones we had spent the most time talking with. I will miss them!

Nancy and I found a grassy spot leaning against a wall again to eat our lunch. The view was of where we had just come down and also off to the Smardale Gill Viaduct along a former railway. After lunch we finished our climb up and across another windy moor. As we neared Kirkby Stephen, away in the distance we could see the Nine Standards—that’s where we will be going on Sunday, after our rest day in Kirkby Stephen. It looked so far away but when we look back at how far we have come, it’s not so daunting.