He's Arrived!

We were all too aware that someone was missing from our earlier post. We were eager for the holy family to be complete and we were not disappointed.

At the midnight service on Christmas Eve the family of 3 became 4 (donkeys are definitely part of the family) …

We were very pleased to be able to beat the 3 Wise Men in taking a peek and offering our congratulations.

We hope all our readers had a wonderful Christmas, just as we did, and would like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful New Year (and we hope Uncle N is feeling better).

Love from all at Bears Unlimited xxx

A Suffolk Nativity Scene!

Hope you enjoy our nativity guests - happy Christmas everyone!  In case you're wondering, baby Jesus has an M & S chocolate sprout in his manger - he's offering it to the donkey!

Merry Christmas from All at Bears Unlimited

Apologies for the rather long half way break on our epic walk, but we want to take an extra pause now to wish all our readers a very happy and peaceful Christmas. We've had a couple of new perspectives on Christmas recently which we'd like to share with you.

First, some alternative Christmas decorations ...

This was the sight at one of our churches this morning. The arches were made of willow and decorated with lights. They were very beautiful. They are actually there for a wedding tomorrow and we have a feeling it will be a very special occasion. We might be tempted to sneak along for a look. 

Then, Friday this week was a very special day as we had the travelling crib (Posada) come to stay with us. We were the host family for the night and we took our responsibilities very seriously making sure Mary, Joseph and the donkey were warm, well fed and made to feel part of our household. They even watched Simon Reeves Pilgrimage programme with us and we were able to say to them 'just look at what your original journey inspired'. We all found this trio very peaceful and inspiring company and we were sad to see them go when we took them to their next destination, although we understood that history had to be fulfilled. We will see them again, in Church, on Christmas Eve at midnight, when all being well, the Baby Jesus will be born. 

How exciting! 

Lots of love

Gio, Bris, Olaf and all at Bears Unlimited xxx

Half Way Today

We'd thought that it had been a long day walking over to Shap, but it was nothing compared to the day which lay ahead, officially a 21 mile day over to Kirkby Stephen, the half way point of the walk. We were feeling slightly daunted, but another cooked breakfast helped lift our spirits as did Margaret cheerfully telling us that our long walk to her house the night before, meant we could shave a bit off today's total.

The first landmark of the day was our crossing of the M6. This really did signify for me the end of the Lake District section, but I was keen to explore new pastures (literally). It was quite exciting crossing the M6 on the sturdy footbridge and we enjoyed waving at the motorists hurtling beneath us and seeing how many we could get to toot their horns at us.

The speed of the vehicles made our heads spin especially as we had enjoyed an almost traffic free week and got used to a slower pace of life.

The M6, followed by a big quarry, was quickly behind us, and normal service resumed as we found ourselves once again in open country. I had to admit it was still lovely scenery even though it wasn't the  Lake District.

Gio was happy when he found another of his monkish tiles depicting rural agriculture of days gone by.

We kept up a steady pace as we had a long way to go, but it was a beautiful walk on fairly easy terrain, so we could make good progress. We did quite a bit of moor walking, passing Robin Hood's grave and crossing limestone pavements, but also passed through lush pastures, perfect for a hungry sheep like me - talk about food on the go - and also one serious quagmire.

We had one big descent down to a river which gave us some marvellous Settle to Carlisle railway viaduct views, before a big climb out of the valley. As we got closer to Kirkby, we passed through a farm yard, where Gio had a sense of deja vu when he saw the yellow arrow pointing out the way.

For a moment Gio thought he was back on the Camino de Santiago where the path throughout Spain is marked by almost identical yellow arrows.

It was strange walking into Kirkby Stephen as this, being the Coast to Coast Packhorse base, was where we'd spent our first night before getting the minibus out to St Bees. It almost felt like coming home, even though it was by no means the end of our walk.

We were pleased to find we had made good time and were approaching our Bed and Breakfast accommodation shortly before 6.00 p.m. It was a rather special B and B, we'll explain why next time.

Lots of love, Wooly, Gio, George and Yorkie xxx

The Last House in Shap

Haweswater is a big lake, so it took us quite a while to walk to the end, at which point it felt as if we really should have finished walking for the day. However, we hadn't, we still had quite a few miles to go to get to Shap.

So, we put our best paws and hoofs forward, and on we went. The scenery began to change and to flatten out. First we swapped the lake for a stream, then we passed through agricultural land and a marshy / swampy area, before the landmark of Shap Abbey came into sight ...

Gio who regards long distance path walking as a personal pilgrimage, was very taken with the Abbey and he felt really at home when, close by, he found the following wooden post with a rather beautiful tile depicting a monk tending to his sheep. It told us all we needed to know about the history of this place.

Just after the Abbey, an enterprising farmer had left bottles of beer for thirsty walkers. We avoided the temptation as we thought we were almost there. More fool us!

As it happened, we weren't too far from Shap, and we hit the edge of the village at about 6.00 p.m. We set off in search of our B and B thinking it could only be a few minutes away. What we didn't know, was that Shap is an extremely long village, and our B and B was just about the last house there was. It seemed to take another hour to get there - we walked, and we walked, passing at least 3 pubs, but there was still no sign of it. In the end we had to phone up for directions - which were that we had still further to go.

Finally, when as good as out in open country again, there it was, Brookfield, as you can see, a fine looking B and B. And it's owner and proprietor Margaret, there to greet us and demonstrate the ingenious use of a door wedge for getting our bags in and out our rooms!

We felt almost like naughty school children, when Margaret told us that, had we arrived at 5.00 pm like her other guests, she would have given us tea and cake, but at nearly 7.00 pm it was a bit late. We actually thought we'd done very well to get there when we did, but we had to agree that tea and cake would have been a distraction, when what we really wanted to do was to shower and change and head for the Greyhound pub for a meal and some beers.

As always, we enjoyed our evening in the pub and, fortified by food and drink, were soon feeling chipper again. We were gratified to find a fellow party of C to C walkers, some friendly Australians we had got to know, came in considerably later than us. They were staying at the pub, and didn't even make it to their rooms before grabbing a table for a meal.

On our return to Brookfield, Margaret was up and about to let us in and have a chat. She is a lovely kind lady who clearly enjoys a good chat and, being a sheep, I especially appreciated the discussion on the merits of sheep's wool for treating blisters, not that I've ever had one.

Love from Wooly, Gio, George and Yorkie xxx

The High Point: Kidsty Pike

As we left Patterdale the next morning, there was satisfaction at having enjoyed a splendid evening but also a hint of sadness for 2 reasons: one we had to say goodbye to that fine bear Alfred (but we'll stay in touch), and second, because we were about to all but walk out of the Lake District.

However, we had our biggest day's walk so far to look forward to. We were about to walk a hard 17 miles over to Shap, taking in the highest point in the walk, Kidsty Pike.

Another fortifying cooked breakfast set us up for the day ...

... and that hash brown proved a very welcome extra when we realised we had a steep climb right from the start up to Boredale Hause. When we got to a flat section we looked back at where we had come from, something which is always very satisfying ...

Most of the morning saw us climbing upwards, but the climb was long and steady, so it wasn't too difficult. The path was good and in one or two places could even have classed as wheelchair friendly. We were lucky to be walking in reasonable weather - only the day before, walkers had been forced to turn back, as it was simply too windy to be up on Kidsty Pike. As I said, we were lucky, as when we reached the Pike, it was quite calm and although it was cloudy, the cloud was high enough not to hinder the 360 degree views. 

I was very proud to have reached this important landmark on the Coast to Coast walk and wanted to record the moment for posterity. The other chaps say I look rather a fine figure of a proud sheep in my photo, and hopefully you'll agree.

From Kidsty Pike the path goes almost vertically down to Haweswater. A sheep like me can skip straight down a steep path and be completely sure footed - bears aren't bad either, no so my human companions, who were a bit slow, and found it a bit scary and hard on the knees. I passed the time waiting for them having a nibble on that favourite of mine, Lakeland grass.

The next stage of the route was a traverse of the complete length of Haweswater, and it is quite a big lake. The highlight of this stretch was seeing a couple of red squirrels playing in the trees between the lake and the path.

They were clearly youngsters and greatly enjoying their games; it was a real thrill and privilege for us to  see this, sadly all too rare, sight.

The day was not yet over, but we think this post is long enough, so the rest of our day will be recounted in part 2, coming soon.

Lots of love, Wooly, George, Yorkie and Gio xxx

A Gem of a Bear and a Gem of a Room

Patterdale has always been one of our favourite Lake District haunts, so we were pleased to be having an overnight stop there. Arriving in the dry and having time to call into the White Lion for a drink, before finding our Bed and Breakfast, made for a good start. In the pub we chatted to a couple who were walking the C to C the other way round i.e. east to west. They were camping, so carrying all their gear, including a wine box – we were all very impressed by this, especially the wine box, but we guess it would count as a holiday essential.

The Coast to Coast Packhorse, who had organised our accommodation, had secured us a real gem (literally) by booking us into The Old Water View Inn. This B and B has much to recommend it, and we can start the list of its charms by telling you that it was where Alfred Wainwright himself used to stay when in the area.  Something more important to us though, was that we were directed outside the main house to a room in a converted barn called L’al Gem. We had our own front door and effectively the whole downstairs of this building. What’s more, there to greet us on the bed, was a rather special bear. His role was to welcome us and make us feel at home. He was wearing an incredibly smart and warm Old Water View knitted jumper, and we have to admit we were a little envious of it, wondering if they might be for sale, but we think they only came complete with wearer, and anyway, we think we would have needed a much smaller size.

Our new friend, Alf, gave us a guided tour of our accommodation. Once we had been shown the outside drying room and the lovely view of the river from our front door, we got the fully history of our room, which was a very romantic story. As it’s all in the picture, we’ll let you read it for ourselves, if you have a big enough screen …

The Old Water View Inn caters for your every need in a very pleasing way, so once there you don’t need to go out again, which makes for a very relaxing stay.  At least you don’t need to go out, unless your minder’s boots have started to come apart and need replacing. It really is a lot simpler if you go au naturel like us with our hooves and paws, but we knew our minder’s feet aren’t as strong and sturdy, so she really did need new boots.

We walked into Glenridding for these, and we struck gold by going to the Catstycam store. What a pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable chap we found there. Our minder had the best boot recommendation and fitting service she has ever had. While she hadn’t planned to buy new boots, if you have to buy them, you might as well have the right ones, and this she got (she did subsequently get her money back for the duff ones, which were hardly worn).

Back at the Old Water View Inn, we gathered for pre dinner drinks (trying the inn’s own keg bitter and lager) in a cosy lounge. The menu was very appetising and provided us with some nice alternatives to the usual pub grub. Various dishes were tried and enjoyed, and we can certainly recommend the Morroccan chick pea pate, the chicken and asparagus and a large sticky toffee pudding for sharing, washed down with a Fair Trade red wine, bought by the bottle.

It was an evening to remember, and if, sorry, when, we return to Patterdale we know where we’ll be staying. 

Lots of love, Wooly, Gio, George and Yorkie xxx