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

I'm a Celebrity but Keep Me Here

For our next 2 days of Lake District walking we had some better weather ... followed by some worse weather.

After another fine cooked breakfast at the Langstrath Hotel, we ventured out to encounter dry(ish) weather. We could have taken a short cut, by crossing the bridge just before our hotel, to join the shared Cumbria Way and Coast to Coast path the far side of the beck, but we decided not to, and to retrace our steps back to Borrowdale and rejoin the C to C path there. We were having such a good time that we didn't want to miss out on a single step.

The net result of our purist approach, was that after nearly an hour's walking we were back where we started, just the other side of the beck.

We were in no hurry though, and we made the most of the dry spell, lingering to take in the views and snap a few pictures to share with you, and those of our Bears Unlimited colleagues who were missing out - someone has to keep the wheels of industry turning after all!

Mid morning we passed a men's walking group coming the other way. They seemed to want to scare us by warning of a tricky climb up Lining Crag just ahead of us. They told us the path had been washed away by storms in 2010, and would be a challenge - talk about cheery chappies! Was it? Not at all - either we are better walkers than we think, or they thought that Coast to Coasters are real novices who have never been to the Lakes before. Probably a combination of both possibilities is true.

After a short and easy scramble we were at the top. The only problem we hit was the wind which, on the exposed high ground, was very strong. Our female minder's rucksack cover blew off and we had to hot hoof it to catch it before it went too far. That dash got the heart rate up more than the Lining Crag scrabble did.

As we descended towards Grasmere, the wind got even stronger, meaning our lunch stop was very brief. We couldn't find anywhere sheltered enough to linger. Grasmere took quite a while to finally appear, but it was a lovely stretch of path so we were in no hurry to arrive, although we did end up walking past our B & B without knowing it. We were on one of those paths which take you off the road to walk behind a hedge. We must have walked nearly a mile further than we needed - all the way into town - only to turn round and have to walk back again.

Our night out in Grasmere was o.k. but nothing special - too many hotels and not enough pubs we thought! Our B & B was comfortable though, with charming proprietors.

We'd heard a bad forecast for the next day and it turned out to be amazingly accurate. We lingered until 10 o'clock as it was only a shot hop over to Patterdale, but we couldn't put off starting for ever. We had to wait for a big herd of cows to pass the front door before we could get under way ...

... and they did look pretty wet. It was wet, but we were all properly equipped and, in truth, the rain did little to dampen our spirits, although it did stop us taking the alternative route over St Sunday Crag. The cloud was so low at the Hause and visibility so poor, that we failed to see Grisedale Tarn until we had all but stepped in it.

Adverse conditions do however bring out the best of British, and found our fellow travellers very friendly. One man walking on his own, shared his Werther's Originals with us, which impressed us no end, as our party was so big, he had to give most of his sweets away.

As we dropped down towards Patterdale, the rain stopped - hurrah! We slowed our pace to enjoy the rest of the walk and to give me a chance to chat to the local sheep.
 

Much to my surprise, news of my record breaking attempt to be the first sheep to walk the Coast to Coast walk seemed to have gone ahead of me - news travels fast on the sheep grapevine - and the local sheep were queuing up to see me and seeking the best vantage points for a good look.

I felt like quite a celebrity.

Patterdale was great, with a very special B & B, and is worthy of its own post - coming next time.

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

Into Borrowdale

For the first part of our trot alongside Ennerdale Water, our top halves stayed dry but it was very wet under hoof, as streams were running along the rocky path. Then, as the path got drier, it started raining, so one way or another we were destined to be stay wet. But that's the Lake District for you, and the wonderful scenery and sheer joy of being in the Lakes, more than made up for a slight dampness.

We were grateful to the Ennerdale Youth Hostel which allows walkers in to make a cup of tea or coffee  and have a rest to dry off. It was very civilised.

Talking of Youth Hostels, when we got to the famously isolated Black Sail hostel a few miles further along the route, it was rather different to how our female minder remembered it from 18 years ago, when she stayed there on her previous Coast to Coast walk. It was undergoing some serious refurbishment, and for the benefit of Aunty and Uncle G, we're including a picture ...

We're sure it will be very nice when finished, but wonder how much of its unique character it will have retained.

There is a critical turn up Loft Beck, a little after Black Sail, and we had read that it is often missed by Coast to Coast walkers resulting in a number of Mountain Rescue call outs to lost walkers. It is interesting that on the C to C way-marking is inconsistent. When it's fairly clear where to go we found we'd be getting a way-mark, but when it wasn't, there'd be nothing to help.

We had no navigation problems though, and I just followed my nose, overtaking lots of walkers, making hard work of the ascent of the Beck. The other chaps weren't far behind with our minders just behind them.

At the top, as we headed towards the Honister pass, we got some fine views over Buttermere and Crummock Water through the clouds.

We were heading for Borrowdale and once we'd hit the road at Honister, we didn't think we'd have much further to go. How wrong we were! It seemed to take forever to get there although it was fine walking. When we did eventually reach Rosthwaite, we realised our accommodation was at  Stonethwaite, a mile further. However, our destination for the evening was worth the extra mile ...

... we were staying at the Langstrath Hotel, which was a nice place to stay and meant we had a relaxing evening with a good meal.

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

Getting Into Our Stride

While we enjoyed that initial coastal stretch, there were a few dodgy moments where the blend of wind and crumbling cliff edge path didn't mix too well.

3 3/4 miles later. the footpath signs told us to leave the coast and start heading east. Psychologically this felt better, as walking north for well over an hour, pleasant though it was, wasn't exactly taking us any further towards our easterly goal.

Shortly after midday, the rain started and it continued, more on than off, for the rest of the day. Sadly this meant there weren't too many photos. We ate lunch in a bus shelter then, after Cleator Moor, at 8.5 miles, we entered the Lakes proper. I began to feel really alive and, being a Lakeland sheep I was completely at home. I raced up Dent Fell, our first summit, and was surprised to see George, Yorkie and Gio quite a long way behind - they seemed to think the climb was hard work and they didn't seem too keen on the rain - it didn't bother me though, but my wool does contain lots of lanolin.

It was a scenic walk to our first night's accommodation at Ennerdale Bridge, although very wet under hoof and it didn't take us long to realise that Wainwright miles are surprisingly long.

Good accommodation at the of a day's walk soon revives you, and the Shepherds Arms Hotel met all our needs in full, especially when we found out they had fine Herdy mugs to drink our tea from, and also that we could take beer up to our room.

We were raring to go the next morning to spend our first full day in the Lakes. However, you can't hurry a full cooked breakfast so we decided to spend some time in the hotel anticipating the day ahead.

As we set out for Ennerdale Water we were pleased to see some good way marking with special AW (Alfred Wainright) logos. We wondered whether the weather would stay fine enough for a swim (well George and Yorkie wondered, as sheep aren't keen swimmers). 

More about our crossing of the Lake District next time. 

Lots of love Wooly, Gio, George and Yorkie xxx

Sheep on the Move

Back in 2007, I, Wooly, became the proudest sheep in the country. This was because I achieved the honour of being the first sheep ever to walk the Cumbria Way. A full account was given in this blog at the time. That walk was especially exciting for me, as it took me the length and breadth of my beloved homeland of the Lake District, and I enjoyed it no end.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I'd been pestering the chaps to consider walking the Coast to Coast path as a Bears Unlimited adventure. This would give me the chance to walk through my beloved Lakes again, this time West to East, rather than South to North, but also I wanted to become the first sheep to complete the Coast to Coast walk. At 192 miles this was a walk on a far bigger scale than the Cumbria Way, and it was a challenge I was eager to embrace.

Keen walker Gio, veteran of the Camino de Santiago, was a staunch supporter and so, just over 3 weeks ago we found ourselves at St Bees in Cumbria dipping our paws in the sea and gathering at the official start for team photos ...

I'm sure it will be no surprise to learn that joining in me on the walk were travelling bears George and Yorkie, chief writers for the Friendly Planet Guide ...

and of course Gio, whose paws are most definitely made for walking ...

We're posing in front a new information board featuring the walk and its creator Alfred Wainwright. This board was unveiled just this year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the publication of Wainwright's A Coast to Coast Walk. It was clearly an auspicious time to do the walk.

The forecast for the first 2 days had been pretty bad and featured double rain drops. We were therefore pleasantly surprised to be starting off in the dry. Would it last? You'll have to keep reading to find out.
One thing we can say was that it was very windy when we set out along the cliff path. It was 10.30 a.m. on 16th September and we were on our way. Robin Hoods Bay, here we come.

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