C2C Day 5: Road to Kirkby Stephen

Previous: C2C Day 4 – Patterdale to Shap

Elevation

Lest anyone think the C2C is just a walk, by the end of day 4 (yesterday) we had climbed 12,272 feet (3,740 m) on our walk from the west coast to the east coast of England. Although they are simply considered “hills”, those climbs in the Lake District sure add up. Even today we had over 2000′ (~600m) of elevation gain, even though we had left the Lake District.

Fish and chips

One of my goals on this trip was to determine my upper limit for eating fish and chips. I achieved that goal sooner than I expected. As I mentioned yesterday, at Shap we skipped the Shap Chippy as we had both had enough fish and chips. So, I discovered that my limit was three fish and chips dinners in a week. We’ll see if I recover next week.

I think it was this fish and chips dinner a few days ago in Stonethwaite that left me speechless.

a different day

It was a long and relatively flat day. Or at least more flattering. We could often see other walkers in front and behind. We interrupted the day to chat with people when we passed them or when they passed us. A younger guy from Newcastle was redoing C2C because his dad’s C2C completion time was faster than his. He was determined to beat his father this time. I pointed out that it was doomed from the start due to the closure of the 5 mile trail in St Bees, and he had a good response. He said he took the Helvellyn route instead, which more than makes up for the trail closure. To which I agreed!

Today can be summed up in a few words: green, sheep, stiles and more stiles. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable. In fact, it was fascinating. However, the best way to capture it is with photographs, not words.

Bird of the day: the Eurasian skylark, which sang its song as we crossed miles of rolling pastures.

Going down to Smardale Bridge

Smardale

The highlight of the day was crossing Smardale Bridge over Scandal Beck. What a picturesque valley with a historic railway bridge in front! As we headed down towards Kirkby Stephen we caught up with the Two Toms and walked together towards the town. But since we were in different places, we immediately split up in different directions.

Smardale Bridge

Scandal Beck with the historic train trestle in the background

Approaching Kirkby Stephen

Stephen Kirkby

Kirkby Stephen is another long town. We stayed at the south end, and by the time we entered town for dinner and drinks, we had walked another mile and a half. And by the way, I don’t count these overnight miles in our total trip mileage. The highlight of the night was the La’l Nook micro pub. What a great place! Fantastic beer, friendly people and welcoming owners. We didn’t see the Two Toms in town.

And, of course, a cute daily photo of a lamb.

Next: C2C Day 6: Kirkby Stephen to Keld

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