C2C/Pennine Way Day 7 – Tan Hill Inn

Previous: C2C Day 6 – Kirkby Stephen to Keld

A quiet start

After a week, we were ready to have a quiet day and not move anywhere. So we had booked 2 nights at Frith Lodge. Today’s modest goal was to head north along the Pennine Way and have a beer at the Tan Hill Hotelthe tallest pub in Britain. We had been there once before, a long time ago, and thought it would be fun to go back.

Good morning lambs!

Frith Lodge

It was actually a bit sunny in the morning, so after a delicious breakfast I sat outside and wrote a bit, with Jess, the owners’ dog, keeping me company. The other guests headed in different directions, some we would probably see again and some we definitely wouldn’t.

It was fascinating to be at the hostel for most of the day watching Karen and Neil do everything it takes to run a successful BnB. They definitely work hard! Karen was even kind enough to do our laundry.

Bird of the day: the black grouse. Although they are endangered, there is a colony right next to Frith Lodge. I could hear them while sitting outside in the morning, and later that day we caught a glimpse of some.

Our Yorkshire Tan Hill Inn

The most useless and photogenic door ever!

We headed north along the Pennine Way and in just 3 miles we arrived at the Tan Hill Inn. It’s a great classic pub, even if it wasn’t the tallest in Britain. There were quite a few people but it wasn’t full. As we enjoyed a few beers and worked on our daily NYT spelling bee, the otherwise serious couple sitting next to us got excited and chatted.

The Tan Hill Inn is in sight!

It seems that the residents of Ravenseat Farm, which we toured yesterday at C2C, are now big stars in the UK thanks to reality TV. Our Yorkshire farm and Our farm next door. And some of them and a camera crew were arriving at the pub, one of the eldest daughters arriving dressed to ride a giant horse (maybe a Clydesdale?). Suddenly, we find ourselves in the middle of filming a reality show. I didn’t expect that! I guess we have to start watching the shows when we get home. Or at least the episode we could be in.

Approaching Frith Lodge on the Pennine Way

The big table

We saw several people walking along the Pennine Way on our way back to Frith Lodge. The Pennine Way had the feeling of being much less used than the C2C, so this surprised us. The blue sky had already disappeared and soon it would start to rain. But by then we were warm and cozy in the hostel.

There were 9 of us for dinner tonight: us, a couple who lived in Scotland and walked the C2C, another couple who had walked half the C2C previously and were now returning to finish it, two younger guys walking the Pennine Way doing 20 miles a day, and another C2C walker called Nick who we had first seen a couple of days ago leaving Shap. Nick walked fast, but he took extra days off to visit his friends, and that’s how we stayed ahead of him. He’s from Gloucestershire, where both of my grandmothers lived. I have visited Gloucestershire on numerous occasions so we had plenty to talk about.

Tonight’s dinner was a little more boisterous than last night. We talked about elastic shoelaces, the Two Toms (who almost everyone had seen at one time or another) and Our Yorkshire Farm, among other topics. It was a fun and delicious dinner.

Next: C2C Day 8 – Keld to Grinton

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