Day 8: Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Weather: Cloudy with strong Easterly

Distance covered today: 19.8km (12.3mi)

Last night's B&B: Black Bull Hotel

% Complete: Cumulative distance: 51.0%: 158.2km

Total Ascent/Total Descent:  1194m/1053m

GPS satellite track of today's route: Day 8 (click!)

Enjoyable as my day off undoubtedly was, it was good to get back on the trail today. I remember that sensation from previous walks:  boots cleaned, dried and water-proofed, clothes washed, aches diminished and muscles relaxed.  Just the ticket for a walk in the country, and today I was heading for Keld, the meeting point of the Coast-to-coast with the Pennine Way.  With perfect weather, I couldn’t have been in better condition to meet the bogs ahead!

Only, the weather forecast was a little awry, and as I ascended the Nine Standards Rigg, the temperature steadily dropped and the wind continuously strengthened.  By the time I reached the Nine Standards, I had visions of a Kidsty Pike repeat, but mercifully, the rain stayed away and the wind dropped as I descended.  

The top of Nine Standards Rigg is a particularly interesting place.  For a start, it is possible to see Cross Fell and Great Shunner Fell, two impressive landmarks on the Pennine Way which I remember so well from my LEJOG walk.  It is also possible to see The High Street Range including Kidsty Pike on the Coast-to-Coast route in the Lake District.  Nine Standards Rigg is itself the highest point between here and Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea coast, my final destination. It is also, therefore, the watershed; from now onwards, all the rivers flow eastwards to the sea.  Not so coincidentally, it is also pretty much the halfway point of my walk!  

So, a significant peak indeed!  It has been for centuries!  No-one knows the origin of the nine eccentric cairns constructed on the peak.  Given the wonderful views, it is hardly surprising that these obscure constructions can be seen from far afield.  There was even a rumour, repeated in my guidebook, that they were originally constructed to persuade Bonnie Prince Charlie that the English fortifications were sufficient to repel his advances. There is no real evidence for this. In fact there is no real evidence for anything!  There is no written record of their construction, even though every barn, every path in the area has a record. This suggests that the origin precedes written records, but there is no archaeological record of the origin either.  True, these cairns have been battered by the elements and have obviously been reconstructed many times over their history.  But what do they mean??

I pondered this as I tried to escape the bitter wind on my way down the mountain. I had previously decided that I would escape via the “Green Route”, a path suggested for use during the winter months. This secure route would involve me back-tracking a couple of kilometres, adding about 4 km to my walk.  The alternative “Red Route”, for use in summer involved very boggy progress, and there were many stories of people sinking to the waist in horrible, smelly mud!  In the event, I was on such a high amongst the nine standards that I persuaded a rather startled and very tired walker to take my photo and I decided that I would anyway invite the “Red Route” to do its worst!

In fact it wasn’t too bad. I came down once on my face in the bog (it just tastes like mud!!), but the interesting thing is that there was no path at all. The reason is that as people walk through bog, they churn it up and the water ingresses. Over time, it becomes highly plastic and unpleasant, and so people select alternative routes. Eventually walkers spread out all over the surface and the only way to determine progress is by map and compass. However, one has to change direction every couple of metres in order to select the driest route, with the result that it is easy to become disoriented, especially if there are no proximate landmarks. Fortunately, I had the assistance of my satnav, which unerringly showed me the route. I was the first to arrive at the B&B, and hours later, dishevelled and dispirited walkers are still arriving! One of them has just been telling me that he would never buy a satnav!  He just doesn’t trust them!!

In one way, he does have a point!  Most of the people I have met with walking satnavs have no idea how to use them. They think that simply buying the thing should enable them to use it effectively. As a result, they think there is no need to learn to navigate the old-fashioned way, just in case.

No wonder some of them are still out there in the bogs, wondering why on earth they wanted to do the trail in the first place!

St Stephen's Church in Kirkby Stephen, referred to as the "Cathedral of the Dales" dates from Anglo-Saxon times

The most important monument in the church is a relief of the Norse god Loki, who is shown bound and chained  

The monumental access to the church via Market Square

Believe it or not, a parrot high in a tree. Apparently his owner lets him and others fly freely around the parish!

Phyllis' stone sheep seat!

The Black Bull - my local!

Leaving Kirkby Stephen across the Eden River

The interesting hamlet of Hartley

The Nine Standards on the horizon at full zoom

Me at the Nine Standards

The Nine Standards

Last look across the Eden Valley to the fells of the Lake District

My country! The bogs of the Pennines!

The end of the Red Route!  I made it!

Coast-to-coast meets Pennine Way!  The epicentre of my walking world

Barns on the moors. I could see 10 of them simultaneously

Moss on dry-stone walls. Perfect!

Heading for civilisation, down from the moors. Keld is at the end of the valley

The days elevation profile