The hostel was perfectly placed to step straight back onto the trail.
I set off at 6AM. The weather was perfect - Dry,cool and still. The first section was out of town and over a series of fields before arriving at Hardraw.
River Ure |
Haylands Bridge |
I have seen Hardraw Force before (Behind the Green Dragon pub), so decided I wasn't going to do the detour today. Soon I was on the main climb of the day up to Great Shunner Fell.
The wind picked up and the temperature dropped as I climbed higher. By the time I reached the summit shelter it was misty and cold. I was struggling to get my hands warm. Anyway , I sat down in the shelter and had my breakfast in the mist.
A shame that there were no views. The way down into Thwaite was pretty soggy , including a broken walking pole.
Good job I wasn't camping on this trip.!
It was great to arrive in Thwaite. It was 10:30 , so I had a rest on a bench in the centre of the village waiting for the tea room to open, With ten minutes left to wait I impatiently set off ..... the wrong way out of the village !!.After a U turn I arrived back in the centre and the tea shop was open. One freshly baked scone and lovely pot of tea later I was off the right way out of the village towards Keld.
Swaledale was beautiful, and the pictures looking down to the river Swale from the hillside (North Gang Scar) don't do the actual view justice.
When I arrived at Keld I had a short break at the falls just down from Kidson Force.
Falls on the outskirts of Keld. |
Nine Standards Rigg on the Coast to Coast trail |