Today was the last day of my pals Jeremy and Lisa. They only came to do the lakes district section and Jeremy had a plane back to Australia that evening after the days hike, which is very hardcore.
It was also the first morning where breakfast wasn’t great. Despite every B&B and pub being so different one thing they have in common is a hearty, delicious breakfast overflowing with food. There is generally several kinds of cereals including a few granola/muesli mix. 3-4 different types of juice as well as tea and coffee. Fruits, several yogurts and some rolls or pastries, but then you get to order a hot breakfast on top of that. Things like a full English breakfast (or any variation of it), omelettes, salmon etc. But this morning is just a bunch of the cheaper fruit, yogurt and cereals. I know, I’m spoiled, but I like to get a cooked breakfast of eggs and maybe a sausage or two to give me a lot of protein for the day.
But the pub was lively with hikers and even though we all had our own tables we were all chatting almost as a group. I sat with Lisa and Jeremy but the Norwegians were there as well as some people just having a little weekend out. The waitress was also chatting with us and it gave a really cheery, companionable feeling even if the breakfast was lame.
I went back up to my room, grabbed everything that was hanging to dry (my socks and pants from yesterday got quite wet, as did the insides of my boots), packed it all up and headed out. Who should I see but Jeremy and Lisa? We have never checked out at the same time, and as a result we just set off together. It was still drizzly and the company made it a little less miserable to start walking in the rain.
Now, one thing I said about this trip is I wanted to spend my days alone because I had a series of reflection questions I was asking myself and I liked the alone time to think about it. So part of me was wondering when I should say my goodbyes and fall back, but part of me also liked being together.
Soon Anna, the younger woman I ran into yesterday who had done 23 miles the day before, caught up to us and soon we were a foursome. All I can say I THANK GOD. The day started off pleasant enough but then at one point it started raining harder with whipping wind. If I didn’t have these saints to walk with it I think I would have gone to a very unhappy grumbly place in my own head.
But everyone was chatting cheerfully, and they stayed with me when I slowed down going up a small hill, and really, they made the day pass so much more quicker and pleasant then I would have on my own. The rain finally let up, the weather became pleasant and we arrived at an old stone bridge that was filled with hikers.
The whole gang was there: the Norwegians and the brother and sister as well as us 4. Besides Anna, we were all the same group that started on the same day. We all ate our packed lunches chatting away. The brother and sister had photos from their first time doing the Coast to Coast in 1976 they were trying to recreate and they showed them off to us while one of the Norwegians bandaged her blisters.
The whole time we were eating I was worried because I was looking at the trail ahead. It went straight up. I knew all these people by now and I knew they were stronger on the ascents and I would probably lose them. Jeremy had a plane to catch in a few hours so I knew they couldn’t wait for me and so I told them to just go on without me.
But Anna, the younger woman, stayed with me through all my huffing and puffing and pauses going up the slope. This was the woman that did 23 miles just a few days ago and I KNEW she was a fast hiker but she stuck with me nonetheless. And I couldn’t be more grateful.
The walk wasn’t difficult after that first ascent but it just went on and on and if I didn’t have her to pass the hours it would have been pretty miserable. I realized that as much as I like being alone with my thoughts I did need to mix it up and there were major advantages to hiking with others.
We arrived at our next village, Kirby Steven’s, and she was staying at the hostel next to my B&B so we said our goodbyes knowing we would probably run into each other over the next few days.
I got to my adorable B&B run by an elderly couple and the woman tells me I’m the only guest. The other guests were from one group and one of them had broken their ankle on the trail (!!!) so they all bailed out. Their loss because the B&B was adorable, just imagine your grandmother had a British manor house and that’s what it felt like. I had giant oak wardrobes (where I looked for Narnia, just in case), a vanity table and the owner even prepared a fresh little cake for me in my room!
Kirby Stevens was a real town and had a main street with a Costa Coffee, but it was Sunday night and everything was closed. I went into one pub that didn’t serve food and the owner told me there was only 4 places in town still open, 2 pubs, a Chinese place and an Indian place. I’m quite tired of pub food by this point so I tried the Indian place, but it was just average with very dry chicken I had to choke down.
21km in many hours (my sports watch decided it had had enough at the point and stopped working so I don’t know the actual time.)
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