Distance walked: 9 miles
Muker to Reeth - the river walkToday we decided to take the lower valley alternative route as we were already in Muker and we could pick up the trail just across the way. I started in rain pants, but as it turned out it
always looked like the clouds were coming in but they always ended up skirting the valley and it ended up being a pretty decent day! Of course the day I am prepared for rain, it doesn’t really do it. We started off walking by the river and even though I did miss Crackpot Hall on the high route, it was really pleasant. A nice stroll along the river, seeing more rabbits than I’ve ever seen in my life. Stedman wasn’t lying when he said it was a rabbit metropolis here. At Gunnerside, the trail went up and we walked up top along the moors. It was quite desolate and even the little hamlets we came to seemed quiet, deserted, and cold, remnants of the old mining life that is now gone. I was glad when we started to go back down in the valley, but somewhere along the way we did something wrong because we ended up in a sheep field with no path or outlet. All the sheep were just kind of looking at us like 'what are these two idiots doing?' We finally just had to climb the stone wall which I wish I got a picture of!! I had to be really careful as I could just see myself knocking down the whole wall! But somehow we managed to get down to a farm and then the road and walked on to Healaugh. I have no idea what we did, but this guy (Ron), who we have stayed with at the same B&B the past two nights, did the high route and somehow came down at a weird place too. Stedman must have been getting a little tired around here or something.
Where was this sign when we needed it?!
After Healaugh we had a nice lunch and then back along the river to Reeth, arriving here around 1:30. And now I have spent a lovely afternoon in the square enjoying the sun - some school kids playing soccer and now a couple of little kids on their bikes. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, cows are mooing, sheep are baaing, and here I am in this lovely valley of Swaledale. If only the rest of the walk could be this nice. I wonder how Ruth and Kimmi are, and Ken and Jane, and Sue and Helen? We’re all just separated by a few miles but still so far away. That's one thing I've noticed. Even though each day is only separated by an average of 10-15 miles, nothing in a car ride, it really does feel like a completely different environment. Different surroundings, different geology, different people. Maybe if I decided to walk across Montana, I'd feel the same way, but it's different here. In Montana you can drive a hundred miles and everything still looks and feels the same. It's not like that here.
The ever-changing countryside
Reeth - BBC filmed here for theirJames Herriot's All Things Great and Small series
Tomorrow is supposed to be an easy day, but I find the days that are supposed to be easy sometimes feel the longest - maybe because I have it in my brain that it is going to be short , so I’m not prepared for a day walk.. Tomorrow we get to see Richmond Castle! Oh yeah, the people at Packhorse (the ones who have been picking up my bag everyday) know me just be voice now. I don't even have to say who I am. I guess it could have something to do with my accent, but there must be other Americans using the service too....Help! - I'm stuck!
These paths through the stone walls were TINY...hobbits built these for sure.
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