Day 7 - Kirkby Stephen to Keld - 13 1/2 miles

Kirkby Stephen is a beautiful Cumbrian village with a long main street leading to a market square. It's known for its gang of parrots and parakeets that roam the town during the day, going home to roost each night. We heard them but didn't see them. It would have been nice to stay longer here especially at the Old Croft House, Rachael and her husband are great hosts and really take care of walkers.

Flower Boots

Market Square building

We set off around nine - heading out of the village through a narrow ginnel (local term for alley) and headed for Frank's Bridge to the village of Hartley then a long slow slog uphill beside a huge quarry.

Linda in the ginnel

Jen in the ginnel

Frank's Bridge

It takes us a while to get going each day what with stiff muscles and what have you. But we keep plugging away and we're soon high above the village.

Looking back to Kirkby Stephen

It's a cloudy day but we can see Nine Standards Rigg off in the distance. We've decided not to take the high route up to the rigg as the weather has been rainy up there the ground on top is basically peat bog. When we called ahead to our B&B in Keld, Jack
ie, our host, said she'd had a walker who'd gone up to his hip in the bog. Not very appealing, so we decide to take the lower route.

A vague view of Nine Standards Rigg

Today is a day of big crossings. We cross the Pennines, known as the backbone of England, we  cross the watershed, from the summit of Nine Standards, all rivers and flows east to the North Sea. We cross from Cumbria into North Yorkshire.

The land of my people!

We continue over the moors until we come to the B620, a lonely road that runs between Keld and Kirkby Stephen. It's actually nice to be off the moor for a bit as it's very muddy and wet.

It's how we walk!

We can hear gunfire off in the distance - it's grouse season here and we picture a group of fancy London stockbrokers paying the local landowner big money to shoot at birds for the day. Later, when the guns stop we imagine them under tents being served a champagne lunch before returning to the slaughter!

Walking for hours produces all sorts of odds and ends of thoughts in your head.

Now we're back out on the moor and making our way over, in and through the mud to a distant farm, past grouse butts (where they shoot the poor birds from) and a little hut for the shooting parties to warm up in.

Grouse Butt

We finally wend  our way down to Raven Seat farm which is set in a bowl in the surrounding hills.

Raven Seat Farm

Nine of them

There is a sign advertising cream teas and we've heard of this place and Amanda Owen, the woman who lives here, so we decide to stop. We ring the bell and a young boy comes to the door along with the family dog, Pippin, a gorgeous little Jack Russell mix.

One of the children decided to give Pippin eyebrows!

Best cream tea ever!

We are served by Amanda and her daughter Edith and after a quick chat she's off on the ATV with several of the children to check on a cow that's about to calve. She's definitely a force of nature!!

Jen in a shepherd's hut

Old stone

After Raven Seat our path joined with that of Whitsundale Beck and some lovely waterfalls and we passed some old shepherd huts or laithes as they are called locally. Then it's back on the road again and a short walk into Keld where we are staying at Butt House for the night.
 Day seven complete - halfway there!

Keld Chickens - that's for you Jan!