Journal: |
We had the 7:30am breakfast we had ordered in the hostel and
collected the packed lunch we had also ordered since we weren't
going to be passing by any resupply opportunities during the day.
It was forecast to be warm and we knew we had some mountains to
climb, so we took along plenty of fluids which, of course, added to
the weight of our packs for the first long climb.
Early on the path took us past the base of Malham Cove, a huge
and impressive limestone cliff which had once been a waterfall, and
then we had to climb to the top before the path levelled off
somewhat for very pleasant walking across the Yorkshire Dales.
The grassy path passed through park-like surroundings with stone
fences, sheep and cattle, and their young, and large hills (fells)
in all directions. We saw quite a number of other hikers, some
of whom we knew from the hostel. One of them was, Karen, the
Lands End to John O'Groats hiker I had met earlier in the week, who
had now caught up to us. We had met her in the pub the
previous evening, and she had told us that there was some kind of
event in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, our target for the today, and that
she had got the last B&B room available!
The path now wound around the side of the very pretty, almost
alpine, Malham Tarn, overlooked by a stately home on the other side.
From there it was a steady climb in warm conditions to the top of
Fountains Fell where we sheltered behind a stone wall from the cool
breeze and had lunch. We were high and had mobile reception,
so I took the chance to give Aaron a call for his birthday.
We then descended across the moors to a wide valley with great
views in all directions before beginning the solid climb to the top
of Pen-y-Ghent, the highest mountain in the vicinity for some more
great views, although it was getting hazy. From there it was a
steady and sometimes difficult descent on a stony and rocky trail
for two blokes with only two good knees between them to Horton (did
I mention that one of the two pairs of shoes Keith brought with him,
fell apart on the descent from Fountains Fell. We arrived in
Horton soon after 4pm and found a small cafe that doubled as a
tourist information centre, and got some leads on accommodation in
the area. No joy at all. We tried further afield on the
assumption that we could get a train from where we were to a larger
town not so far away, but everything there we called was booked out
as well. During this time, Karen walked past the cafe on her
way to her B&B, and learned we were having no luck. Even the
campsites in town were full.
We decided to get a light meal at the cafe and then continue
hiking for an hour or so before just finding somewhere to free camp.
Then, just as we were about to order some food, Karen came back and
told us that her B&B host had said we might be able to get two beds
in the "summer house" of another person in the village. I
returned the half-mile with Karen to see whether we were in luck,
while Keith stayed with the rucksacks and found the villager waiting
and his "summer house", almost like a doll's house, at the end of
his garden set up with a double bunk and use of the his shower and
toilet in the main house. It was all very clean and well cared
for and I accepted his offer of £20 each, including breakfast, and
walked back and got Keith. It started raining soon after we
"checked in". Our piece of luck meant that Keith was able to
avoid testing the water permeability of his £5.80 tent from Tesco!
After showering, we went down to the nearby pub and joined Karen,
Gay (a retired nurse hiking the Pennine Way who we had met at Malham
Hostel), and Andy (an aerospace engineer with Rolls Royce who was
also hiking the Pennine Way and had been staying at the same two
previous hostels as Keith and I). The meal was good and we had
a nice social evening. Gay and Karen will be at the same
hostel as us again tomorrow night, assuming Keith and I can get beds
(no luck so far), but Andy is pushing on further and I may see him
later up the Pennine Way if I have a few longer days.
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