Day 5 – Shap to Kirkby Stephen
Number of steps 40,735
Distance walked 19.4 miles
Highest Point – 1,184 ft
Americans – None, not a one
Dutchman - 1 (who has already walked from Newcastle to Carlisle and then St Bees to Kirkby Stephen - in training for the Himalayas!)
Stiles, Gates – 32
Coffee/Lunch Break – 20 minutes
Shetland Ponies – 19
Heron - 1
Horse and Rider - 1
Curlews - Lots
Accommodation Report – Kings Arms, Kirkby Stephen
Comfort – 5 Stars (out of 5)
Hospitality – 4 Stars
Food – 4 1/2 Stars
Facilities – 4 stars
Overall – 4 3/8 Stars
A bit of luxury after the last few overnight stops. Right opposite the footpath out of the village. Food very good value at 2 for a £10.
The Walk
".......there's plenty to distract you from any blisters and sore feet though it is fair to say that none of the [prehistoric] sites will make your jaw drop in amazement" extract from H Steadman's book, Coast to Coast Path.
We can agree that landscape is signifcantly changed from our days in the Lakes. We considered this the day to grind out the miles and reach the gateway to the Dales. An average speed overall of better than 3 mph gives testament to our view on this section. Little held our interest for very long.
Of note was our friends from the Kings Arms, father and daughter who we hope were able to complete this marathon section unscathed. Natalie had already picked up dores to her soles and tops of feet and shin splints. Ross provided suitable material for treatment but as we passed them early in the day she was quietly suffering. To make matters worse she was carrying a 70 litre pack while dad looked as though he had found the smallest backpack in the shop. We didn't comment further.
On the day we used a combination of GPS route and Steadman's book. Interestingly the path diverged on at least 3 occasions. Happily one of these was shortly before a boring 3 mile road section which was descrived as perhaps the dullest section of the whole walk. Instead we enjoyed a relatively soft moorland diversion. While on this section we met a man and his dog; the dog complete with his own saddle bags, see picture.
We entered Kirkby Stephen at 3.30 just 7 hours after leaving Shap. To put into perspective the days walk, Ross took 19 photos. Yesterday he took 56!
The YHA in Kirkby Stephen might be described as 'a bit different'. More tomorrow.
