Journal:
After a 7am
breakfast, I slipped across the the 24-hour
supermarket I had noticed a couple of hundred metres
from the guesthouse and picked up a couple of things
before hitting the trail around 8:20am. For
the first time, I forgot to put my GPS on until I
had been walking for a couple of hours so today's
distance contains an element of estimation.
The early pathfinding was
a chore and more than once I found myself thigh deep
in stinging nettles trying to decipher the
guide-book instructions and identify anything
looking remotely like a trail. However, as the
day wore on, things improved as the route gradually
climbed into the hills. There were some long
sections along beautiful woodland trails following
the River Dove through steep-sided valleys.
Gradually I got higher and occasionally had some
sweeping views across the rural countryside on a
beautiful day. I stopped for a late lunch in
the village of Swinscoe and then was pleasantly
surprised as the route descended through the bare
hills of Lin Dale and emerged at the classically
beautiful Dovedale where the River Dove flowed
through a limstone gorge with steep grassy sides and
craggy limestone bluffs contrasting with the gently
flowing river amidst overhanging trees. It was
a popular spot and there were many people out
walking.
I followed the River Dove
and my route upstream to the little historic stone
cottages of Milldale, where I detoured 2km to the
Youth Hostel I planned to stay at, only to find that
it had been entirely booked out by some families for
the long weekend. I had feared this might be
the case and had tried three times to ring and check
but never managed to get past the recordings.
Curses. I reevaluated and decided to return to
my route and walk to the village of Biggin where I
knew there was a pub, but didn't know if it had
accommodation. Camping was always an option,
but the forecast is for rain to set in overnight.
The walk to Biggin continued along the bottom of
some beautiful steep-sided valleys and I enjoyed the
late afternoon sun. As feared, the pub didn't
offer accommodation, so I bought a meal and left
around 8pm to look for somewhere along the way to
camp. I eventually found a quiet corner of a
field where I don't think I can be seen.
Strictly speaking I'm supposed to ask the landholder
for permission to camp.
After setting up the tent,
I tried to book a hostel online for tomorrow night,
but it is fully-booked. I fear I could be in
for a few days of wet camping out on this holiday
weekend when I'm, unfortunately, passing through one
of the most popular tourist areas. Oh well,
I'll just have to keep moving and camp if necessary.
