Journal:
After a late night catching up on email and other
internet stuff, I slept in a bit and didn't leave
the hotel until 8:30am. Given the high price
of breakfast at the hotel, I had opted not to pay
for it and, instead, headed for a bakery I had seen
the previous evening. They didn't have much
range ("still baking, mate"), so I chose a sausage
roll and a bottle of orange juice and began the
steep climb out of town. As I did, I crossed
the Huddersfield Narrow Canal as a longboat went
through the lock. The canals seem a bit
incongruous on the sides of these steep-sided
valleys. Quite an engineering feat.
The guide book had warned
that the day would be a series of climbs to moorland
and then descents to intervening valleys, and it was
right. Not long after I started walking, the
forecast rain began and it pretty much drizzled for
the remainder of the day. Despite a few
particularly steep climbs, the day was mostly easy
walking and it wasn't cold or windy. I enjoyed
crossing the fog-shrouded moors and, with my good
wet weather gear, wasn't bothered by the rain.
When I stopped for my
morning break around 11am, I was passed by a girl
hiking on her own and appearing to be following the
same route. We said a brief hello, and she
continued on. I followed after my break and
caught up with her about 90 minutes later when she
stopped for a break. We chatted for a while
and I learned that Karen was also walking from Lands
End to John O'Groats, raising money for charity en
route. She had been on the trail six weeks and
was travelling at a more relaxed pace than me.
She was also heading for Hebden Bridge for the
night, and there's a chance Keith and I may see her
early on the trail again tomorrow.
I aimed to get to a pub at
Cragg Vale for lunch, but the climbs and descents
were slowing my pace and I didn't get there until
2:10pm, by which time lunch was over. However,
it looked a bit expensive anyway and I was running
later than intended, so I had a Mars Bar instead and
kept going. Just as well that I did, because
crossing the last hill moorland to reach Hebden
Bridge took me a lot longer than anticipated.
It was foggy and raining and the path was
non-existent for a section at the top. I
couldn't work out exactly where I was after about 30
minutes trying to find something recognisable, so I
went to Plan B and forgot about trying to find the
guide-book route and, instead, concentrated on
finding my way off the hill and down to Hebden
Bridge. I eventually did this, but an hour
later than I had hoped.
I found the Post Office
and mailed off my old maps and asked for my package.
After a lot of searching, the guy said there was
nothing there for me. I was insistent that it
would be there and, after consultation with one of
his colleagues, my package was found. By this
time it was 4:30pm and I was hoping to meet my
friend Keith's train at 5:00pm. I wandered
around the town area and eventually found a hotel
with a twin room available, though not ready for
another 30 minutes. They offered to look after
my rucksack and then I walked down to the station
just in time to meet Keith, who will be hiking with
me for the next five days. Lucky for him, the
rain is supposed to clear overnight and not return
until some time next week.
