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.