Leaving the heights of The Lakes behind, we hit the trail for our next stop, the small town of Orton.
Evocative Shap Abbey deserves exploration and contemplation. It is very peaceful here.
We pass green fields, stone walls, and sheep, many sheep.
We drop down into Orton seeking our lodging for the night, the George Hotel.
The next morning we depart Orton in a light rain.
An umbrella proves useful,
but does not help much when the vegetation is tall and wet.
Time for lunch with a view, this time a graceful stone bridge.
We enter Kirkby Stephen, today’s target. There is something pleasing about arriving in a new town on foot.
As we head out in the morning, it is gratifying to see that we are indeed making progress.
Due to fog with poor visibility up high, we choose the low route, and cross the boundary into Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Soon the River Swale leads the way to Keld, our next stop.
Greens and yellows are vibrant under dark skies as we drop into picturesque Keld.
We exit Keld the next morning for an idyllic stroll through Swaledale. We don’t know it yet, but this will be one of our favorite days on the route.
The trail leads through wildflower meadows along the river, and is delightfully flat, in complete contrast to our days in The Lakes.
This structure wins the title of Most Beautiful Bridge on the entire Coast to Coast route.
The village of Gunnerside offers a restful lunch break. Yellow bikes can be spotted in many Yorkshire villages. They came into being when the Tour de France arrived here in 2014, igniting interest in the sport. They remain to mark the route of the Tour de Yorkshire.
Leaving Gunnerside, we inadvertently end up on the high route rather than our intended riverside path. So today we get the best of both worlds, and now look down on the valley for a different perspective.
We land in Reeth to find a celebration of the Queen’s birthday in progress on the village green.
Another night, another cozy inn , this time the Arkleside Country Guest House.
The next morning we continue on to Richmond.
Richmond is hilly, with a castle on top. A two night stay is scheduled here.
Richmond harbors a lovely old stone bridge over the River Swale.
Historic Richmond Castle tops the hill.
The byway to Danby Wiske passes aesthetically pleasing buildings and gardens.
Our abode tonight is the White Swan. The sign out front has an encouraging message for us.
Since we are here in June, I guess we are out of luck where the Swale Valley Stompers are concerned.
Apologies are in order for the lack of photos from the following day, but we arrive safely at the very comfortable and quiet Ingleside B&B, where we are greeted with delicious scones by our friendly hostess.
The moors await tomorrow.