Day 6 - Bampton to Orton
28.06.13
DISTANCE WALKED: 14.5 miles
A bit of everything today: the very tail end of the lakes, the busy motorway crossing marking this, a taste of the Peak District, desolate moorland and peaceful villages nestling at the foot of the Howgill Fells.
It was raining when I woke up, and continued to rain for the most of the day. I was glad to have stayed in Bampton last night, although it made today's walk that bit longer. Quite apart from the excellent B&B, the little village itself was very pretty, the walk along the River Lowther to rejoin the route at Shap Abbey was lovely, and Shap wasn't all that much to look at when I did get there. It also meant that I could spend time at the Abbey, which I even managed to do in one of the brief dry spells the weather afforded me today. The Abbey has the distinction of being the last Abbey to be founded in England in 1199. It was also the last to be dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540. There is a tiny stone coffin there of one of the Abbotts.
In other news, a Coast to Coast hiker suffered a vicious attack with GBH (Grappled by Hen). I got mugged by a chicken. Seriously. I was having elevenses at the ruins of Shap Abbey, enjoying my flask of coffee and half a cereal bar when a gang of free range raiders approached. One brave hen jumped up on to the bench, stole the other half, ran off with it and shared it with her feathered friends. The cheek of it, I was looking forward to that. Whatever next I wondered - burgled by badgers, robbed by rabbits, set-upon by stoats (etc)?? Took a mug-shot of the speckled offender at the scene of the crime (see gallery below).
Leaving Shap, it is a shock to the senses to encounter the M6 after so many days with hardly a road in the Lakes. It is soon left behind to climb over a limestone plateau and cross the heather moors around Crosby Ravensworth Fell. This is difficult country to navigate as there is little in the way of landmarks and the route is not marked on the OS maps. This is where the GPS saved the day again. The wind was biting over the moors, the sky was black and the rain just poured down. Loved it! I found a sheep's skull and created my own interpretation of Damian Hurst's work by putting it jauntily atop a marker post, which I am hoping to display at the Tate Modern and sell for several million pounds...
The path across the moors seemed to continue on and on and I got to the point where I was beginning to wonder if Orton actually existed at all. Perhaps I was doomed to wander the moors like a lost soul until it was my own pecked clean skull that a future hiker would be putting on a post, taking photos of and thinking they were being artistic. At least the rain had cleared by now. I was making steady progress on my bag of liquorice allsorts, but was disappointed to find only one orange one and way too many of the bobbly aniseed ones. Funny, I had thought that I would spend my time contemplating the age old questions, finding a way to world peace and resolving third world poverty but no, it was merely the state of modern confectionery and a desire to kill all midges.
But eventually my destination came into view, and very welcome it was too. It was a shame that the handmade chocolate shop was closed though, I might wait until it opens before heading off to Kirkby Stephen in the morning. Should be a good day for it as the weather is set to improve.
Good pace today, bowling along mostly to Lightning Seeds "Lucky You."
Odometer
14.5 miles
Cumulative Miles
80.7
Total Ascent
483 metres
Total Descent
458 metres
Moving Time
4h 48 m
Stopped Time
3h 33 m
Moving Average
3.0 mph
A bit of everything today: the very tail end of the lakes, the busy motorway crossing marking this, a taste of the Peak District, desolate moorland and peaceful villages nestling at the foot of the Howgill Fells.
It was raining when I woke up, and continued to rain for the most of the day. I was glad to have stayed in Bampton last night, although it made today's walk that bit longer. Quite apart from the excellent B&B, the little village itself was very pretty, the walk along the River Lowther to rejoin the route at Shap Abbey was lovely, and Shap wasn't all that much to look at when I did get there. It also meant that I could spend time at the Abbey, which I even managed to do in one of the brief dry spells the weather afforded me today. The Abbey has the distinction of being the last Abbey to be founded in England in 1199. It was also the last to be dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540. There is a tiny stone coffin there of one of the Abbotts.
In other news, a Coast to Coast hiker suffered a vicious attack with GBH (Grappled by Hen). I got mugged by a chicken. Seriously. I was having elevenses at the ruins of Shap Abbey, enjoying my flask of coffee and half a cereal bar when a gang of free range raiders approached. One brave hen jumped up on to the bench, stole the other half, ran off with it and shared it with her feathered friends. The cheek of it, I was looking forward to that. Whatever next I wondered - burgled by badgers, robbed by rabbits, set-upon by stoats (etc)?? Took a mug-shot of the speckled offender at the scene of the crime (see gallery below).
Leaving Shap, it is a shock to the senses to encounter the M6 after so many days with hardly a road in the Lakes. It is soon left behind to climb over a limestone plateau and cross the heather moors around Crosby Ravensworth Fell. This is difficult country to navigate as there is little in the way of landmarks and the route is not marked on the OS maps. This is where the GPS saved the day again. The wind was biting over the moors, the sky was black and the rain just poured down. Loved it! I found a sheep's skull and created my own interpretation of Damian Hurst's work by putting it jauntily atop a marker post, which I am hoping to display at the Tate Modern and sell for several million pounds...
The path across the moors seemed to continue on and on and I got to the point where I was beginning to wonder if Orton actually existed at all. Perhaps I was doomed to wander the moors like a lost soul until it was my own pecked clean skull that a future hiker would be putting on a post, taking photos of and thinking they were being artistic. At least the rain had cleared by now. I was making steady progress on my bag of liquorice allsorts, but was disappointed to find only one orange one and way too many of the bobbly aniseed ones. Funny, I had thought that I would spend my time contemplating the age old questions, finding a way to world peace and resolving third world poverty but no, it was merely the state of modern confectionery and a desire to kill all midges.
But eventually my destination came into view, and very welcome it was too. It was a shame that the handmade chocolate shop was closed though, I might wait until it opens before heading off to Kirkby Stephen in the morning. Should be a good day for it as the weather is set to improve.
Good pace today, bowling along mostly to Lightning Seeds "Lucky You."
Odometer
14.5 miles
Cumulative Miles
80.7
Total Ascent
483 metres
Total Descent
458 metres
Moving Time
4h 48 m
Stopped Time
3h 33 m
Moving Average
3.0 mph