Day Five: 5th June 2009.
Weather: Overcast and cool, but dry once more.
Sedbergh to Kendal: 18.1 miles on SatMap Active 10 GPS – boy am I going to pay for this one – oops!
Day five dawned as a grey day, and it stayed grey all day long, with a very occasional spot of sunshine – but most importantly it was dry. We had a good breakfast with good service and good food after an excellent night in The Dalesman Inn. Our room was superb – big and spacious, with the only bad note being in the bathroom where the local double-decker buses could stare in if they wanted to! I knew this was going to be a long day because we were staying in Kendal (my one mistake of the whole week) which is a few miles off the Dales Way path. The initial way back to the Dales Way would have been to walk back out of town down the hill to the bridge near Millthrop and then loop around the river before cutting north to join the River Lune. To cut some mileage off I had planned to walk along the course of an old railway track but unfortunately this option wasn’t an option, and nor was a footpath that was on the map – it now has houses built across it – disgraceful of the planners to let this go through. So that added some distance to my shortened route, but it was still interesting walking. Unfortunately we had to wander along the main road out of Sedbergh which was busy enough – however there were some roadwork’s which reduced the speed of the passing traffic enough to make it feel a bit safer. But I wouldn’t recommend this way on a busy wet day, far better to follow the route properly and stay close to the path for your B&B rather than the long haul into Kendal (or call a taxi). But every cloud and all that jazz – we had a bonus in that we got to see a small disused chapel of St Leonard’s near Ingmire Hall which is maintained by the church commission. It had a conservatory roof which was odd, and also some lovely stained glass windows – a good start to the day, and they came out quite nicely on the pictures.
One of the stained glass windows at St Leonard’s church
The old railway line crossed these fields
A short walk down the road returned us to the Dales Way and from Lincolns Inn Bridge our route turned north and followed the River Lune for the next few miles until we reached the Crook of Lune Bridge. We passed by the Lune viaduct with the mid span made of metal – there was no bed to the track so we couldn’t have walked there anyway. Mrs RP was feeling a bit fed up early on, and a bit weary – it was due to 4 people following us close behind and she didn’t like it! But once I’d had a few more photo stops, it sorted that problem out. There were several groups of walkers here, so we hung back to get some clear ground ahead for Mrs RP, and I didn’t mind as I could observe the birdlife flitting in and around the river – the highlight was a brief glimpse of a Kingfisher making its way along the far bank, and the wonderful sound of a Song Thrush serenading us from very close by. Normally I would have found a spot to sit down and waited for the Kingfisher to return, and as long as you are fairly still that generally happens. It was years before I actually saw my first Kingfisher, and then it was actually on the local golf course in suburbia – they are beautiful colours though with the bright orange breast.
The lune viaduct
More meadows as we move away from Sedbergh
The Howgills hove into view
The sight of the Kingfisher made my day really, along with plenty of Dippers, a Heron or two and a Buzzard that came squawking close by – it must have had a nest in the proximity because it came back to harry the groups behind us as well. The path wanders away from the banks of the Lune for a mile and a bit and we walked across some meadows, much pasture and a few bullocks thrown in. It then drops down to the river after Hole House where the path passes through the courtyard of these rental properties – too near the M6 for me. At this point we met a man walking his small terrier by the river bank. He told us he had some small stones with him and when the dog barked at people, he threw a pebble to the ground close to the dog to stop him barking. It was fairly effective though, and I asked him what the brick was for? ‘It’s in case he bites anyone’ – I think he was joking though, probably. It was very quiet here and we couldn’t see much of the river due to the tree cover, but the hum of the M6 was getting closer all the time. The Howgills (christened The Horrible Howgills by Mrs RP – as it always seems to be raining when she drives past on the M6) were in view for a long time today, and they were attracting their usual portion of the wet stuff as we went by. There was no peace for the fish and birds at the Crook of Lune Bridge as a young family were bombarding the river with large stones and having a whale of a time – maybe the terrier had walked past here and was struck silent? From the Crook of Lune Bridge we walked under another viaduct and the noise from the M6 became ever more intrusive.
A peaceful River Lune
The Crook of Lune Bridge
The Lowgill viaduct
The Lowgill viaduct was made up of big sandstone bridges in a similar style to all the other viaducts along the way, and behind it the Howgills were looking wet and miserable. Due to not paying attention as we walked through Lowgill I missed the turn off to a path, and we ended up walking parallel to the M6 for the next mile so it was a little noisier than it should have been – but again an added bonus was the wild flowers in the verges, and a group of noisy Black Headed Gulls vying for position in a newly mown field. The path crosses the M6 by a footbridge which some wag has painted a dashed white line along the middle – it’s all of 3ft wide. As we crossed the bridge the farm beyond is a bit of a blot, but has recycled a lot of the old M6 road signs as fence work. But the noise didn’t last too long and once we were away from the M6 the Eastern Lakeland Fells began to appear in the distance. There are also some glacial erratics of Shap Granite lying around the fields and path edges – they have a very distinct mineralogy – with pink crystals of Feldspar – and for sure they didn’t travel down the motorway. From here on walking was a pleasure and there was a gentle rhythm to the ups and downs of the landscape, crossing fields, farm tracks, and some minor roads.
Looking back to the Howgills
And forward to the Lakeland Fells
Goodbye Howgills
The thin green line
A lot of the hay meadows had been cut, revealing a bright green path across the fields – no need to look at the map for the way here. After about 4 miles from the M6 the next stop along the way was Black Moss Tarn which looked resplendent with lots of yellow flag Iris fringing the water, with the threatening skies above the Howgills beyond. A nice peaceful spot to have a snack, and from here we started to get better views of the Lakeland Fells, all looking a tad higher than where we were. From the tarn the route hits a bit of road work and passes by a few farms with lots of yapping small dogs – I should have had a pebble or two – but I had my walking stick / cow stick / dog stick with me and he was kept at arm’s length while we slipped through a gate. We crossed the A6 at Burton House and for most people’s schedule it would have been on to Burneside (I think the only B&B was fully booked when I tried). But for us it was time to depart the Dales Way and make our way down to Kendal along as many paths as I could find – not many as it turned out, and it is never nice to finish a day’s walk along pavements. But there was one more highlight before leaving the path and that was Billy’s Tea room at the farm of Burton House. The kids here have all their own pet animals and to help them pay for the feed they have set up a little tea room in a shed – you just make a donation to help them along. It was fun sat there a while with all the chickens pecking at my boots and the pig snuffling about my rucksack, a welcome stop as well if it was throwing it down.
The gently undulating landscape
And pleasant farm lanes
I liked the sky above the horizon
Looking gloomier for tomorrow
Black Moss Tarn – a fine spot for a rest
More grey skies ahead
After this break was the long trudge into Kendal, through a busy town centre, where my chosen hotel was nothing like I expected and the restaurant we ate in wasn’t brilliant either – but then again we have walked for 5 days without a spot of rain! But….it looked ominously dark for the next day’s walk to the end of the trail.
Ooh err
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