Day 37 Hawes to Keld

Had a vivid dream of Mum and Dad last night which was really nice as it was so real. I'm sure they are following my every step and this is their way of telling me.

£5.00 donation from a family at the Youth Hostel. Church bells were chiming as I ran down through Hawes and my leg is still sore so I'm running a bit gingerly to start with. Across flagged fields to Hardraw where I had planned to visit Hardraw falls which is Britains highest unbroken waterfall at 100 ft but I heard through the grapevine that just a trickle of water was coming over the falls due to lack of rain and you had to pay anyway so I carried on. I took a sandy, cobbly walled track uphill - 8 or 10 mountain bikers whizzed past me downhill clearly having fun. Started to drizzle and grey clouds all around so on went the waterproof top. I was beginning the ascent of Everest actually Great Shunner Fell which goes on and on and on in fact on for 5 miles across boggy moorland. There were lots of false tops. There were sounds of curlew, grouse and golden plover and I saw my first ever grouse in the flesh - unfortunately it was the common variety which are brown and red ( picture the grouse on the whiskey advert ) rather than the rarer black grouse but I have been told that I am guaranteed to see the later at some point. By now it's raining constantly. I passed the couple from Earby now to be known ass David and Marilyn plus another couple of hikers and we all stopped at the wind shelter on the eventual summit for a group photo but it did look as though we were all waiting for a bus. The views were unfortunately clouded with mist but I am sure they were brilliant underneath. Gently downhill over springy grass, moor and flags to then drop more steeply down into Thwaite via a stony and sometime slippery walled track. Apparently no Pennine wayfarer should pass the opportunity for a cup of tea at the Kearton restaurant so I didn't. I've just met back up with the couple from Australia : Kerry and Nancy and had a lovely cup of tea, sandwich and chips when David and Marilyn arrived - told you no-one passes it by!

Sharp uphill across fields to then follow a dry stone wall high above the valley where I had an amazing sight of field after field, all dry stoned walled and each one had a large grey stoned barn for the animals to shelter in. Around the top of the steep limestone slopes many places were too stony to run on as there were toe tripping stones everywhere and therefore quite slow going. There was an enormous back of primroses and bluebells but they were just emerging, way behind those in the South.

Stopped at Upper Kisdom Force via a detour then ran on into Keld which is a tiny hamlet where there is no mobile reception. I'm staying at Keld lodge an old Youth Hostel now turned into a stunning B&B which captures wayfarers from both the Pennine Way and the coast to coast walk, both of which converge here.

When phoning John from the village phone box a vole was running around outside. Big donations tonight as there were lost of hikers doing the coast to coast and I had two lots of £20.00 and one of £10.00 including my first Scottish notes!

Miles 13.61 time 3.46