If yesterday felt a tad easy, today felt like a walk in the park. And to be honest, it basically was. I even got the shoes off and walked barefoot in a few parts. Nice to get some air on your feet and some soft grass under them. It was an easy route to follow as well for having taken the low route, all we had to do was follow the river all the way to Reeth. We could have taken the high route to see old disused lead mines, but the hay meadows with their sheep were so much more delightful. Basically all the Swaledale sheep here are used just for breeding purposes. Their wool is of very poor quality, but they are sold and bred to other sheep in different areas and a couple of mixes down the line, you get a good meat animal like the Suffolk. Just a bit of trivia for your next dinner party.

The route was also littered with rabbit holes and at one stage, according to the map, we passed a “rabbit metropolis”. Thought that was kind of cute, and it seemed the cliffside “properties” even had little rabbit roads leading up to them. The stiles on this section of walk are also to be considered. Most are just narrow holes through dry stone walls, so if you’re a bit of a chubby, you may have a problem. Think about the high route. Besides, the extra exercise will probably do you good.

The leisurely 11.5 mile stroll to Reeth took us till about 16:00, but that included a visit to the tea house at Gunnerside. Yes…this is oh such a tough walk!

We liked Reeth immediately, the old village in the past having being a bustling hub for the lead mining industry. Today tourists are the trade of choice. Mum and I both got very excited at dinner time having headed to The Buck Hotel. There on the wall, shining like a golden, beckonning beacon were the trophy shields for the local quoits league. Oh blessed dream come true!!! An actual quoits league!! Too funny.

XXX