Day 6 Ravenstonedale to Appleby

Reasonable night’s sleep despite rain and howling gale outside. The stone wall that we were sheltering behind did its job well and our tents were undisturbed

Awake by six for cup of tea and porridge. God I’m getting fed up with porridge now! Don’t know or remember how I managed 17 days of this diet on the Pennine Way nearly seven years ago.

Took advantage of the site facilities, composting toilet and hot shower. Everything spotless

The rain finally stops at 7.30 and we are packed and on our way by 8.15. The wet tent felt heavy in my rucksack

The sky looks very threatening, although the forecast says no rain. Chris takes no chances and wears full rain gear. I am more relaxed thinking I’ll put them on if needed

But it is very cold, and crossing the bleak moorland we definitely feel this. On the plus side, the rain has cleared the air giving clear views of the surrounding hills, and it us easy going underfoot

After an hour or so, as we arrive at Newbiggin Tarn, the day us starting to brighten with patches of blue sky and rising temperatures

A patch of hawthorn trees that have somehow survived the attention of the grazing sheep

After two hours on the trail it is time for a break. This is the successful pattern we have adopted, making sure we have regular breaks

We put coffee to boil on the stove, and I spread out the wet tent and flysheet on the limestone pavement

The views from our vantage point are stunning, in all directions. The strong wind and sun has done a great job, and my pack feels a lot lighter when we set off again

The character of the land changes again. We are now in lush meadows

We meet our first fellow Dales High Wayfarer. He is doing the route in the opposite direction as he lives near Saltaire. We swap stories and we tell him what we have experienced on the route: namely call into the Angel at Hetton for a pint!

Lush meadows mean cows. This group were very interested in us: rushing ahead to intercept us near the exit to the field. I thought they might start chasing after us, but trotted off quite happily as we approached. They had made their point

Lunch by Rutter Force

We walked through the ford for fun as the water level was low, avoiding the parallel bridge

The New Inn at Hoff. This is a cracking little pub two and a half miles from the end of the walk. On my original itinerary we would have camped here and got an early train the next morning.C’est la vie, next time maybe, their ale from the Settle Brewery was worth more than the pint and a half we had as a pre-celebratory drink between us

The route continues down Hoff Beck. I must say that this is a superb ending: a beautiful low level warm down from the earlier high moorland

Not snowdrops, but a carpet of wood anenomy and lesser celandine. All with a surround-sound backdrop of birdsong 

The town of Appleby finally arrives over the brow of a low rise, the Pennine hills looking very benevolent behind

We arrive at the finish. It takes a while to find someone willing to take our photo, but we refuse to compromise with a low quality selfie

I had been recommended the Crown and Cushion as a drinking place. But the Hare and Hounds had seats outside in the sun, so that’s where we went, chatting to some C2C cyclists heading for the Black Swan at Ravenstonedale. They recommend the Pennine Cycleway as a possible route for me

All journeys come to an end, and it’s time to bid farewell to Chris. He is retracing our route by rail to Saltaire and back to Kent tomorrow

I have a six hour journey home via Carlisle and Oxenholme

It’s a quite emotional parting

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