Stottie Walks

This was a long day and, fortunately, a calm and sunny one. Having viewed Swaledale from Kisdon on our way to Muker, we crossed the river to walk via Crackpot where we encountered the massed ranks of Coast-to-Coasters heading east. The views south across Keld were delightful, but our path led north to the bleak moors.
At Tan Hill Inn we had a morning drink and listened to a teenage girl playing the piano, an unexpected sound in Britain’s highest pub which, many visitors feel, revels in its anarchic rejection of anything which smacks of order and sophistication. Optimistically we splashed through the soggy ground alongside Frumming Beck, exchanging pleasantries with two southbound hikers, and we stopped for lunch near Sleightholme Farm.

This was the only day when shorts seemed to be the right clothing, and one of only two without either strong winds or a splash of rain. Conditions underfoot were wet but not difficult. The route was easy enough to follow, though we strayed a hundred metres eastwards on the descent to Clove Lodge.

On a long walk, as on a long flight, it pays to settle into an acceptance of more hours travel than one is used to. Our plan was to walk at a sustainable pace and never overtax ourselves physically. It worked well. We were only five minutes behind schedule at the end, after ten and a quarter hours on the move. Lynda at The Old Barn provided a lovely room, and the Teesdale Hotel fed and watered us in excellent style.

Way back then… In 1963 we set off from Keld for Middleton, where we had to find B&B. We tried a short cut from Tan Hill to God’s Bridge which didn’t help us and probably cost us time and energy. We found beds at a guest house called “The Grove”, where we had the first bath since leaving home, and a colossal breakfast.

Keld and Great Shunner Fell

God’s Bridge

Middleton in Teesdale

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