Ep 10: The One Where We Got Blown Off the Nine Standards Rigg

0609 Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Today’s subject – breakfast!

Most of the accommodation on the Coast to Coast is of a traditional Bed and Breakfast type. This includes the option of a ‘Full English’ cooked breakfast included in the cost of the package. The temptation of a cooked breakfast is too much for all walkers at the onset of the trip, so everybody (including your heroes) stuff themselves to the doors on the first morning…bacon (sure), sausage (naturally), grilled tomato (goes without saying), eggs (rude not to), baked beans (English tradition), hash brown (lovely!) and, for those of a more adventurous nature (read: Peter) black pudding.

This behaviour, generally, carries on for a few days, whereupon the discomfort of walking long distances with a distended stomach kicks in and people start cutting back. Breakfast inclusions drop off one by one until breakfast has been pared back to mere cereal with, perhaps a slice of toast. Hardy souls on the Coast to Coast sometimes manage five days of Full English before dropping off the ‘Full English’ wagon! Unless you are Peter of course, who has managed to sustain a modified version with just bacon and eggs! ( and black pudding if it is available!)

We are now halfway through our Coast to Coast adventure, and can report that cereal is now the breakfast of choice for your adventurers!

And so it was for the start of today. We left our gorgeous apartment at Kirkby Stephen, a little apprehensive that we face the notorious Nine Standards Rigg, the second highest peak on the Coast to Coast. We walked through some lovely lanes on the way out of Kirkby Stephen and found a viaduct to explore before starting on the track proper.

The route up was challenging, not so much because it was steep but because of the near gale force wind blowing straight at us! At times it threatened to have us of our feet. The route to the top of the Rigg was initially via a farm track and then up a narrow path to the summit. We did take a break at a point where the route was a bit less windy.

The Nine Standards are nine cairns of various shapes, all about 3 – 4 metres tall. No-one knows exactly why they are there or who built them, but they are shown on maps dating back to the 18^th century. They may have been boundary markers from the border between Cumbria and Yorkshire. Another theory has them as a deterrent to keep back the marauding Scots – they may have looked like English troops camped on the hill  ……….  really ????  mmmm…..

Whatever their origin, they are impressive and can certainly be seen from some distance away! It was great to get to the top and finally enjoy the views.

The route down was a comparatively gentle, glorious walk across open moorland and, later, farmland.  We had been led to believe it could be really boggy in places, but in fact it was in perfect condition for us.  No rain here for some time now, so only a few boggy patches which could be jumped over.  In places, huge slabs have been put down in recent years to guide walkers through without losing them in the peat bogs.

There are tales of people being suddenly up to their knees in a peat bog!  Today the ground was springy and soft and a pleasure to walk on.  We were still up high, and so had great views all around.

Eventually we dropped into the Whitsundale Valley, and had high hopes of a cream tea at Ravenseat Farm – run by the Yorkshire Shepherdess, a local “celebrity”.  We were bitterly disappointed to find the farm closed to visitors today☹

From there, it was a pleasant 4km walk along the valley to Keld, our destination for tonight.  (Well, maybe 5-6km after a slight navigational error – oops!)  But our B and B for tonight – Butt House – has been really welcoming, a real gem, and we were even able to book a delicious home-cooked dinner here too!  Fabulous!

Butt House, by the way, is named for the nearby grouse butts – where the game shooters hide when they are out on a grouse shoot.

Distance today:  22km. Total now 164km of our 324km total!