Threlkeld to Keswick

by Miss Penny Black

With the opening of the Threlkeld to Keswick railway footpath, today was definitely going to be my easiest day of walking yet.

The pub Id stayed at in Threlkeld was even more dog-friendly than all the other places I’ve been; treats, water and towels to wipe the dogs down.

I had a perfect Cumbrian breakfast at the Horse and Farrier and would love to return there on my next trip. The service was so good and the food was excellent! I’d highly recommend it to anyone coming to the area. Also it was the first place I’ve stayed to have USB points in the room, which was very handy. On the way out of town I took photos of some of the classic Lakeland buildings.

Some cute yarn-bombing at the local cafe.

The rail trail is 5km long and very flat but winds through some gorgeous scenery. It wasn’t open last time I was here due to storm damage, so I’m glad it was part of the trip this time.

Near the start I walked past two older gentlemen who stood gazing at the view. I stopped for a moment and said ‘It’s perfect,’ and one of them turned around and solemnly nodded and said in a very northern accent ‘Aye, it is,’ and I felt like we understood each other perfectly. Japan has popularised the concept of ‘tree bathing’ – going out in forests and soaking in nature. There’s definitely a similar feeling here. Just people staring at the scenery and soaking it up like they’re a battery being recharged.

I was definitely heading against the flow as the number of people walking towards me increased towards Keswick, the tourism hub of the northern lakes. For the first time I got a bit over saying ‘Good morning’ to everyone I passed. Well, except to one older fellow and his elderly dog. Somehow we managed to be walking in the same direction and first I passed him while he was giving his dog a break, then he passed me while I was fixing my socks, then I passed him while he was having a rest, then again he passed me and then finally I passed him at the end of the walk and said ‘Fancy seeing you here!’ And we both laughed. Possibly you had to be there, but it was just a ‘laughing with strangers’ kind of day.

The rail trail ends at one of the highest points in town and walking down into the town feels a bit like coming home. I must have looked like I knew where I was going because a lady watched several people pass before she jumped out of her car and asked me for directions. I think my giant backpack makes people think I know where everything is. I mean, I do know where most things are, and she wanted to walk up Latrigg so I confidently pointed out where to go and told her about the car park behind the hill.

Market day! I somehow managed to capture an image with hardly any people but I actually had to dodge and weave my way down the footpaths.

I walked straight to the campsite on the lake and put up my tent. There were only two other little tents in the large space next to the water, however the line of caravans waiting to get in stretched out of sight. I was later told that caravans need to book at least six months, if not 18 months in advance, and here I was just walking in.

The reception was closed when I arrived but when I went back to pay later on they still had my details in their system and I found that very satisfying for no reason at all.

I walked to Booths, which is a fancy supermarket around the corner, and gazed wistfully at all the posh food before buying some hand cream. Being blasted by the wind all day is starting to take its toll.

Then I walked to one of my favourite cafes, Mrs F’s.

I had an amazing zucchini soup there last time (there is such a thing!) and, despite the whole town being rammed with people, there was no one in the cafe except the son of the owner, who told me his mum would be back in a minute. I was in no hurry so I sat down. The owner came back and I had some tea and a intimidatingly large slice of coffee and walnut cake. I wouldn’t have chosen that flavour usually, but I’ve been reading Stephanie Plum novels and the characters are always talking about coffee cake.

The cafe is a delightfully eclectic mix of old furniture, Knick knacks and mismatched stuff. The owner is from London, although she had been to Australia. She had bought a car with some friends and driven from Melbourne to Perth and loved it. Today was her daughter’s 16th birthday and she was expected imminently, school having just finished for the day. Sadly I left before the daughter and her friends appeared – my impression from the discussion between mother and son was that her arrival was going to be quite dramatic and possibly full of teenage attitude, but I finished my cake and tea too quickly and decided to move on.

Afterwards I bought a couple of postcards, a book, and went to have a drink and sit in the Dog and Gun, a place Luke and I enjoyed on our last trip.

A couple came in with two very calm Siberian huskies and sat next to me. We had a little chat about their beautiful dogs and then everyone else who walked past also stopped to chat about their dogs and compliment them. People even pulled dog treats out of their pockets to give them. Initially I thought ‘how nice’ and then I thought ‘what a pain in the bum’ – it must be annoying to only have people want to talk to you about one topic (that being said, most people only want to talk to me about their relations in Perth). I said this to them but they graciously said they didn’t mind.

Not my photo but this is pretty much what they looked like.

I guess it’s to be expected in this dog-obsessed country, and if you’re going to walk around with two canine supermodels you can’t be surprised when the paparazzi follow you everywhere.

Next was back to the campsite to have a shower before the cold set in. Apart from going to bed clean, the other benefit of an afternoon shower is that the block has just been cleaned. Also there was no one else using it, which was nice!

There’s a really lovely garden around the shower building and it has a pair of pheasants living in it!

After I was dressed and dry I wandered down to the water and got talking to a couple from Liverpool (Caroline and Dave) with a cute little fluffy dog (Milo). We talked about travel – they had bought a camper van recently and we’re testing it out before taking a month long trip to Scotland in May. We chatted for ages but then the wind picked up and I walked back into town for a dinner of Thai, during which I was happy to have my noise canceling AirPods to hand in order to drown out the extremely loud table of tourists that sat down very close to me (and they ordered CHIPS. In a Thai restaurant!). The other couple nearby looked like they wished they’d brought their AirPods too.

That’s them, behind my delicious fish cakes.

Back at the campsite the sun was slowly going down. I spent a while watching the colours change before getting into my sleeping bag (where I am writing this) to discover that someone in one of the neighbouring tents is snoring so loudly I think the people in the caravans must be able to hear him. Thank god for noise canceling earbuds… again!

View of Skiddaw on the way back to the campsite.

Stupid Canada geese on the lake. One of them attacked me on my last trip here. I mean, I don’t know if it was one of these specific geese but they all have that look about them.

So, my first night actually camping. Dave told me there’s supposed to be an hour of extremely high winds tomorrow during the day so we’ll see how that goes!

I nearly forgot: I saw a guy swimming today. Hopefully someone has alerted the nearest asylum to let them know one of the inmates has escaped.

19Apr2023

A Windy Walk Across Matterdale Common

by Miss Penny Black

After a late start I finally left the cosy confines of the Royal Hotel and set out uphill (as always) and on the way to Threlkeld.

Try saying ‘Threlkeld’ out loud five times quickly. On paper it looks like a perfectly normal name for a place but I feel like an idiot when I try to say it out loud. Ridiculous. I was afraid to meet anyone along the way in case they asked me where I was going, and considered changing my destination to avoid the awkwardness but the route I’d plotted looked so good I decided to stick to my plan.

OK, so it doesn’t look very exciting on paper and I seem to have added an extra pink line, but the point is, it goes through nowhere.

The skies darkened as I headed up hill and the wind picked up. Not good, but the meteorological wizards said it wasn’t supposed to rain and I chose, against all previous experience, to believe them.

Catkins, or pussy willow. Haven’t seen this since I was a kid!

Farmland gave way to Matterdale Common, which seemed very wide but there were a few cars in the car park right before the gate, so I thought I’d probably see a few people.

Over a little bridge and onto the common.

Up to this point I’d thought of commons as small green bits in the middle of villages, but this is the other kind.

Can you see the tiny path in the distance? It was about 6km away.

While walking across the common could’ve been dramatically improved by a severe reduction in gale-force, freezing cold winds, it was also magnificent to be out in such beautiful, open landscape alone.

I had bought a packed lunch from the Royal Hotel so I got to enjoy another uranium-enriched curry chicken sandwich and all the accompanying bits.

I did eat my lunch crouched over in a ditch to get out of the wind, but I still enjoyed it enormously.

I don’t know how something can look so bad but taste so good.

Walking is like meditation and it’s interesting to see where my mind wanders. I spend a lot of time re-writing song lyrics to suit my situation. I wish I could remember some of them now! I’ve never thought of myself as musical so I don’t know why this is where my brain goes.

All the grass is brown, and the sky was grey. I went for a walk on an April day. 🎶

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why I like doing this so much (the walking, not the song lyrics). Being in this landscape is like walking through an art gallery all day, every day. Every flower is beautiful, every mountain spectacular, and I feel like it suits me and I fit in. No matter how the weather changes it just shows the landscape in a new light and damp and misty or bright and sunny, it’s as close to perfect as anywhere I’ve ever been.

I was talking to the family yesterday about Switzerland, as that is where their son lives. Switzerland is incredible. It’s the most dramatic scenery I’ve ever seen – but it’s inaccessible to me. I’ll never be fit enough or have the skills to climb those mountains. I don’t speak the language. Here it’s just right.

Eventually I made it across the common and met my first person of the day, another solo woman who was heading to Helvellyn YHA. We had a chat and moaned about the wind before parting ways.

The only other people I saw were some guys with dirt bikes.

Walking towards Blencathra felt like coming home, I’ve walked through the valley behind it several times.

After the common it was all downhill into Threlkeld and to the Horse and Farrier, a quite fancy pub that has been going since 1688, although probably not with nachos and waffles on the menu.

My feet were a bit sore from the rocky, uneven path and my knees had a few minor twinges so I spent the late afternoon off my feet on my room then had a delicious dinner downstairs, followed by zoom with Daniel to discuss the Spanish adventure in a bit over a week.

Tomorrow a walk to Keswick. Can I actually be bothered to camp? It’ll come down to the price of accommodation and the likelihood of rain. Either way, I’ll enjoy it!

18Apr2023

Dockray: High Force and Watermillock Common

by Miss Penny Black

As my blister isn’t getting any better or worse, I thought I’d take it easy today and break the day into two small walks, one on either side of the village.

In the morning I climbed halfway up Gowbarrow Fell and would’ve gone higher but I wasn’t keen on trying to climb a drystone wall.

I walked up to that tiny dark clump in the middle then down again. I really should’ve checked the map properly to see if there was a way to the top.

Then I walked down the valley to the first few sections of High Force and was then told by some people that the main section was closed due to a fallen tree.

It was another stunningly beautiful day, so I had a sandwich and cider in the sun. The sandwich was so good I order a packed lunch for my walk onward to Troutbeck tomorrow. Curried chicken – I’ve never eaten a sandwich quite this brightly coloured!

The photo doesn’t really do it justice, I feel like it was almost glow-in-the-dark yellow.

After lunch I rested my feet for a bit and had a phone call with Luke and his parents. Lea and Pete have just arrived in Lille, so they are much closer to my time zone. They are travelling around with friends of theirs and then meeting Luke and I halfway through May when we come back to the Lake District.

Next was a walk up the hill behind the pub. It looked like a Goldilocks level for me – not too steep, not too gravelly, not too busy! In fact, I didn’t see a single person between leaving the pub and getting back.

First I headed for the nearest small hill and made it to the top quite easily. The ground was mostly sphagnum moss and lumps of dry grass.

I hadn’t taken any water so I didn’t want to go too far, but I decided to head up to the next rise, then the next rise, until I realised I was up very high!

High enough to see Helvellyn in the distance. Helvellyn isn’t the highest fell, but it’s where Striding Edge is. Mum had to walk it when she was a kid because grandpa was a mountain climber and thought it was totally fine for a small child. I’ll find a photo from the internet to show you what it’s like.

Anyhow, it was exciting to see it from a distance. But then I saw something even more exciting, a fighter jet! I saw one on my last trip, whooshing down over Coniston. This time I saw one almost skim Ullswater, it was much lower than where I was standing. It was going too fast for me to get my camera out but here’s a photo with the level it was flying.

Am I too excited about this? It seemed very thrilling at the time but maybe it was just really loud.

Anyhow, I thought it was cool, then I did manage to get a photo of a much larger airforce plane going overhead.

Also fairly low but not quite as impressive.

The whole while I was climbing the wind was getting stronger and stronger. Despite the sun it was quite cold.

But I just kept going up and up. The tufts of grass made good footholds and not carrying a bag made it all easier. In the end I made it to the top of the disappointingly-named Common Fell. Literally the worst name of all the fells. There’s fells named Dollywagon Pike, Stang, Swineside Knot, High Spy and Crinkle Crags. I manage to have my best day yet on Common Fell. Oh well. Maybe the reason no one else was there was the unassuming name?

One day I will lose a shoe. But not today!

Maybe it was because half the surface of the fell was ankle deep bog. At one point I started singing that Annie Lennox song ‘Walking On Broken Glass’ but I changed the words to ‘walking on spagnum moss’ and thought… maybe I’ve spent too much time on my own today.

The moss was a lot better than loose shale though, and I don’t mind wet feet. The softness under foot was probably quite good for my joints and I didn’t feel very tired when I got back to the hotel.

I washed my hair then went out to sit in the sun in the beer garden. Earlier in the morning I’d had a chat to a lady from Montreal and her partner and then they (and their son) asked me if I’d like to join their table in the beer garden as I was sitting alone.

Well, you know me. I sat with them outside for an hour or so then we all went in for dinner and sat together. We talked about our journeys – the man’s father had died (at 103!) of Covid and they were taking his ashes from Scotland to Dorset, where he had wanted them buried. They had stopped in Cumbria for two nights on the way and had visited Wordsworth’s cottage this morning. A perfect time of year for celebrating the life of the man who single handedly made daffodils synonymous with the Lake District.

The man had been an artist and they showed me photographs they had taken of many of his artworks. They were all very beautiful and many were of the English countryside.

We also talked about books. Their son’s favourite genre was science fiction so we swapped authors and talked about our favourites.

All in all another delightful day spent doing things I love!

I finally got a photo of people I’ve met!

13Apr2023

Books, Buses and Big Hills

by Miss Penny Black

Despite making an effort to stay up later and fight my jet lag with all my heart, I woke up at 4am. With nothing better to do I turned the television on quietly and there was a cooking show where a woman demonstrated how to make risotto in a Bundt tin and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this level of cognitive dissonance sober.

Breakfast wasn’t until 8 but I went down early anyway and the lovely lady in the kitchen was happy to accomodate me with a perfect plate of traditional English breakfast fare, which I think every will agree, is one of the best ways to start the day.

Much better than risotto Bundt. No grilled tomato or black pudding and I’m not apologising.

There were two men at another table having their breakfast just after I finished mine. We got chatting and it turned out they were on their way to Scotland to pick up medical supplies for people in Ukraine. They were retired and had started an organisation in the New Forest to provide aid. A doctor in Scotland had things to donate so they were driving north to collect the stuff then drive to Ukraine to deliver everything. This was the tenth time they had made the trip!

They were both very good humoured about it and clearly loved what they were doing. I suggested golf would be an easier way to get out of the house and they laughed, saying their wives were happy to see them go;-). People are so interesting, no matter who I talk to I learn something surprising!

Although the weather had improved slightly I wasn’t keen on walking too far so I inquired about the possibility of a bus to Penrith, assuming there would be at least a few each day. No, actually there was one… a week! But it went today! No one at the pub knew precisely when it went so I walked up to the shop and asked there. No one at the shop had ever caught the bus but they pointed me to the sign next to the bus shelter and it turned out I had a bit over an hour before the bus left and it would give me two hours in Penrith before doing the return trip. This was all very exciting and I promised to report back upon my return. Time for a few photos of daffodils before it arrived.

I arrived at the bus stop early and was joined by a man and then a woman and we had a good chat about how high property prices are, the scourge of Airbnb rentals and how terrible the weather was. Then a woman (Kay) pulled up in her car as she knew the lady (June) and asked if all of us would like a lift into a Penrith. I was a bit torn because I’d been looking forward to catching this mysterious once-a-week bus, but I also didn’t 100% trust it to turn up so I said yes to the lift.

The bus stop contains some cushions and a box of books. If you leave a donation it goes towards the pool.

It turned out to be quite an interesting ride – June runs the local OUTDOOR pool, however it’s not open for a couple more weeks. When it’s open it’s heated to 29 degrees! I am so sad that I can’t go, I’m definitely putting it on my list of things to do on my next visit.

We were dropped off in Penrith, with many thanks to Kay, and I arranged to meet June at Morrisons at 1:15pm. I had a short list of things I needed, which I managed to buy in the first 15 minutes so then I was free to wander around town.

Penrith has some charming laneways but this photo makes it look kind of derelict.. but it isn’t, I promise!

I had a walk around, bought two op shop books then realised I’d already read one of them so I left it in the bus stop box in Askham before I left. I took a few photos of some buildings around town too.

I had a cup of coffee in a cafe that seemed entirely filled with very noisy elderly people who either all knew each other or just like talking loudly to strangers (right up my alley, obviously) and the vibe was great.

The only other thing I did in town was look at the museum, which was small but had many interesting things. I particularly liked the Roman coins and this quiver and arrows.

I wandered up to Morrisons in time to meet June and then catch the bus back. June was probably in her late fifties but everyone else on the bus was definitely on their second set of teeth. They were talking about a young couple in the village who were very nice and then after a bit someone remarked that the couple in question were in their sixties 😂.

Then one of the ladies said a friend of her had written a book and everyone wanted to know what it was about and she said very loudly ‘Sex!’ and everyone laughed and wanted to know more but she claimed she hadn’t actually read it. By this time June and I, up the back of the bus, were almost crying we were laughing so hard.

When we got off she asked what I thought and I said it was the most entertaining bus ride I’d had in a long time!

When I got back to the Punchbowl it was a bit early to be propping up the bar so I took a walk to the other end of the village. I saw a church yard with some very old tombstones and lots more daffodils.

Further on I walked over the river and then saw Lowther castle in the distance. Jet lag has really been an issue in the afternoons so I turned back after a short walk.

I had mentally prepared myself for a quiet evening as the previous night had been so enjoyable, chatting to so many people had really filled my tank in terms of social interactions, and the chances of having two great evenings in a row seemed unlikely, however it turned out that the second night at the Punchbowl was even better than the first.

I ended up chatting to the bar staff but also meeting a local, David, who is an author. He has one book published but is working on his next book, which is part of a three book deal, which I thought was very impressive!

I wish I’d got a photo together as we got on so well. We talked about poetry, art, music, film, travel – everything! It was so lovely to meet someone so interesting. I gave him the blog address so if you’re reading this, David, leave a message!

Being a bit more of a homebody than myself, he was very concerned at my laissez faire approach to my travels (I had no idea where I was staying the following night) but if you’re reading this I’d like to reassure you things worked out ok although I did nearly kill myself climbing over a very precarious stile!

Whew! Congratulations to anyone who slogged through this enormous post. It was all very fascinating to me but maybe not everyone is interested in the joys of regional bus services and swathes of daffodils😂. Good news, in the next post I actually do some hiking!

26Sep2018

The Harrogate Autumn Flower and Vegetable Show!

by Miss Penny Black

Jess, Luke and I were spending two nights in Harrogate, a city none of us knew anything about, in order to visit the Harrogate show.

A year or two ago I started following a blogger who is a very successful allotment gardener and who made videos and talked a lot about entering his vegetables into shows. He regularly grew enormous carrots, onions and a variety of other things and I became entranced with it all and decided to go see it for myself.

Unfortunately for Luke it meant spending his 36th birthday weekend watching me looking at vegetables but it was a price I was willing for him to pay. I booked the tickets a few weeks prior and a nice Airbnb apartment right in the middle of Harrogate.

The apartment turned out to be absolutely wonderful – probably one of the best we’ve ever stayed in. It was on the third storey and had panoramic views over the town centre.

Jess researched somewhere to eat on our first day and settled on Betty’s, a restaurant that is quite famous locally. We were shown to a downstairs room that was paneled with gorgeous marquetry artworks showing scenes of Yorkshire and Alsace. It turned out the food was a mix of Swiss and English, which made the whole experience rather interesting for us as we’d just visited Switzerland and Alsace before coming back to England.

All the work was done by an Alsatian artist named Spindler.

Jess has an afternoon tea and we had macaroni and cheese. Perfect!

A very nice start to our stay in Harrogate and we were all immediately taken with the town, which had a very prosperous and Victorian air.

The following day we headed to the Autumn show on the shuttle bus, arriving just after the gates opened. I had no idea how busy the day would be but at the time we arrived there was almost no one there, which made it much easier to take photos of the exhibits. By the time we left it had filled up quite a bit but I imagine there were still tickets available on the gate.

First stop was the flower hall.

The majority of flowers on display were chrysanthemums, dahlias, gladioli and roses, with a few lilies and fuchsias. The dahlias were my favourite.

Then it was on to the vegetables and fruit.

There are two main kinds of vegetable competition. One is for perfect sets of vegetables, as with the groups of onions above and the tomatoes and leeks below. Often size is a factor as well – the largest matching set is best.

The second main category is for the largest vegetables. These are often extremely ugly.

This man grew a pumpkin that weighed over 300kg and said he had a bigger one on the vine at home! I had thought large vegetables were often tasteless but he said this one was good to eat and would go to soup kitchens etc.

Heirloom apple and pear varieties were on display and they often had amusing names.

There was also a number of bonsai competitions and people selling them. This one was best in show. It must be hard being a bonsai competitor knowing that something like this was going to keep being entered every year. At least the vegetable gardeners get a fresh start each time.

Apart from produce there were marquees of crafts for sale and lots of food, from fudge to pork pies. We bought a few things but I looked longingly at much more! There were also lots of people selling garden furniture, pizza ovens, patios, sculptures and lots of food available on site.

We spent about half a day wandering around and enjoyed it a lot. An event not many tourists would go and see perhaps, but we all had a good time and I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest in that sort of thing.

Next: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park.