Betwixt and between

The majority of my walking since leaving Gretna on Friday morning has been close to the M74/M6 and the West Coast main railway line, in the corridor flanked by the Northern Pennines over to the east, the Cumbrian fells to the west.  I've had plenty of good views over to the east, but poor visibility westwards has meant only occasional fleeting glances of Blencathra and the other significant peaks of northern Cumbria.

      Northern Pennines in the distance

My hosts over the weekend, Catherine and Ian, joined me for the first hour of Sunday's walk, enjoying some hare spotting as we walked.  Once they'd looped back, I continued through Penrith, then into the Lowther valley, busy on a Sunday with plenty of walkers, increasingly so as I moved onto the Lowther Estate, where Sandy and I had our first holiday together 30 years ago in one of these cottages, a short distance away from Lowther castle:

The thick blanket of drizzle shrouding the Cumbrian fells slowly encroached on my route and the afternoon was largely wet   If that weren't enough, the last stretch of footpaths was across fields of knee length, very wet grass, reminiscent of We're going on a bear hunt, and amidst all that, a herd of young cattle decided to follow me through no fewer than three fields before congregating right next to the final stile on the edge of Shap (needless to say, no photo for that moment!).

Despite the rain, there was time to notice an overall change in my surroundings, the red sandstone of the area around Carlisle being replaced by the limestone walls typical of the Dales.

'It always rains in Shap'

After a round trip by car to my overnight accommodation, Monday morning in Shap started in a similar vein to Sunday.  Whilst I can only offer limited experience of the local weather, the conversation in the post office before I set off bemoaned another poor day of weather this summer.

Waterproofs on once more, the first couple of hours of Monday's walk climbed the hills to the east of Shap, following the route of the Coast to Coast walk established by Alfred Wainwright, best-known for his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, describing the natural features, routes and views from the summits of over 200 Lakeland fells.  Certainly a popular choice on Monday as I shared a couple of hours walking to the small village of Orton with walkers from several places in Britain and from New York too.  Thankfully the rain started to clear and opened up some lovely views for us all.

The second half of the day took me through the Lune Valley, again following part of a Roman Road from Middleton to Low Borrowbridge - follow the link for quite a bit of information, including details of Fox's Pulpit, used by George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends.  The whole of the area around Sedbergh is rich in the early history of the Quaker movement.  

Just to assure you that it's not all been rain, here's a view southwards along the Lune Valley, a few miles north of Sedbergh where I stayed the night with a colleague from the Methodist Church.  Towards the end of my day's walk, my route started to move away from the railway and motorway and the surroundings were silent, excepting the running water.

And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel;

They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!

God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!

(Psalm 84 vv5-7 The Message)