August 12, 2002: Morland to Appleby

Fording the River Lyvennet

We asked for an early breakfast hour, 8:00, so that we could make our train time in Appleby at the end of our last day – and just as well it was our last because Gavan had only another day on his knee. It was again a gray morning as we munched our cornflakes and pushed around the items that constituted of our last full English. I paid Mrs. Kellett £50 for our stay and we brought our gear down so that we could sit on the front stoop and put on our boots. I took a few photos as we left town at 8:50, our earliest start on this expedition.

Footing was easy in the early stages of our nine-mile trek since we used farm tracks to make progress. But after reaching the Kemplee farmstead we crossed a bridge over the River Lyvennet, whose modest origins the Lees and I had encountered while doing the Shap to Orton stretch of the Coast-to-Coast Path. We were now asked to accompany the river on its east bank – and this proved to be another arduous stretch for us.

Sometimes we were out in the open in wet grass (which did provide the moisture in my boots needed to alleviate the friction on my sore toe) and at other times we were on greasy paths in the woods. Once we emerged at a ford over the river – where I took another picture. Paths were often very poor, slippery, rocky and dangerous. In one section, where progress could only be made by clinging to thorny bushes, I slipped and fell, ending up with a bruise on one palm and a black and blue mark where the backpack strap had cut into my stomach.

Relief arrived when we reached High Whitber, where a lane led to Littlebeck and on to tarmac at Peaselands. I was counting down the minutes; forty a mile would enable us to make the 15:09 train at Appleby – in fact we were easily beating this target – and we were already almost forty minutes ahead of schedule. Moreover we had now reached a long stretch of road walking, mostly uphill for a mile and three quarters (Hannon says this is level), but we had an easy gradient as we marched toward Seat Hill.

Seat Hill

There was very little traffic and views behind us were increasingly lovely, as were sightings of the Pennines on our left. The road was occasionally soaked in manure but on the whole progress was rapid and pleasant – the more so because the clouds were lifting and skies brightening. At Seat Hill we turned left on a farm track. Here the dominant direction switched to northeast and it would not be too long before views of Appleby became apparent.

After some easy pastures the route switched to the right side of a fence and the path all but disappeared as we made our way around and through woodland – searching for stiles and any evidence of the progress of others. One item that had not been much in evidence on this trip definitively made its presence felt now: sunshine, for the first time on this trip, was now beating down on us.

We crossed Hoff Beck and faithfully followed Hannon’s map by using an overgrown path that climbed up the hill on the left side of the fence (other trippers were walking down the other side on grass.) Things were easier for us on top as the route turned to the left to make use of one of our last gates (gates cemented their overall victory with an 18-6 win today) as we reached a track out to the Colby road.

A suburban estate was located across the street and we made our way through this and continued on a footpath that followed a terrace above the River Eden. By this time we were getting mixed up with locals, little old ladies out to do the shopping, families with toddlers and dogs. A left turn put us into a corner of Appleby.

Hannon, however, intended a less direct approach to the town, putting us on a bridge over the Eden so that we could circumnavigate the city from the opposite shore. There was a large farm here and at the turn-off for our route a large horse, a pony and its pony were each dancing about in the field we were meant to cross. As we neared the exit gate a woman, in some anxiety, asked us if we could accompany her past the horse, since she had two dogs on lead, and was afraid of its flashing hooves. I told her not to worry and walked her back through this field – making sure the equines kept their distance.

Gavan and I then had a nice woodland walk on mostly level paths along the Eden, where dogs were splashing in the water across the river. We did climb one hill and then we descended to enter the activities of the busy town. We could spot our turnoff for the train station but by now we had almost two hours in hand; it was 1:15 when, after crossing the Sands Bridge, we arrived at Appleby Marketplace. We had walked over 80 miles on this trip and we shook hands to celebrate our triumph.

We searched about for a place to have lunch but many of the local pubs had no food and we had wandered up the street a bit before finding the Aboard Inn, where we took a table outside. I had scampi again, but did a better job with this portion than I had in Buttermere. The publican, who arrived with our toffee-coated cream pies, said that the inn took great pride in the healthy nature of its cuisine – except for the desserts.

Gavan and I celebrate the end of the walk in Appleby

It was quite hot in the sun, but this was okay for us after so much gray. We got a chap to take a picture of us – as the last of the 50 shots on my flash card came to an end. (This photo also had a long run as Dorothy’s computer screen image.) Then we crossed the bridge again and climbed very steeply and wearily uphill to reach the station. We crossed the platform and had about a ten-minute wait. I used the time to change out of my boots and don my sunglasses (which Gavan clearly disapproved of).

The train in question, an Arriva two-car shuttle, was traveling the famous Carlisle-Settle route along the west of the Pennines – my first time on this line since 1974, when I had used it to get started on the Pennine Way. With all the radiant sunshine the next hour was an absolute delight and we passed many places I knew or expected to visit on future walks. Gavan fell asleep once.

The train was crowded. One blonde shaggy haired young boy with buckteeth, David, followed the conductor everywhere and was in perpetual motion. Once he sat solemnly down opposite me to ask how many minutes were left before we reached Leeds. Across the aisle three kids were playing cards. The youngest girl’s jaws were in perpetual motion on some delicacy or another, her pretty face not spoiled at all by the absence of most of her front teeth.

We reached Leeds at 5:07 and had a half an hour to go to the loo and buy snacks for the journey to King’s Cross. Leeds station, which I had last visited with Jay at the end of the PW in 1982, was buzzing with commuters at the end of the business day. We climbed over to our track and found seats on the GNER train that left at 5:40.

We ate our sandwiches and crisps as we sped south; I phoned Dorothy with an e.t.a. The conductor wanted to charge me £64 for the journey – since I had handed him only my return from Ravenglass, but when I produced an Appleby to Long Preston ticket (supplied by the staff at Paddington) he had to admit I was properly ticketed. I never understood why.

It was a lovely evening when we arrived in London at 19:58. We were soon aboard a cab for a very expensive ride back to Maida Vale, where it felt very good to be home. Gavan was in far worse shape than I was, and limped around for the rest of the week – using a knee brace that Dorothy had purchased for him. Gavan’s classmate, Giorgio Mandelli, later assessing the shape of the two walkers on this journey, tweeted him, “You mean you let Mr. Linick kick your butt?”

Footpath Index:

England: A Chilterns Hundred | The Chiltern Way | The Cleveland Way | The Coast-to-Coast Path | The Coleridge Way | The Cotswold Way | The Cumberland Way | The Cumbria Way | The Dales Way | The Furness Way | The Green London Way | The Greensand Way | The Isle of Wight Coast Path | The London Countryway | The London Outer Orbital Path | The Norfolk Coast Path | The North Downs Way | The Northumberland Coast Path | The Peddars Way | The Pennine Way | The Ridgeway Path | The Roman Way | The Saxon Shore Way | The South Downs Way | The South West Coast Path | The Thames Path | The Two Moors Way | The Vanguard Way | The Wealdway | The Westmorland Way | The White Peak Way | The Yorkshire Wolds Way