Ian Pickering Coast to Coast 2013: Lists and Acknowledgements

A collection of lists and information about my coast to coast, and also some “prize giving”. This is based on very little research and has not been verified in any way. It is entirely my subjective view as I write. Please address any complaints to the ombudsman.

Eerie Light in the Eden Valley

The Walkers

To my fellow walkers: You made my coast to coast what it was and for this you will always have a place in my heart. You were a constant source of enjoyment and strength, and I owe you all a debt of gratitude. Thank you.

Sherpa Dave	Expedition leader on the ground and trusted advisor in the difficult early days. Even did a few miles with me on Stage 1.
Ali	My first walking partner, and the “heart” to Sherpa Dave’s “head” in helping me make those difficult decisions in the Lakes.
Mum	Now you know where I get my refusal to give in from! Put in long stints on Stages 1 and 2, and on the latter in appalling conditions.
Juliet	I am going to get her an ice axe and crampons for Christmas. She was such a natural in the harshest conditions I’ve ever walked in. Stage 4 to Patterdale.
Douglas	Boundless and infectious energy and enthusiasm, and complete faith in my leadership (!). Stage 4 again.
Ash	The cavalry arriving just in time after my battering at the hands of the Lakes. Fresh legs and a strong pace across snowy East Cumbria.
Walking Dave	The heart and soul of the middle stages. We were both gutted when he left the walk at Danby Wiske.
Rob (Top Gun)	My most constant companion. His week long walk was close to 100 miles and crossed half the country. He was already an accomplished hill walker – now he has added grit and maturity to his game. It was a privilege walking alongside him.
Jo & Inca	Joined us for the section to Richmond, determined to be part of my coast to coast after being snowbound earlier in the walk. A lovely walk and great company.
Reece	Added much needed fresh legs and pace on the Morning After Stage 14.
Carol	What could be better than marching into Robin Hood’s Bay with my son and my wife at my side. Took the final stage in her stride and was patient when we had to stop to rest aching feet. Being away from her for such a long time was the only down in my coast to coast experience.

Sherpa Dave

Ali

Douglas & Juliet

Ash

Walking Dave

Rob (Top Gun)

Jo with Mr P

Reece, alongside Rob

Carol

Mountain Heroes

I hesitate to single anyone out, because all the walkers are my mountain heroes. There were one or two however who went well beyond the call of duty or did more than they should have been capable of.

Juliet	For her inspirational effort and determination during our assault on Gridesdale Hause in full winter conditions and wind strong enough to blow you off the hill. Juliet doesn’t usually walk unless it’s to the shops!
Mum	For her Stage 2 performance at Honistor Pass. She’d decided in advance that this was to be her time to walk with me and she did, completely ignoring the fact that it was in the middle of a blizzard.
Rob	For his feat (no pun) of endurance and strength of spirit on Stage 13 to Blakey Ridge. 20 miles and 3,600 feet with an injured foot. He simply refused to let me down. Total respect.

Juliet Battling Through (1)

Juliet Battling Through (2)

Mum Dressed Against the Elements, Honister

Picture of Determination

Rest Break Near Round Hill

Accommodation

I was delighted with my accommodation. Overall it exceeded my expectations and I learned there is nothing quite like arriving at a warm and comfortable lodging to a friendly greeting after a long, hard, cold day in the hills. With one exception I would happily recommend them all.

Shepherds Arms Ennerdale Bridge	Good	Nice enough place. Welcome expert advice and concern from the owner Keith.
Yew Craggs Rosthwaite	Good	Lovely house. Friendly family service.
Town Head Farm Grasmere	Excellent	Like going home. Felt really cared for.
Crookabeck Patterdale	Excellent	Annex apartment to family home with great facilities. Fell asleep watching the cricket on Sky Sports.
Crown & Mitre Bampton Grange	Good	Friendly and witty hostess. Awesome steak pie.
Scar Side B&B Orton	Excellent	Comfortable B&B in isolated location with cosy guest sitting room. Owner gave us a lift to and from the local pub.
Crow Park Guesthouse Kirkby Stephen	Excellent	Beautiful quirky old house. Lovely family atmosphere.
Butt House Keld	Excellent	Location to die for. Delicious dinner and great company.
School House Reeth	Good	Lovely house and superb breakfast. Almost “excellent” except for the cream carpets – maybe they’re not quite geared up for muddy walkers.
Old Brewery Guesthouse Richmond	OK	Good standard of accommodation. Slightly soulless.
White Swan Danby Wiske	Good	Oasis in the flattest, dullest part of the walk. Attentive and welcoming husband and wife team.
Golden Lion Osmotherley	Good	High standard of food and accommodation. A bit “gastro” for our liking.
Lion Inn Blakey Ridge	Good	Isolated inn with great range of beer and enormous portions of food. Special birthday evening.
Station Tavern Grosmont	Poor	Food, accommodation and atmosphere not quite right. Seems to be run for the entertainment of the landlord. Should have stayed at Lisvane around the corner.
Streonshalh Robin Hood’s Bay	Good	Comfortable and clean, and very good breakfast indeed. Husband and wife team – he is the people person.

Best Accommodation

Two of these were straightforward choices. For the other top three position it was a close call between three excellent places.

Butt House, Keld	Simply fantastic in every respect.
Crookabeck, Patterdale	Awesome facilities.
Town Head Farm, Grasmere	A home-like feel when I needed it most.

Town Head Farm and Helm Crag, Grasmere

Best Breakfast

We’re really getting into trivia now! This was very close again, with maybe 10 out of 15 in contention.

Streonshalh, Robin Hood’s Bay

School House, Reeth

Butt House, Keld

Cold Morning Light Near Osmotherley

Favourite Stop-Over Locations

Keld	Remote and beautiful
Kirkby Stephen	A friendly little town after days in the wilderness.
Osmotherley	Just the right size village on the edge of the moors.

Osmotherley

Cafes, Pubs and Restaurants

Because of the remoteness of the locations we often ate all our meals at the places we stayed. There were times however when we hit the town (?) for dinner. On some stages we were also able to break at a cafe mid-way through the walk. This was a great way of breaking up a long walking day – very civilised. Here is the full list (I didn’t get all the names).

Beach Cafe, St Bees	Basic and friendly cafe with substantial scones.
Scafell Hotel, Rosthwaite	Nice dinner. Odd bar.
Yew Tree Farm (?), Rosthwaite	Great lamb pasty and lamb stew. A lunchtime hideaway from the cold.
Travellers Rest, Grasmere	A Decent pub dinner.
Coffee Shop (?), Shap	Great beans on toast and take-away pasty.
George Hotel, Orton	Decent pub food and a very friendly atmosphere.
Mango Tree, Kirkby Stephen	Excellent Indian food.
Cafe (?), Gunnerside	Excellent lunch.
Overton House, Reeth	Award winning chef and nice people. One of the culinary highlights.
Cafe (?), Marske	Named the “slow cafe” for taking 45 minutes to serve two open sandwiches, cheese on toast and a flapjack. Nice but a bit posh for walkers.
Black Bull, Richmond	Friendly pub, good menu and nice food.
Kiplin Hall	Quaint tea room. Lovely lunch in surreal surroundings.
Arnecliffe Arms, Egton Bridge	A bit expensive for a basic lunch.
Endeavour, Robin Hood’s Bay	Excellent fish and chips.

Cafe at Gunnerside

Best Evening Meal

Overton House, Reeth	I didn’t know fish could taste this good.
Butt House, Keld	I had braised steak – but all the meals were of the finest quality served in a cracking atmosphere.
Crown & Mitre, Bampton Grange	Wins the prize for best coast to coast steak pie.

Most Useful Kit

Switching topics – and more trivia.

My red hat and waterproof woolly gloves	Wore them every day. Finished the walk tatty and smelly – a bit like me.
My “A” boots	I used all three pairs of boots to good effect. Always kept going back to my “A” pair though – supremely comfortable and no blisters.
Soft Shell	I used two, an old washed out Rab and my new blue Paramo. Kept me cool when working hard and warm when I stopped.

Sporting the New Blue Paramo

Least Useful Kit

Stuff I needn’t have packed.

Shorts	Enough said.
Guide books	Not fair really – because they did provide some very useful directional guidance. But the ascents were a mile out.
Cup a Soup	Rob made me buy it in a moment of weakness at the Mace in Brompton on Swale. I was never going to drink it.

Highlights – Stages

The first of two slightly more serious and more personal categories to finish this post.

Least favourite stage	I’m with Wainwright. Stages 11 (to Danby Wiske) and 12 (to Osmotherley) are flat and dull. Stage 1 is also a bit like this but at that stage you’re fresh and have nothing to compare it with, so it seems OK. The good news is the others are all great.
Most enjoyable stage	Stage 10 to Richmond. A lovely walk in great company.
Most exciting stage	Stage 4 to Patterdale. The toughest conditions I’ve ever walked in and won. Scary but exhilarating.
Most satisfying stage	Stage 13 to Blakey Ridge. Biggest distance and greatest ascent. Hardest stage of the lot. We didn’t just manage it – we beat it soundly all day long. My best hill performance for many a year. Not bad for an old man and his wounded son.
Most spectacular stage	Stage 8 to Keld. Winter wonderland.

Flat, Flat, Flat

Gateway to Richmond

Frozen Climb to Grisedale Hause

Grisedale Tarn from Near the Outflow

Highlights –Moments

Hopefully a fitting finale to my ramblings. Hope you’ve enjoyed them.

Lowest moment	Making the decision not to attempt the pass between Grey Knotts and Fleetwith Pike on Stage 2 to Rosthwaite
High point	There were many of these, but the moment we reached Round Hill at the top of the moor on Stage 13 to Blakey Ridge. There were still two and a half days to go, but this was the moment I knew I would make it.
Happiest moment	Again there were very many of these, and my reunion with Carol at Blakey Ridge was very special. If I put this to one side though I would say my happiest moment was at the end of Stage 8 in Keld. I’d reached half-way and was feeling on top of the world, and we had a smashing evening in great surroundings.

Frozen Conditions Near Rosthwaite

At Round Hill - the moment I knew I would do it

Most Emotional Moments

The whole thing was emotional for me – it was a real journey of self discovery. There are a few though that are worth a special mention.

The end of Walking Dave’s stint at Danby Wiske. We both knew it was over too soon.

Saying goodbye to my Mum at Blakey Ridge at the start of Stage 14, my Dad’s birthday.

Seeing Robin Hood’s Bay for the first time, one and a half miles from the finish. This moment hit me more than reaching the beach itself. This was my “I’ve done it” moment.

First Sighting of Robin Hood's Bay

On the Beach at Robin Hood's Bay

Take Your Breath Away Moments

Finishing on a high. It was a journey of awe inspiring sights, but these stand out.

Grisedale Tarn from Grisedale Hause (Stage 4)	The wildest, bleakest and most terrifying scene I have ever witnessed close-up.
The top of Birkdale Common (Stage 8)	Pure white winter wilderness against a pure blue sky.
Keld (Stage 8/9)	Isolated and unusually beautiful. The best of Swaledale (I know this because I’ve walked it all!)