Coast 2 Coast Day 7 - Keld to Reeth

Keld Lodge is a lovely place! Breakfast was a buffet affair so you could eat as much or as little as you wanted which was a bit of a relief having had enormous full cooked breakfasts thrust in front of you every morning. (everyone seems to fill your plate no matter what you order; my scrambled eggs portion must have been about six eggs the other day!).
There are two route options from Keld. Both pass through the tiny village itself which is lovely, if small. The high route goes over the fells and you get to see some of the architecture from the old lead mining industry. We chose the the lower alternative through the Swaledale valley which is really pretty. We got caught in a huge rain shower at one point. We were drowned before we managed to get waterproof trouser on it came along so quickly. We diverted off to Muker via a flagstoned path and had a cup of tea and lemon drizzle cake (served with lemon cheese) at the tea shop and steamed slightly while we dried out. The path we planned to take seems to have been blocked off (did say hello to a nice old lady trying to find it though!) so we followed the road a short way before rejoining the footpath a bit further downstream. Here the path drifts away from the river and passes through some meadows with lots of spring flowers.
At Low Row just after Isle Bridge the. river has been artificially diverted via a large embankment. The first section of path follows a brick wall which you literally walk along the top of. You are quite easily 8' high at one point with the river close on one side and the meadow below you on the other. If this was a Hertford Night Hike route Uggi would have kittens! (Actually, he would probably order 2km of orange barrier fencing!).
The path follows the river quite closely and at one point the volume of rain demonstrated its power as the embankment had been washed away. This was diverted by two huge step ladders and a walk into the field!
We had a lunch stop in Healaugh and then it was only 2.5 km down into Reeth. In all we walked around 20km today and as it wasn't quite so hilly we averaged around 5km an hour. Amazing what a bit of weather does to push you on!
Reeth is a lovely village with several pubs to choose from for a meal. We enjoyed an ice cream whilst sitting on the green enjoying both sun and them rain in the time it took to eat them!
The outdoor shop had to be visited a s it has a brilliant map room with the coast to coast route on the walls and Perspex over them. Walkers are invited to write comments over the map relating to their experiences - what a brilliant idea! Funnily enough the Haweswater reservoir section was not positive - "a long slog" sums it up pretty well!
We arrived at the B&B to tea and cake and a double ended bath! We seem to have suffered two power cuts since arriving but it all adds to the fun!
Must be about time to go and see which one of the pubs seems the best. Perhaps we'll sample a pint in each. We'll let you know how we get on.
For the record, legs are a bit achy for the pair of us and the feet are holding up well despite the wet conditions. No blisters for me and Dawn has only had a couple of wear points on her toes which have been fended off early.
Looking forward to Richmond tomorrow and a day off on Sunday. That will be 8 days of walking in every condition other than sleet or snow!
More soon,
Matt & Dawn x