Coast to Coast Day 5 - Shap to Kirkby Stephen

Another long day ahead and a decidedly murky outlook back towards the hills hiding Patterdale from the previous day. A good stay and an excellent breakfast at The Greyhound set us up well. Being at the south end of the town we were slightly off route but a convenient footpath cut across the fields to the footbridge over the M6 and back on course. Sadly the footpath was knee high in wet grass and the decision to we're lightweight boots was proved to be a bad one - wet feet before the end of the first mile! We had met up with Mike and Janet and walked with them all day. By the end father first moorland section we also teamed up with Ian, a Policeman from Kent who deals with safeguarding issues (including pressure ulcers at times) and who is also a GSL - we had plenty to talk about! Navigation was a little interesting as the mist was very heavy but thankfully the landmarks were good. We skirted Orton and Raisbeck and once we had crossed Ravenstonedale Moor we decided to go off-piste and followed the old railway line. This soon crosses the Smaledalegill viaduct which was at threat of demolition in the 1980s. British Rail declared it unsafe and applied to demolish it but local uproar ensued. Funds were raised for its refurbishment and it is a stunning Victorian piece of engineering that makes crossing the valley much easier! The first section of railway line is very well maintained and is well known as a location for rare flowers and butterflys. It gradually deteriorates into a muddy track before ending in a dead end at a nature reserve just short of the town. This wasn't the plan! Luckily a short backtrack and a bit of road work saw us in Kirkby Stephen around 5.00pm. A long day seeing as we set off at 8.30am! The guest house is great - highly recommend The Jolly Farmers - and Dawn was very impressed and relieved to find a bath in the room! We wandered into town and although fully booked we were invited to join Will and Peter - fellow coast to coasters who we had met previously - and share a table at The Old Forge - fantastic food and great value. Will is a property developer in Harrogate and Peter - Wills Uncle - spends his time between Austraiia and the UK. They are motoring along, accompanied by faithful dog Bramble, and are planning to get to Reeth tomorrow. That's another 23 miles! We'll be happy with a shorter day to Keld tomorrow. A relatively easy 12.75 miles depending on whether we go to see the nine standards on Nine Standards Rig. The forecast tomorrow is light rain in the morning and heavy rain in the afternoon - what joy! I hope we do get a better visibility day tomorrow as the nine standards look well worth the visit. We bumped into the Californinan couple earlier who met a someone who had just finished the walk. Last week the water was thigh deep in places apparently so we'll have to see! Off to bed now as we are hoping to get an early start and get to Keld before the worst of the weather comes in. I wonder if we'll see the sun at all this trip?