Coast to Coast UK - A second day of rest

It was a designated rest day for us in Kirkby Stephen (pronounced Kirby Stephen – so why is that second ‘k’ there?). We had a leisurely breakfast in the B&B with our fellow travellers, who were moving on to Keld today. They are completing the crossing in 14 days. We also enjoyed an interesting chat with our lovely host Elaine.

Eventually extricating ourselves, the first mission of the day was to locate the laundrette and deal with the accumulated washing. We eventually found it, a dingy little place, hidden down a laneway, but the cheerful owner was genuinely helpful, giving us a crash course in the machines and plenty of advice.

While everything washed, we set off for the Coop to source some lunch ingredients for tomorrow, as the B&B is the first place we have stayed that doesn’t supply packed lunches. With this item ticked off the list, we returned to the laundrette, dealt with the drying, and walked the half mile back to the B&B.

The next item on the agenda, was to navigate our way to the railway station, some mile and a half out of town, but with a good walking track to keep us off the busy A road. The traffic streaming into town was very obviously made up of the Travellers enroute to the Appleby Horse Fair. Apparently, this is an annual event attracting some 10,000 Gypsies and Travellers, as well as more than 30,000 other visitors. It was confronting, walking around the town this morning to find signs erected saying ‘no tethering here’, and temporary barriers placed on car park entrances, ensuring caravans can’t pass through. Crime and anti-social behaviour have reportedly increased in past years as a result of Travellers using Kirkby Stephen as a stopping place. Some businesses are closing  already, rather than deal with the influx. I’m in no position to judge, however I wonder how these people feel coming into a town that so obviously doesn’t want them there. Surely they feel like second class citizens.

We found the railway station in plenty of time for the 11:54 train to Leeds, but we weren’t going all the way through; we were getting off at Ribblehead Station. After the success of yesterday’s deviation to the Smardale Gill Viaduct, Wallsy had come up with the idea of paying a visit to the famous Ribblehead Viaduct, a massive 24-span viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle line. Not only would we see this incredible structure, we would also pass over it on the train.

We arrived at Ribblehead at 12:30, having passed through the highest operational main line station in England at Dent, on our way. The scenery from the train was breathtaking. On arrival, we had a coffee and ‘scallywag’ (a scone-like cake based on the ‘fat rascals’ that the franchise, Betty’s Cafe Tea Rooms is known for), from the refreshment rooms at the station, and then walked down to the impressive  viaduct. Again, we were awed by this incredible feat of Victorian engineering and the beauty of the structure.

We caught the 2:30 train back to Kirkby Stephen, walked the mile and a half back to the B&B and had the ‘rest’ part of the day, both having a snooze before we headed back to our ‘local’ The Black Bull, at Nateby for dinner; another mile each way.

For a rest day, there was still a fair bit of walking involved, approximately 6 miles all up, for the day, but I guess it saved us from seizing up and kept us limber ready for another long day of walking to Keld tomorrow.

The unassuming Kirkby Stephen laundrette

The Travellers and Gypsies are in town

A traditional gypsy wagon on the outskirts of 

Kirkby Stephen

The expanse of the Ribblehead Viaduct

A massive structure, 32m high and 400m long 

dating back to 1875