THE DALES WAY

DAY SIX
Sedburgh to Bowston
(18 miles)

A pre-breakfast saunter down Sedburgh main street to stock up with provisions (Ellie's for made-while-you-wait sarndwiches and scrummy cakes, and the grocer opposite for fruit), then back to the Dalesman for a so-called "small" english and a cheese omellette.   As per the previous evening, the food was fantastic.

After reluctantly packing our rucksacks and paying our bill (that is to say we were relectant to depart, not to pay the bill) we set out at 09:15, leaving "Mr & Mrs Rambling" and a new set of Dales Way'ers, "the gang-of-four", in the dining room.

After the initial downhill back to the Dales Way, we were soon in our rightful place again - following yet another river. (We were also once more getting confused by the guidebook's instructions.   This in spite of the encouraging statement that "the route is everywhere easy to follow". Maybe we should have ignored the guidebook instructions and stuck to following the route ...)

After a bit of dithering we started to make some serious progress, and soon caught up with "the two ladies", who we hadn't seen for a couple of days.   We exchanged pleasantries, then whizzed off leaving them inspecting various fascinating items of flora and fauna.

We reached Lincoln Inn Bridge after about 90 minutes - not bad going considering the major faffing on our part - and once into our stride we had also overtaken "Aussie Bob" in the process.

We had a quick water stop, spotted dipper number 3, then pressed on to arrive in sequence at Lune Viaduct, Crook of Lune Bridge and Lowgill Viaduct.

Then something strange happened ... An apparition ... Up ahead in the distance we thought we caught a glimpse of Mr & Mrs Rambling.   How could that be?   We had left them in The Dalesman, and they definitely hadn't passed us.   Must be mistaken... 

We pressed on across fields and down lanes, then saw them again - this time sat on a stile having lunch.   As we approached, Mrs R demanded money for using said stile, but was most disconsolate when offered payment-in-kind !

When complimented on their stunning athletic prowess, The Ramblings came clean and fessed up to taking all manner of shortcuts.   (Who would have thought ... Rambling Pete using baggage transfer and taking shortcuts ... is nothing sacred ??)   It transpired that Mrs R had been suffering some back pain and understandably didn't feel up to a long day's walking.

Once again we said our fond farewells and headed off down the trail, leaving Mr & Mrs Pete to their (pre-packed) sandwiches.

But would you believe it ?   Before you could say "Paul Daniels" we came upon the "gang-of-four" - also stopped for lunch and looking like they had been doing so for some time.   It seems "The Ramblings" were not the only ones taking shortcuts.   Still, each to their own ... 

The Way in the vicinity of the M6 crossing was noisy and unremarkable save for some murky views of the Howgills and the horrendous eyesore of a farm-cum tyre dump on the far side of the carriageway.    After about a mile beyond the motorway we took our own lunch-stop at a lovely spot immediately beyond the lovely rhodedendron wood at Moresdale Hall.    We didn't take too long, but by the time we had finished, all of the other parties had passed by - "the gang-of-four", Mr & Mrs Rambling, "the two ladies" and "Aussie Bob".   For the rest of the day the various groups played the walking version leap-frog, everyone overtaking when one group stopped for water.

The afternoon started, as usual, with an apres-lunch dither - this time an Estate Agent sign partially obscured the Dales Way waymark, meaning we missed an otherwise obvious turn.   Fortunately we quickly realised something was wrong and were soon back on track.

Afternoon water-stop was taken at Black Moss Tarn, a lovely oasis seemingly in the middle of nowhere.   In fact it was such a pleasant spot that all the Dales Wayers decided to stop, and once again we found ourselves bunched together.   We walked for a while with Mr & Mrs Rambling Pete, down a long tarmac track that eventually memrged the A6.   Shortly afterwards we parted company for the last time at a quaint self-service tea shed at Burton House Farm.   They were staying in Kendal overnight, some distance off-route, and we still had several miles to walk to reach Bowston, so this time it really was a final farewell.   Shortly afterwards we caught up with "the gang-of-four" having a dither of their own.   They seemed to be contemplating walking along the road into Burneside rather than taking the (longer - but more scenic) official route, but soon fell in behind when we marched purposefully past.

We finally reached Burneside at about 16:50, and a footpath around the perimeter of a paper factory found us high above the River Kent at a large weir separating river from an old mill stream.   We were nearing the end of the day's walking now, and a quick phone call to Mrs Evans, landlady at Hillcrest B&B, established an ETA of about half-past five.

Despite the long day we were both feeling remarkably (or is that 'comparatively' ?) fresh.   This was due in no small measure to the change in weather.   It was much cooler, and as a consequence much more comfortable than the baking heat earlier in the week.   A short walk along the river (no dippers, but we did see a heron), across the solid stone Bowston Bridge, up through the village, and a gentle uphill climb (yet again !) and we arrived at Hillcrest, almost to the second, at half-past five.   Mrs Evans had obviously seen us making our way up the lane and met us on the drive.

Hillcrest was a perfect walker's B&B.   We had a very comfortable room and a wonderful after-walk soak in a hot bath.    After being given time to un-pack and relax a little we were seated in the conservatory for an excellent home cooked meal complete with botttle of wine.   Wonderful ...