Month: June 2019

Day 59 of the End to End began earlier than usual. We decided on an early start because the weather forecast for the day was for rain arriving from lunchtime onwards. With 8 miles to walk we got going at Carlingill bridge at 8 am, following the route Hannah took 7 years ago.
Near High Cargill farm an intriguing notice said that the site was being excavated as part of the Digging for Britons TV series. The route was, as mentioned yesterday, a Roman Road which we also followed for a large part of today. There was a site of a Roman fort nearby. But this other site was evidence of the Pre-Roman British inhabitants. I look forward to the programme.

At the Salterwath Bridge (the name indicates an old salt route) I took the path by the River Lune through woodland and farmland. I met Bob and we emerged onto the road at Lune Bridge. We had early 11s, at 9.30 am, near Roundthwaite. There were a few spots of rain on the road to Tebay services, along which there were some orchids flowering.

At Tebay services we stopped for the more usual 11s nearer 11 am and enjoyed a lovely Frittata snack. We also stocked up on some interesting items for dinner. The rain so far was short lived, much enjoyed by the multicoloured Tebay ducks. It looked like we’d make the last two miles before the heavy rain set in.
The remaining route consisted of 2 poorly marked bridleways. To get onto the first I had to undo two bits of orange string holding a gate shut. The knots were fiendish and I had to use my teeth. Bob came from the other road towards me across the fields as there was no way of knowing the line of the path. I just made a bee-line for a gate in a wall as straight as I could.

The second bridleway was longer and took me back onto the line of the Roman Road. Bob came with me for a while. We were in sheep country and the views were awesome. At Thunder Stone farm cattle grid we had our earliest finish so far. The rain soon came down and lasted the rest of the day. Needless to say, we stopped for ice cream at the Chocolate shop at Orton (and chocolate of course).

From Psalm 121

I look at the mountains;
where will my help come from?
My help will come from God the Maker,
Who will not let me fall and is always awake.

However many generations have passed this way,
The mountains and hills have always been there.
Our songs may be short but their songs last forever.
The paths may be temporary but God keeps watch.
For tonight I ask God for what I need:
A quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 04.06.2019
Day 59 of the End to End, Carlingill Bridge to Thunder Stone farm.

Day 58 of the End to End would officially be half way day, but it would include many distractions. I began at Killington New Bridge and was soon walking across fields to pick up the Dales Way. Bob met me and we walked to Brigflatt Quaker meeting house, which is very close to our current accommodation.

Brigflatt meeting house dates from 1675. It is the oldest meeting house in the North of England and the third oldest in the country. George Fox preached nearby and the Lake District has other notable early Quaker connections. We layer read that Fox had visited Borrett, in 1652, where we are now staying.
We crossed some more fields and walked into Sedbergh where we had some lunch. This included some ice cream. Bob then went back to Borrett for the car and I walked out of Sedbergh up Howgill Lane. Happily, Lockbank farm that made local ice cream is just along the lane and I was able to stop and sample a couple of flavours while enjoying the view.

The hedges along the lane meant it was quite sheltered. There were still quite a few bluebells out alongside cranesbill and lots of ferns. I passed the end of the lane to Bramaskew, the farm where the early Quakers used to meet before the Brigflatt meeting house was constructed.
Eventually I came to a well placed seat, and Bob drove up and agreed this could be the official half way seat. I have now walked half way to John O’Groats.
But half way is not all the way and so there were a few more miles to put in before the end of the day. Holy Trinity church, Howgill is another of the small places of Worship in the area.

The route was an old Roman Road and well supplied with sheep. We stopped just before Carlingill bridge. We came back via Lockbank Farm and got some ice cream to take with us.

From Psalm 23
The Lord is my Shepherd:
With God’s care I want for nothing.
In green pastures and by still waters,
I am restored.

Christ before me, Christ beside me,
Christ above me, Christ behind me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Giving thanks for the journey so far,
God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 03.06.2019
Day 58 of the End to End from Killington New Bridge to Carlingill bridge via Howgill Lane.

Today was Day 57 of the End to End. Tomorrow, all being well I hope to have covered half the proposed distance. Today is a sort of between day as I moved from the Lancaster canal to the Howgill fells (tomorrow’s route). It was a quiet day and a good one for a bit of reflection.
It began with a couple of pre-walk visits. In the churchyard of the Church of the Holy Ghost, Middleton, I stopped to see a Roman Milestone. It is inscribed with the distance to Carlisle: 53 Roman miles. That’s good because I’m heading that way. The milestone bears witness to people walking in these parts for at least two thousand years. There would have been many before that. So the first thought about walking is it connects us to our forebears, those who have walked before us.

The second was a signpost near the public toilets in Kirkby Lonsdale. It said:

To church via radical steps.
It seems there are 86 ‘radical steps’ in a flight up to the church from the River Lune. The concept of ‘radical steps’ appealed to me.
There are many ways of thinking about radical steps. In some ways 57 days of walking over 500 miles in Britain is a series of radical steps as it’s not a common activity these days. Fewer people walk long distances than in previous generations as it’s no longer as necessary. We may discover it’s good for us but it’s still a minority activity.
Of course there are other ways to think about radical steps including stepping out for change in attitudes and activities, for example in response to climate change and ecological threats. You can probably think of others.
My walk began on a small steep road and continued upwards for over two and a half miles, where a helpful seat was provided. This was more strenuous than the recent days of flat canal walking. The wildflowers had also changed a bit. Surprisingly violets and bluebells were still to be seen on the verges. Overall there were fewer yellow flowering plants and more pink, purple and blue ones.
There were two sections of bridleway on the route. The first, through a farmyard, was short and muddy. The second, longer, across a wind farm was more open country. Bob came with me to check out the routes, as neither was well signed. On the second, we saw a hare and some wild pansies.

At Killington the small church of All Saints was open. The local embroidery in the sanctuary is lovely. We made it back to the end and the car at Killington New Bridge before the rain came down heavily.

From Psalm 100

Admit it: God is God of all!
We were made by and for the Maker, we belong to the Creator
We are God’s people: God’s own flock.

On a quiet day, When the hedgerows and verges are a riot of colour, the air resounds with countless avian singers, and everything around me shouts aloud the Glory of God,
I am enchanted to see the world revealed around me: clouds part and fell tops can be glimpsed, in each valley a whole world rushes along.
On a day of radical steps,

God grant me a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 02.06.2019
Day 57 of the End to End, Longcroft to Killington new bridge.

Day 56 of the End to End was the sixth and final day on the Lancaster canal. Having read ‘The Complete Guide to the Lancaster Canal’ published by the Lancaster Canal Trust I’d learnt a few things. I knew that Tewitfield was the canal terminus for boats. This has been the case since the M6 was built in 1968 and cut off bits of the Northern Reaches. The Lancaster Canal Trust exists to promote the full restoration of these sections, but more about this later.

First, I left Carnforth bridge 128 on another grey morning, overcast with the prediction of rain. I went under the M601 and M6 in quick succession. It was this latter motorway that as going to cause so many problems for the navigation of the Lancaster canal.
It didn’t rain much. There was some light drizzle and it was quite humid. It was the humidity that set up a tropical microclimate in my cagoule, the most uncomfortable aspect of the day’s walk.
At Tewitfield anyone who has made the full distance by boat can claim a free commemorative plaque. Unfortunately there’s no word about how walkers are rewarded. The end of the canal is abrupt and a small dark path under the A6070 leads out onto the path along the Northern Reaches.

There are 8 locks in three quarters of a mile but the gates have been removed and the water flows down freely. However it is a very beautiful section. The water seems clearer, perhaps because there’s no boat traffic and more water plants. There are lots of birds and the whole path is a wonderful natural green ribbon.

There were a couple of M6 detours. The canal stops, enters a culvert, and emerges again on the other side of the motorway but sometimes the path has a slightly longer detour. At one of these Bob took the path that ended in the motorway, the sign post for the detour from that end having got somewhat overgrown. Happily the detour was not to long. We took a break to have a brownie and recover. We left the canal at bridge 163.
It had been a really good walking route and I’d very much enjoyed it over these six days. The path was on the whole wider than the Shroppie and with no locks on the main section it was flatter (if more meandering). It was also very quiet all the way from Preston. There was less boat traffic and few walkers, except local dog walkers. We only saw two other pairs of walkers doing any distance. One pair had come from Kendal and did not recommend the trek over the fields this last section would entail.
We had not intended to go that way as we needed to make our way more north east to Sedbergh to pick up Hannah’s 2012 route via the Howgill fells. But more of that tomorrow. We could see the hills ahead of us as we left the canal.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.
(from Isaac Watts’ version of Psalm 90)

As we wait to hear the hills rejoice
And the valleys sing,
We too praise you, ageless One.
The earth is good and provides generously.
We must change our wastefulness and exploitation,
Listen to the song of the earth and
Live harmoniously with creation.
As we rest may we remember this
And remake our activities with this in mind.

God grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 01.06.2019
Day 56 of the End to End from bridge 128 to bridge 163 on the Lancaster canal.