LEJOG blog

Day 62 of the End to End is the final day’s walk in section 2 of LEJOG. It began at Eamont Bridge and I walked into Penrith. There was a very short footpath to the roundabout on the A6/A66. It was only a few yards and had a lot of nettles, some majestic foxgloves and a rather tricky stile.

Penrith provided some first class distractions: a Greggs for some early 11s and some interesting historical items in the churchyard. A stone cross and hog back tomb stone were both pre-Conquest in date. There was also a plague stone beside the A6: a place where money would be disinfected by vinegar when in medieval times there was a risk of plague.

The road out of Penrith was the longest hill of the day. I’m pretty sure it was mile 603 that had been sponsored by my friend Renee. The only distraction I could find here was a well worn fungus. There were some distant views of Blencathra and for most of the day we walked quite near to the M6.

I met Bob at Kitchen Hill bridge where we also noted the Kitchen Hill Monolith by a large tree near the West Coast Main Line.
We diverted to a garden centre for some cake, mindful that the rain was due and we’d still more than a mile to go.
However, we made it to the car at Brackenburgh just before the rain started. We drove back to junction 40 for a bit of shopping and then for our last evening at the Borrett barn, by Sedbergh.

From Psalm 4

When I lie down, I go to sleep in peace;
You alone, God, keep me safe.

The hill out of Penrith today seemed the longest one yet.
I look forward to a few days rest
Before we get to the next section of hills!

God grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 07.06.2019
Day 62 of the End to End, Eamont Bridge to Brackenburgh.

Day 61 of the End to End saw a significant improvement in the weather. I started walking at Little Strickland towards Great Strickland: the latter is a bit bigger than the former. Along the verge on the way into the village one resident had nurtured a lovely patch of wild flowers.

Beyond the village Bob and I set off on the first bridleway. Too confident for my own good, I sent him back as the track looked clear and easy to negotiate. A large puddle and a gate were just the first step to confusion. The track ended at the edge of a hay field. Poorly signed paths are not helpful to walker or land owner. The walker is left uncertain about the route and the landowner risks people walking where they otherwise would not.
I used my common sense, chose the edge of the field and eventually did reach a gate which had another sign on it. I went through it into the woodland but once again had to use common sense as the path was littered with broken tree trunks and branches and often difficult to negotiate. I kept the river on my left and tried to keep to the route that looked to have been used most.

I emerged into another meadow, crossed a footbridge and arrived in the small hamlet of Melkinthorpe. I decided to have a rest and happily found ice cream for sale at the beautiful Larch Cottage Nursery. The garden is colourful and has many attractive sheltered areas.

I met Bob on the next section of road and we had a picnic before taking the second off road section from Clifton Dykes to Brougham. Some of the path was alongside fields and some through woodland strips.

At Brougham we made a short visit to Brougham Hall, currently under restoration, where ice cream was also available.
From there we were on the approach to Eamont Bridge with plenty of time in hand. So we included some visits to the two nearby henges: Mayburgh henge and King Arthur’s Table, both Neolithic monuments.
From Eamont Bridge we decided to visit a few other places whilst the weather was good. At the Alpaca Centre the Alpacas and a donkey were very photogenic.
We drove to Haweswater Reservoir where many bluebells were still flowering by the waterside. It’s a lovely place and one we’d hope to revisit another time.

We completed the day with a celebration of 600 miles walked with fish and chips at the award winning Shap Chippy. Delicious!

And God planted a garden in Eden.
There was flowing water,
Trees and flowering plants;
And there were human beings in the garden.

It is wonderful to walk in Eden,
To enjoy the water, trees and flowering plants.
To wonder at the handiwork of the Maker,
As responsible stewards of the environment.

Tonight, on the 75th Anniversary of D-day,
I pray for a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 06.06.2019
On Day 61 of the End to End, from Little Strickland to Eamont Bridge.

Day 60 of the End to End, which is half way through the proposed number of walking days, was as good a day as any for just walking. One of the things about getting to day 60 is the 59 days of just walking that I’ve done before today.

Although yesterday was forecast as wet weather, today had plenty of grey clouds and showers. The term Thunder Stone from the start of today’s walk refers to a very large stone, perhaps an erratic or maybe placed by neolithic forbears. We saw several both at the start and end of today’s walk. This part of Cumbria has many cairns, tumuli and stone circles although some require a fair dose of imagination to see them as circles at all.
On the first part of the walk the wind was quite gusty and showers rattled at my back. There were sporadic pieces of eroded limestone along the route (some of this part of the route coincided with the C2C). There are also shake holes marked on the map which are a result of limestone erosion.

Bob came back with the car and we had lunch by a quarry. I then had a short snooze in the car before carrying on for the last 4 miles of today’s walk to Little Strickland down what was essentially a fairly straight road. We finished at the small church of St Mary in the village.
After the walk we drove to Shap to see the small Keld Chapel. It dates from the 16th century and is now looked after by the National Trust. The large key hangs on the door of the house opposite and opens a wooden door to a simple building which still has no electricity.

On the way back from the chapel we stopped to see the Goggleby Stone, a large single stone in a nearby field, said to be part of the Shap Avenue Neolithic site.

We went onto Kendal to have a meal and long conversation with Ruth, an old friend. It was a good way to finish a day of just walking.

From Ruth 1

Wherever you go I will go.
Your people will be my people.
Your God will be my God.

Walking together, walking separately,
Walking each day, walking north.
Talking and eating together,
Sharing conversation and memories.
All in one day.

Tonight, God grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 05.06.2019
Day 60 of the End to End from Thunder Stone farm to Little Strickland.

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.

Day 55 of the End to End was my fifth day on the Lancaster canal and I was heading to Carnforth. Again the day started overcast and there was occasional light rain as I began at bridge 111. However, the path was easy which was just as well as I wasn’t feeling 100%.
Near Belmount House I was looking over a hedge for evidence of St Patrick’s Well. Tradition has it that Patrick was shipwrecked off of the Lancashire coast near Heysham. There’s a chapel and well dedicated to him there. As Patrick was on his way north to Cumbria, or perhaps even Birdoswald on Hadrian’s Wall, he stopped to drink at what became known as St Patrick’s well. It was on private land so I was unable to check it out but I did see a fox.

As the canal came into Hest Bank I saw the sea for the first time, somewhat grey and cold looking. Bob met me and we stopped for soup at the Royal Hotel in Bolton le Sands as it was a soup sort of day.
Feeling like a short afternoon would be best, and with spare miles in the bank anyway, I decided to stop at bridge 128 in Carnforth.

We popped into Carnforth for a brief visit to the station and heritage centre, and to sample the toasted tea cakes.

From Psalm 139

You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know everything I do.
Even before I speak, you already know what I will say.
You are all around me and your power protects me.

All Knowing One,
Your knowledge of me is humbling.
I am grateful for your protection
And the power that flows through me.
Today your care has kept me in step.
Now it is time to rest:

God grant me a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 31.05.2019
Day 55 of the End to End from bridge 111 to bridge 128 on the Lancaster canal

Day 54 of the End to End was my fourth day on the Lancaster canal. It was also Ascension Day which meant everything was up in the air. It was a grey morning. Not a total wipe out but grey enough to obscure any long views of the hills. I was in the green canal corridor, a quiet and calm route winding its way under bridges up to Lancaster.

Once again the early start was designed to avoid the rain forecast for later in the afternoon and again it was mostly successful. Some light rain fell as I approached St Peter’s Catholic Cathedral which provided a welcome refuge. A large Victorian Gothic building it became the centre of the diocese in 1924.
The words from today’s Bible reading from the beginning of the book of Acts open there for me to read and that lodged in my brain were
‘Has the time come?’
It’s a question asked in different places by different people in diverse circumstances everyday.
I discovered that Lawrence Binyon was born in Lancaster in 1869. He had as an Anglican, most well known for his poem ‘To the fallen‘. It includes the stanza commonly used as the salutation at Remembrance:

They grow not old as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them nor the tears condemn,
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
With Ascension, Jesus moves in to ageless remembrance, no longer limited by time and place. The question ‘Has the time come‘ is one Jesus now transcends, coming to us in any time and place.
It means all our usual human understanding is up in the air.

So too was the Lancaster canal as it passed over the Lune Aqueduct. This grade 1 listed structure is over 200 years old and had a face lift a few years ago. It’s a most impressive achievement. We completed today’s walk at Hammerton Hall Bridge, number 111. On this canal it is amazing to realise that the main part of the 41 miles follows the same contour, making it unnecessary to build locks.
Not so impressive were the Roman baths we stopped to see by the river Lune later. One of the less memorable things the Romans did for us in Lancashire.

From Acts 1

Is it time yet?

Timeless God, we who are obsessed with time need your calm reassurance.
Help us to wait expectantly,
Neither anxious or too laid back.
Your promises are reliable
And you will not restrict the potential of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Tonight, grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 30.05.2019
Day 54 of the End to End, bridge 88 to bridge 111 via the Lune Aqueduct.

Day 53 of the End to End was a pleasant walk along the Lancaster canal from Garstang to Gallgate. We started early in an attempt to miss the rain that was promised by mid afternoon. The planning paid off and we didn’t get wet.

It was also very quiet with little boat traffic and few other walkers. There was a very persistent Heron who kept a few steps ahead of me round several bends in the path. The Lancaster canal is beautiful at this time of year. There are picnic tables and benches for snack stops.

The Glasson branch takes the Canal out to the dock at Glasson and is the only part of the canal to have locks.

It was quite early when we reached bridge 88, so there was plenty of time for a small side visit. We went to Knott End on Sea in the rain and enjoyed a late lunch at the cafe, which is just by the slipway to the ferry to Fleetwood.

From Psalm 107

Those that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
They see God’s works and wonders in the deep.

The tide rises and falls,
Commercial activity waxes and wanes,
The seasons flow one into another,
These rhythms are essential to our lives.
There is so much beyond these basics:
Further reaches of the planet,
The continuing expansion of the cosmos.
Praise the Maker for all that is created,
Who’s love is broad and who’s embrace keeps us secure.

God grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 29.05.2019
Day 53 of the End to End, from bridge 62 to bridge 88 on the Lancaster canal.