Janet called me out of hiking retirement before we were actually married. She arranged for us to go on a Sierra Club organized hike in North England, from St. Bee’s Head on the Irish Sea, to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. This was not a backpacking trip, but a series of day hikes with day packs. Our luggage was carried each day to our place of lodging for that night by our “sag wagon.” We went in late June 2008, married only a half year at that time.  The tour also included a driving tour to Hadrian’s wall, just to the North and a day following the hike in York. It rained 12 of the 14 days and this was late June, the best weather of the year. The persistent rain ran down into our boots, soaking them! The B&Bs (Bed & Breakfasts) always had small radiators, set to barely warm. We stuffed our boots with wadded newspapers, placed the boots on top of the radiators for the night, and they were perfectly dry by the next morning!

The B&Bs always had a full English breakfast of bacon, fried egg, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, hash brown, and grilled tomatoes.

We flew to Manchester, England, met our tour and drove to Hadrian’s Wall and looked at the ruins of the 2,000-year-old constructions. The Romans did not build the wall because they wanted to keep the Picts out; they just wanted to collect taxes from them!

The next day (Day 1, hiking), we hiked nine miles from St. Bees to Cleator. We dipped our boots into the Irish Sea below 400-foot-high cliffs. We ate lunch at the small village of Sandwith and walked through the countryside to Cleator. We rode the “sag wagon” to our B&B in Ennerdale Bridge.

Day 2: We hiked 12 miles from Ennerdale Bridge to Honister. We walked along the shore of Ennerdale Water, the westernmost lake in the Lake District, to Ennerdale Forest. We ate lunch at Black Sail Youth Hostel, and then climbed 1,000 feet over Honister Pass and on to Honister Quarry, one of the oldest slate mines still operating. We rode from there to our B&B in Keswick.

Day 3: We walked the valley of Stonethwaite to Greenup Edge to Grasmere in the Far Easedale valley, a total of eight miles. Along the way, we climbed up to the summit rocks of Helm Crag. Our B&B was in Grasmere.

Day 4: We hiked nine miles, climbing up to Grisedale Pass, to Grisedale Tarn to Patterdale, where we spent two nights at our B&B.

Day 5: A layover day in Patterdale. We rode the “steamer” on the lake and drove about 12 miles to Windermere on Lake Windermere, where we did a walking tour.

Day 6: We hiked 10 miles from Patterdale to Helton. We started along Ullswater, then to an old stone circle called the “Hag Stones” (thus leaving the Lake District) and on to Helton, where we got in our “sag wagon” and rode to Shap for our night in another B&B.

Day 7: We took our “sag wagon” to Orton Scar, then began a 13-mile hike. We hiked past the sites of several prehistoric villages in the valley of Smardale, the lime kilns on Smardale Fell, and on to the old market town of Kirkby Stephen for a two-night stay at our B&B.

Day 8: The hike was planned for a nine-mile round trip to a rock monument. The weather was 45 ºF with hard rain and an 80-mph wind! Janet and I walked about two miles up a steep grade and decided we had seen enough, so we turned around to our B&B to dry out!

Day 9: We rode our “sag wagon” to Keld, then hiked nine miles along the River Swale in the valley floor (Swale Dale) by way of Muker, past ruins of a lead mining village, and on to Gunnerside. Our “sag wagon” was there, but our local hiking guide said he was going to the next town of Low Row, about 1 ½ miles farther. He invited anyone who wanted to go, and six of us said yes. He hiked fast and took us through a 100-foot patch of horse nettles, and we were all wearing hiking shorts! We rode to our B&B in Richmond, where we were on our own for dinner both evenings. The first evening, we found a fish and chips place that seemed very popular. We ordered ours, and it was swimming in grease! That seemed to be what the locals liked.  

Day 10: Richmond is a large, historic town founded by the Normans in 1071. We took the optional walking tour in the morning. The rest of the day we explored the gardens, Richmond Castle, and walked along the River Swale to Easeby Abbey. The second evening, after the walking tours around Richmond, we found an Indian restaurant and went in. I ordered lamb Vindaloo. It is supposed to be spicy, but several times previously in other restaurants, it was so-so on spiciness, so I said make it the way it is supposed to be. It turned out to be hot! The sauce appeared to be pure moistened cayenne powder. It tasted good, but at every bite, my brain said, “Are you sure?” I ate it with whatever sauce was on the meat, but I did not eat any extra sauce.

Day 11: From Huthwaite to Lion Inn at Blakey is a 16-mile hike through the moors of England observing the Wainstones on Hasty Bank, Clay Bank Top, Urra Moor ending at the Lion Inn, which dates back to 1553. At first, there were some gentle hill climbs of 500 feet or so and then the trail followed an old railroad bed. The landscape is largely devoid of trees because of the boggy nature of the land. On a sunny day, this could have been a pleasant although extensive walk through the moors. However, the weather that day was rainy and quite windy. Janet had her walking poles blown around by the wind! The old Lion Inn was a welcome sight – refreshments and our “sag wagon!” Our B&B was in nearby Danby for the next two nights. Janet was quite chilled and ill by the hike and benefited from a warm bath. 

Day 12: We drove by Whitby to Hawkser, where we walked along the cliffs above the North Sea. Janet elected not to do this final hike as she was still recovering. After four miles, we arrived at the picturesque smuggler’s village of Robin Hood’s Bay, did a walking tour of the village, and dipped our feet in the North Sea. After lunch, we visited Whitby Abbey, founded in 657, and the town of Whitby. We returned to our B&B in Danby.

The entire trip totaled 102 walking miles.

The next day, after the nearly 2-week hike, we drove to the town of York, considered to be one of the “new towns” as it was not built until 1104! We did a walking tour and then drove to Manchester for our trip back to the States on the day following.  When we arrived, we were informed that our return would be delayed by two days! Our aircraft had to be taken out of order, and the replacement airplane would not be there until two days later. The airline paid for our extra hotel and included £50 for meals.

We had a whole extra day, so we rode the train all the way to Holyhead, at the Northwestern tip of Wales. We passed towns with names like Llandudno and Conwy. We walked out to the dock for the ferry to Dublin and back. We made the return journey stopping in Chester for a walking tour on our own. We returned to our hotel and made our trip back home the next day.