Keld to Reeth Day 9

A night of rest, some magic liniment and some ibuprofen can do wonders for weary muscles and sore joints. At some stage or other we have all had our ailments: feet, knees, muscles, shoulders, blisters ... even sunburn.

Refreshed, bandaged and reinvigorated we all opted for the low route from Keld to Reeth. The high route takes in some old lead mines but is more exposed to the weather and involves more climbing. The scenic low route is a 20 km ramble that follows the Swale from near its source. It is hard to do it justice in words because nothing of any great significance happened, but it was uplifting, as every day so far has been.

Why is it uplifting? It's hard to say. We get into a steady cadence, occasionally talking to each other or to other walkers we might meet, taking a few photos, humming a song, making mental notes, but often just reflecting and taking in the Arcadian serenity of the place and its mostly ovine and bovine inhabitants. I suppose it's an ambulatory form of meditation.

We arrived at the hospitable Arkleside B&B in Reeth in good shape and reasonable time. The knee wasn't too bad and I was grateful for the relatively flat terrain for much of the day.

Our routine has been to shower on arrival (necessary in the interests of others in the dining room or bar!) then catch up on diary, journal, blog, sleep or domestic duties according to priorities and available time. By seven we are at dinner - usually a pub meal, but occasionally in the B&B dining room. On this occasion we ate at the friendly Buck Inn. By 9 or 10 we are usually in bed.

Breakfast is usually about 8am except on easier days when we might sneak a few extra minutes sleep. The catering for breakfast is quite generous as there is always muesli, usually with fruit and yoghurt to start with. At home this would be all we eat but Geordie and I have also been going the "full English" ostensibly to provide fuel for the day and enabling us to simply snack for lunch. However there are only so many full English breakfasts a man can eat in three weeks and I have now decided to have them only for the really big walking days. Irene and Gen have been much more circumspect and have managed very well on scrambled or poached eggs, or the occasional bowl of porridge.

Reeth, where "All Creatures Great and Small" was based

So with full (English) bellies and after stopping for some photos at the Overton House Cafe we departed Reeth for Richmond, the biggest town on our walk and the place for a welcome rest day.

This one's for you Bron!