Shap to Orton Day 6

Although Shap does have some history (e.g. Shap Abbey a mile out of town) these days it is just a convenient staging post on the Coast to Coast walk. It is not a very interesting town and, though once a stop on the A6 (hence the long main street), it has now been bypassed by the M6.

Somewhat refreshed we met Nick outside the King's Arms and began an easier day's walk to Orton, about 13 km of gentle farmland, soft underfoot and no steep hills.

Yesterday my knees were screaming at me. Today they fell into a sullen silence but at least continued to obey orders. I explained to them it was all for the corporate good, but perhaps when you're a knee that's a difficult concept to grasp.

We crossed the main railway line and the noisy M6, only brief intrusions into what has become a quiet, reflective and (we hope) a low carbon-emitting way of life over the last week. Soon we were back on close terms with the sheep and the cows and the endless miles of dry stone walls. We also encountered the unusual limestone terraces and found traces of coral where the rock had once been under the sea. Old lime kilns are a common sight around here.

Limestone Terrace between Shap and Orton

Old lime kiln near Orton

We arrived early at our destination, Scar Side Farm, just outside Orton. Although most people skip Orton and trudge on to Kirkby Stephen (over 20 miles in a day) the plan to break our journey at Orton proved a wise one. It allowed us to spend some casual time with Nick before he headed back to London. The folk at Scar Side (Dave and Elaine) were particularly welcoming, the environment there is quiet, spacious and comfortable, and we had a chance to look around the tiny village (including its ancient church and its modern and surprisingly classy chocolate factory).

Walking to Orton

It also gave us a chance to chat to a remarkable chap named Rob Willan. Rob turned up for work to build a dry stone wall for our hosts at Scar Side shortly after we arrived. Rob only accepts work on weekends as he is a weekday Dad but he has a passion for dry stone walling and a wealth of knowledge about it. He runs classes on this ancient craft. He works with well known sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy and is a well read amateur archaeologist and historian for this region of East Cumbria.

Now dry stone walling may seem like a dull subject but it has some fascinating history and requires no mean skill. After a short chat with Rob we were filled with admiration for the labourers who built those thousands of miles of walls that are seen all over the countryside. I won't steal Rob's thunder on the technique involved, save to say that a competent waller can build about 3 yards a day. So you can do your own calculations as to how much labour went into building just one 800 yard stretch of wall that we could see on the hill opposite us as we talked.

What was even more interesting was how the walls came to be built. Until the late 18th or early 19th century these higher tracts of land were common to all, so the villagers could run their sheep and cattle there together. However an Act of parliament allowed the local lords to assume control of the commons and rent it out to the wealthier farmers. So the people who built these walls were effectively sealing their own futures as labourers instead of peasants. It happened about the same time as the better known "highland clearances" in Scotland and of course changed the nature of rural Britain forever. In fact many of these labourers were eventually forced to emigrate to the colonies or drift to the cities where they became the workforce for the industrial revolution that was well under way.

Enough on history for now but it shows if you scratch the surface of the Coast to Coast walk there are fascinating slices of culture and history waiting to be explored. Many simply walk on and miss them.

For those planning a Coast to Coast walk you could do worse than build in a day tour with Rob Willan and a stay at Scar Side. Check out his website ... see the link above.

Sadly the pub was shut this Sunday afternoon so we couldn't share a farewell pint with Nick. By the time it opened (6pm) Nick was on his way back to Penrith and then distant London. It was great to be able to share just a small slice of this Coast to Coast experience with him.

We ate fish pie at Scar Side and thought about tomorrow's trek to Kirkby Stephen.