I woke having slept less well than I could have hoped for. In the middle of the night a family arrived at the tent pitched next to me and proceeded to argue loudly about a number of insignificant things (who forgot the airbed?) until way past 02:00. There seemed to be three children and two parents and between them they actually managed to keep me awake, which really is saying something!
Today was due to be an easy day. Twelve and a quarter miles to the supposedly alcohol free village of Keld. After a good lie in I left at 12:00 and started by walking into Kirkby Stephen itself. I bought my provisions from a Spar shop. Amongst the items I needed was some sugar (that essential ingredient for pick-me-up tea!). This bag of sugar caused all manner of problems at the till as every time the lady put it through it registered a value of one hundred pounds. After much amusement I was eventually able to leave the shop having paid a substantially more reasonable price!
Most other walkers at the camp site the previous evening had deemed it too wet to take the high route which passes the Nine Standards Rigg and had chosen to walk by road instead. I was, however, keen to see the Rigg and so I set off out of Kirkby Stephen along Wainwright's advised course. After trudging uphill someway I spied a quarry to my left. Despairingly I looked at my map and realised I had made a navigational error. The result was that I had to trudge a long way back down before beginning a new ascent, this time in the right direction!
As I came up onto Hartly Fell I was hit by an uncompromising need to empty my bowels. My map indicated no civilisation for miles around so, once more, I had to go 'au naturale'. All the way leading up to and beyond the Nine Standards Rigg was the most boggy ground I have ever come across. It made for tiring walking that required the utmost concentration as I navigated my way through it. I was acutely aware that, being here alone, I did not want to find myself sinking waist deep into the slimy ground. I got a small fright when some seemingly solid soil gave way beneath me and my right leg was submerged knee deep in freezing cold semi-liquid peat. But I heaved myself out and continued safely, albeit with a squelching right foot! Only a few hours of this left me feeling that if I ever saw a bog again I would scream!
Coming down, I again veered off track and found myself treading over difficult grassy terrain. At one point my right foot was again submerged in water as I trod in a hidden stream. But with the help of my GPS and a little bit of luck I made it to Whitsun Dale where I stopped by the river and ate my sandwich. It was a lovely spot for lunch! Then I continued on to Keld where I arrived at about 19:00.
I spoke to a Father and Daughter (Brian and Karen) at the camp site in Keld. They were also doing the Coast to Coast, camping every night but taking advantage of the baggage bus service to get their gear from place to place. They already knew me as the 'late starter', having noticed that my tent was always the last to come down! The next day was due to be a long stretch and they offered to give me a wakeup call at 8:00 which I gratefully accepted. The camp site was located down by a river and there were midges everywhere so I locked myself inside my tent as quickly as possible. With the sound of the river flowing below and the sting of midge bites I was reminded of childhood camping holidays in Wales! I ate a couple of tins of sausages and beans for dinner and then rested.