Today turned out to be the most arduous and depressing day of the entire walk. It marked a real low point.
Karen and Brian shouted me awake at about 8:00 and I dozed a little before warming myself up with a cup of tea and some Musli. It was raining quite heavily and showed no sign of stopping. To keep everything as dry as possible I carefully packed everything away inside the tent. Then I unhooked the inner tent and packed that away too. I put on my waterproofs and put the waterproof cover onto my backpack. I removed the tent poles and packed them as well (just my hunchback form now holding the outer tent up). Then the moment I had put off as long as I could: I stepped out into the rain and proceeded to roll up the outer tent and pack away all the pegs. I was surprised at how dry this approach kept everything!
It was due to be a long day. I was aiming to do two sections of the walk (as described by Wainwright) in one day which meant an eleven and a quarter mile hike to Reeth followed by a further ten and a half miles to Richmond.
I set off up and out of Reeth at about 10:30. I was soon wet through (whether from rain or sweat I don't know). I got lost at one point and used the GPS (thank heaven for it!) to drag me back on course. I tripped and landed on my back-side, everything was so slippery! I laughed it off and continued.
Just as I was approaching a stile which led me into Reeth (and fantasising wildly about what delights of food I might be able to have there) I once again lost my concentration and slipped on an ice like wet stone. This time I fell forwards and, despite breaking the fall to some extent with my hands, the full weight of my body and my pack seemed to land on my right shin. The bone made direct contact against the edge of a stone. I won't tell exactly what expletive I shouted very loudly at this point. Suffice to say that it began with 'f' and ended in 'uck'.
There is actually a school located very closely to the point where I fell. I can only hope that my exclamation was not audible inside the classroom! I sat there for a second or two. My leg seemed to go limp from pain and I shuffled on my hands to sit at the edge of the path. The knock had torn straight through my waterproof trousers. I rolled up both layers over my knee and inspected the wound. Although it was bleeding and hurt like hell at that point it seemed quite superficial and I was quickly able to put to bed my fears of not being able to carry on. I decided it didn't need any first aid right then and so, after sitting there shivering in the rain for a couple more minutes, I heaved myself up and limped into Reeth.
I found a terrific bakery there where I bought some sandwiches and a pint of milk. I also obtained some soup for later. Then I sat on the village bench, ate my lunch and drank my milk. Sitting still like this I was soon shivering again. After a break of twenty minutes or so my leg felt OK to walk on and I decided I'd best keep moving. So I plodded out of Reeth trying desperately not to feel too sorry for myself!
The section from Reeth to Richmond was significantly easier in terms of the contouring of the land. Again I got lost and again I had to make recourse to the GPS. Then suddenly, as if from nowhere, like God himself was trying to lighten my load, the sun poked through the clouds! It was the most glorious and uplifting moment and I whipped out my camera and took a snap purely to remind me of it! I packed away my soggy rain clothes and continued on to Richmond with a much lighter step.
On arrival at Richmond I started to wonder where I might find a camp site. I asked several people and no one was really sure. One lady commented that I looked "thoroughly wet and miserable and needed a warm shower and a heater". Tempting as that was, I headed on and out of Richmond (passing a beautiful view of the castle ruins) as some locals had given me the vague impression that there was a camp site somewhere along the way.
Rote finding on this stretch was the trickiest yet and, for the third time that day, I had to utilise my new saviour, the GPS unit. The path by the river was muddy and slippery. The sun was setting and I despaired of ever finding somewhere to camp! At about 22:00 I saw a sign on a gate advertising a B&B. Desperate, I walked over. I was greeted by a lovely lady at St Giles Farm. I said that I realised it was a B&B but did she accept campers as well? She said she did and showed me where I could pitch my tent.
Once inside, I inspected my wounds. My thighs were chaffed to the point of bleeding as they had rubbed against my damp clothes all day. Nothing needed dressing so I just used some antiseptic wipes and revelled in the luxury of my sleeping bag! I heated up my lentil and vegetable soup and then slept. Including my walk past Richmond I had covered approximately 24 miles on this day.