Despite this
being the most expensive B&B yet it lacked a bath and even the shower was a
fairly miserly electric affair. The meal the night before had been more
than adequate but nothing special and the home made bread at breakfast in the
morning did not live up to expectations. We had decided to return home after
walking to Richmond so set off to try and get to the town in time for the
13:54pm bus to Darlington. As we walked along Bolton Beck a heron flew up
majestically and a little further along I saw a yellow wagtail. Up until now the
walk had been somewhat bereft of bird life apart form grouse and pheasants. We
manged to negotiate Catterick Bridge and cross the A6136 road. It seemed more
difficult than I remebered and concluded that we should have crossed the road in
the middle of the bridge rather than waiting until we had reached the other end
of it. We stopped to view the old railway bridge beyond which is due to be
renovated to take a cycle track and pedestriansas as one of 79 projects under Connect 2 which is funded
by lottery money. Coast to Coasters will no longer have the 'pleasure' of
crossing the road bridge! The A1 appeared quite suddenly but strangely from
this direction we did not hear the noise of it until we were almost upon it.
Climbing up the other side after passing underneath it the noise stayed with us
for a long time. It was a bright day today, not prticularly warm ad sunny but
not threatening either. We stopped just short of St Giles Farm for a break and
at this point we decided on a change of plan. We would carry on to Kirkby
Stephen after all. I rang the camp site at East Appelgarth to check they were
open but was told to my dismay that they would not accept campers as the camping
barn was full. I explained we only wished to camp in our tent but it appears
that they will not allow this if the barn is full! I then tried ringing several
B&Bs in Richmond but all to no avail. The third place I tried kindly
suggested I phone the tourist office. They were helpful and asked me to ring
back again in 20 minutes. This I did and she informed me that she had been able
to find a small double room in Richmond for £45. Fantastic! We continued on
our way until at Hagg Farm a sign indicated a diversion to the path. I examined
it carefully and concluded that it was official and that we had better follow
the signs. Unfortunately it involved about an extra half mile in distance and
double the walk alongside the A6136. I decided that a better option when we
reached the road would be to cross over and take a small lane that would bring
us directly to Richmond Bridge. In the event, this was perhaps not the wisest
decision as the lane was busy with fast cars whereas the A6136 had a cycle track
alongside it that we could have walked along! By the time we entered the market
square it was 13:45pm so Gemma bought some pasties from the bakers and we sat
and ate them on a bench. We found the Tourist Office and then walked back to the
B&B which was in the shadow of the castle and overlooking the river. It was
a smallish room but very comfortable and, although not en-suite, it did have a
bathroom with a bath that we could wallow in and pamper our aching muscles. I
went and fetched a take-away pizza for our meal and I planned the next stage of
the route to Kirkby Stephen including an alternative to the Whitsundale (blue)
route over Nine Standards. We also decided that we would have a rest day in
Reeth.
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