Day 6: July 11 - Hartley Fell to Reeth - 17 miles

I awoke surrounded by mist and after a fairly good sleep, despite having to contort myself between grassy tussocks on the ground where I had lain. Camping gear packed, compass out, I set off again with a view to making Keld in time to have breakfast and having a quick wash before Penny turned up.

The next three hours were fairly uneventful. The moor crossing became a bit frustrating trying to pick a route through the bogs and tussocks but by the time I hit a track that took me to the Keld road the sun was up and the sky was blue.

I arrived in Keld, a tiny place of only a few houses along a couple of lanes down to a river. A chat with an aging local in one of the first houses about walking trips (he gave me some tips on the Santiago de Compstella walk that he had done a few years earlier) and then I headed to the very nice Keld Lodge a few doors down – empty as all the overnighters had now departed – and where I ensconced myself in one of their rooms and relaxed over breakfast. I mentioned to the owner as he served me why I was there and he made a few light-hearted comments on my appearance and general state for a first-time meeting with a lady.

An hour later Penny turned up and we made our introductions. We would walk today from Keld for a relatively short 12.5 miles to Reeth and from where Penny could get transport back to Keld. The route would take us high above the River Swale and through hills scarred by Yorkshire's lead mining past; old fallen ruins dotted around the quiet hillsides. We walked under blue sky and up narrow valleys carved by small becks feeding the Swale until we arrived at the ruins of Blakethwaite - a series of now ruined industrial buildings but which were clearly once impressive - sitting at the head of a narrow valley. We lunched here by the waterfall that no doubt once powered the site and then pressed on up onto the Melbecks Moor, a scarred moonscape of a place.


We ended the day with a long gentle descent along an old track down into the valley and entered Reeth via leafy footpaths. The day done, we sat in the sunshine and shared a beer in one of the pubs; it is a tiny place largely spread around a couple of greens. Penny had missed the last bus so we shared dinner at the pub and Penny managed to get a lift from some firemen there back to her car while I went off to find somewhere to spend the night. A couple of possibilities were mentioned in the book I had, but one in particular was to be avoided….and - no surprise – turned out to be the only place that had a room.