Joanna On The Trail

Monday, August 10, 2026

💡PRO TIP: Each morning, take photos of relevant guidebook pages, maps, or other documentation you’re using to navigate. You should still bring the physical items with you, but having them easy to access in your phone’s photo app is so much easier than pulling a book or map out of your bag.

12.35 miles / 2,435 ft elevation gain

Today was a day of transition. I crossed the Pennines (the boggy “backbone of the British Isles”), the watershed (I’ll now be walking with the flow of rivers, toward the North Sea), and from the county of Cumbria into Yorkshire (the only two counties on this walk). From a calendar perspective I’m now more than halfway done, and Keld Lodge, where I’m staying tonight, is the halfway point mileage-wise.

I was operating on a bit less sleep (stayed up ‘til midnight, woke with the sun at 5:40), but was excited to see Nine Standards Rigg, which helped give me an energy boost. I’d chosen the “lighter option” breakfast (eggs on toast) so I could eat at 7am. The Aussies had chosen the 8am option, so I briefly chatted with them and Elaine before heading out at 8:20.

Leaving Kirkby Stephen

Before leaving town, I stopped at Bryson’s bakery for a sandwich to bring along for lunch. I chose the “cheese savoury,” shredded cheddar mixed with onions, carrots, and maybe some other stuff, in a creamy dressing. He spread this mixture on the bottom of the roll and asked if I wanted salad on it; not knowing exactly what that meant, I said “sure.” He added iceberg, onion, tomato, cucumber, and bell peppers (so, a salad) on top, put the lid on it, and wrapped it up. I wasn’t sure I was happy with the salad choice, but too late now! Since they only had coffee from a machine, I went back to Costa Coffee for a takeaway decaf latte before setting off.

I followed signs to Frank’s Bridge, built in the 17th century (thought to be named for the manager of a brewery that used to be in town 🤔). I crossed it and followed the path along the River Eden into Hartley, saying hello to several dogs out for a walk with their humans. Hartley is home to a huge quarry, which the path follows alongside for about a mile. It was a crisp morning, and I’d started out with a lightweight thermal on, but quickly took it off once the path turned steep.

The Climb

As I was putting my backpack back on, I noticed a sign that said “Have you seen any GREY SQUIRRELS or sickly red squirrels in the area?” It gave the name and number of a Red Squirrel Ranger to contact. Intrigued, I looked it up later and found an article on the topic, a bit dated now but still a good read. Apparently grey squirrels are invasive and carry “squirrel pox,” for which red squirrels have no defense, so it’s fatal within a couple of weeks. Grey squirrels are also bigger and stronger, so they win the battle for food and resources too.

This section of the route used to have 3 options (red, blue, green) to minimize walker impact, chosen depending on the month. Regardless of which one you took, walkers used to trudge through miles of bog, struggling to find their way with no clear path. The book says of it: “many a trekker has been injured and many more have lost boots, dignity, and even the will to carry on…” As part of making the C2C a national trail, a massive investment has gone into this section, covering the former “red” route with flagstones, now the year-round official path.

A couple of miles in, I (happily) said goodbye to the quarry, and the path transitioned to rocky road. There was an interesting bench by the side of the path, large enough for just one person, with a high curved back, presumably to block the wind. Before I left this morning, Elaine had encouraged me to look behind me on the climb to Nine Standards, at the beautiful views of the valley. She was not wrong. On my way up, I also kept scanning the tops of the hills ahead, trying to spot the Nine Standards, without being entirely sure where to look or how big they’d actually be.

Nine Standards Rigg

Nearly 2 hours into the walk, the flagstone path began and I knew I had to be getting close. Looking up, I finally spotted them, peeking over the top of the hill. About 20 minutes later, I was at the top of Hartley Fell, walking among the Nine Standards.

No one was there when I arrived, so I explored and took photos for a few minutes while I had the place to myself. It was much breezier up there, and now that I wasn’t climbing I started feeling chilly, so I hid behind the largest standard to put a long-sleeve back on. It wasn’t long before I heard a runner coming up the path, and I chatted with him for a few minutes. He’s doing the entire C2C in 7 days, 6 nights! He’d just added a night because he decided 47 miles on the last day would get him into Robin Hood’s Bay too late. Yesterday was 37 miles for him, and he’s going all the way to Reeth today, something like 25 miles.

The Long Descent

After taking my fill of photos, it was time to follow the flagstone path on the slow descent to Keld, first passing a toposcope and a trig point (which apparently I forgot to photograph). This flagstone path is made from stones reclaimed from old buildings, bridges, and the like. They vary in color and size, and often carry remnants of their old purpose, like paint or engravings. Over the next 7-8 miles, spotting the variation in the stones helped occupy my mind along the seemingly endless flagstone path. On the way down, I passed a few people heading the other direction, including an older couple with their grandson and two women walking the C2C east to west (“backwards”).

Almost all of today’s elevation gain came in the first 4 miles, up to Nine Standards; after that it’s a long, steady descent for the rest of the way. Almost all of the first 8 miles is on pavement or flagstone, both of which are incredibly hard on my feet, especially heading downhill. The flagstones over what’s normally boggy trail are certainly a net improvement; I can’t imagine how long and arduous this section would have been otherwise, even now, when it’s far from peak boggy-ness. Plus, the new path makes wayfinding idiot-proof. That said, I was really hurting on the descent (even after stopping to take Advil along the way), and even hitting grass around mile 8 didn’t help much. I knew Ravenseat Farm was about a mile ahead, so I kept trudging on, hoping to find at least picnic tables and toilets (I did).

Ravenseat Farm

Finally arriving at Ravenseat, there was a sign out front advertising cream teas and other refreshments. Unfortunately their coffee machine was broken, so I just had an apple juice to go with the sandwich I’d brought. A small terrier sat aloof nearby, uninterested in my attention, until I started eating my sandwich. She quietly made her way over and sat under the bench, and in exchange for a few nibbles of cheese, let me rub her belly.

TIL: Cream tea is hot tea, warm scones, strawberry jam, and clotted cream. The “cream” is what goes on the scone, not what’s in the tea.

Into Keld

Feeling refreshed, with happier feet, I continued on for the remaining 2.5 miles to Keld. The path went through farmland, past many old, unused barns (which I later learned are called “cow’uses”), then offered the choice to take the road the rest of the way or stay on trail (guess which I chose).

Eventually I made it to Keld Green Cafe, right next door to Keld Lodge, where I’m staying tonight. I ordered a sea salt caramel ice cream, amazing, though not quite as amazing as that ice cream in Orton, and a decaf latte. Sitting at the table, I wrote in my journal and talked to Lee until the Aussies arrived and joined me for post-walk treats. One of them ordered a “Rocky Road” (not the ice cream flavor) which I’d never heard of. Their minds were blown that it wasn’t an American invention, so I texted a picture to Lee to see if he’d seen such a thing (“no, but strange”).

David, the host at Keld Lodge, checked me in, efficiently running through all the important details, meal times, the drying room, my room, while I took off my boots. After cleaning up and changing, I hung out in my room for a couple of hours until David came by to let me know last call for dinner was in 5 minutes (so thoughtful!). Dinner was a warm goat cheese salad, veggie lasagna (this time with a lower cheese-to-veggie-and-noodle ratio), and more ice cream for dessert. The lasagna came out still bubbling, so it was a long time before I could actually eat it. By the time I was done, everyone else had left, and they’d already converted the dining room over for tomorrow’s breakfast.