Lanercost to Crosby-on-Eden -- 11.4 miles
After a very nice breakfast with Tony and Kathleen, our Abbey Mill hosts, Tony drove us back up the hill to Haytongate, the point where we left the trail last night. An added bonus! We very much enjoyed our stay at this B&B. It was the nicest so far, and a pleasure to get acquainted with our hosts.
Starting out the day in beautiful pasture land.
Sheep grazing in the cool morning.
Russ stopping long enough to look over our route for the day. We were headed toward Walton. The weather was great, and it was a perfect morning for a country walk!
Can you tell, I enjoyed taking pictures of trees as well as animals? The many-colored clouds made the trees stand out really well.
As we approached this kissing gate, there was a man walking through the cattle in the pasture ahead. You can see him (enlarge) in the picture.
He was a friendly gentleman who stopped and visited with us. This was his farm, and he was out making his morning rounds. You can tell by the picture, he was the quintessential British farmer. He had questions about Idaho and the U.S. and we had questions about his farm! He said his son did most of the work these days--he was sort of "retired." The worst thing about the economy, he said, was that the only local pub in the community had closed. Now, they had nowhere to gather on Friday night, have a pint, and catch up on the neighborhood news. What fun to visit with him.
Then we walked on through his land. That was his home and farm buildings on the left.
Our path joined the road here for a short distance. We walked along beside the hedgerow (ahead of me in the picture).
The church on the hill was in a beautiful setting.
I was walking along beside the hedgerow when I happened to look to my right, and this big fellow was about 3 feet from me. I was right happy to have that fence there. With all these herds of cattle, I knew there had to be bulls someplace!
I believe this church was in Walton.
The view from the back of the church was really nice. I spent a few minutes reading some of the old headstones.
Can you believe this wonderful tree standing in the middle of a beautiful green pasture? It begged to have it's picture taken.
Russ stopped to pet this bedraggled-looking little fellow. I think he was lonesome and looking for company.
A kissing-gate and a great bridge over a rushing creek.
Many of the kissing-gates had the green sign saying it was lambing season and to please be mindful and stay on the trail. I thought it was wonderful that everyone gives access through their land. Not once across the entire country did we see a "no trespassing" sign. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was that way in the U.S?
Yes, another cool tree!
Notice the slots in the barn. They were from the time when corn sheaves were stored for winter threshing. Some of the barns were really old, and many of them constructed from original Hadrian's Wall stone.
Russ said "Look at this gate. It's made out of original Roman spears!" Hmmm . . .
This little guy was outside his pasture, trying to get back in. He was very wary of us.
Now I don't know what lived in this hole, but from the size of it, I was just as glad the owner didn't poke his head out. It was BIG!
Our path headed right into this field of cattle. I was a little more wary now, and kept my eyes open for you-know-what . . . These fellows were just curious, however, and I didn't see any with rings through their noses, pawing the ground and snorting. (That pretty much sums up what I didn't want to see!)
In the afternoon, the dark clouds moved in, and we were afraid it might start raining. It never did, but the dark sky made a nice backdrop for this old tree.
Here I am with another one of those beautiful Laburnums.
This was a beautiful field of grain. Don't know what kind, however.
St. John the Baptist Church at Crosby-on-Eden.
When you see a bench . . . you sit!
Just past Crosby-on-Eden, we joined up with the Rver Eden.
We followed the river towards Linstock Castle, then left the trail to find our B&B.
I loved this old cattle trough.
What a great day we've had. Easy, pleasant walking through the countryside.
Our night's lodging was the Walfoot Hotel. The restaurant had pretty good food, but the hotel wasn't great. We did, however stay here again a year later, and it was much improved and had changed management. The name was changed and is now called:
Park Broom Lodge
http://www.parkbroomlodge.co.uk/
