Day 10 Stavely to Bowness-On-Windermere (7.6 miles) The End!
We had about 7 miles to the finish in Bowness on Windermere, so it would be an easy day. Walking in the Lake District had so far been lovely, but not as picturesque as Yorkshire. We were just on the southwest corner and would not get into any of the higher mountains further in the National Park that make it so spectacular.
This day, like many of the others was be spent in the remote countryside, with only a few sparse farms and no towns. The pictures will give you a last look at Dales Way.
With rested feet and full stomachs from a great breakfast, we started out with a few clouds, and some sun. The morning was beautiful with very few people about. We had a nice walk by the River Gowan which flows in front of the Inn.
Then under the railroad tracks,
Over the A591,
And back on the trail.
The Guidebook said we would soon start climbing, and they didn't lie. The picture is deceiving, the road was quite steep. I had to stop and take a rest.
Ok, 30 minutes later we were still climbing and I had to stop again to breathe!
This fellow looked about as energetic as I felt...
The clouds were getting bigger and darker and we were glad we were prepared for rain which was surely coming...Except that we had been expecting rain every day for 10 days, and other than a few drops early the 2nd day before breakfast, we didn't have any rain at all. Unbelievable for this part of England.
Road still climbing and the scenery beautiful with huge trees.
We came across this sign, so I started looking for the you-know-what.....
Well, at first he was a long way away...
but unfortunately the path was headed in his direction....
But there was still a fence between us, until a ways down the pasture it turned into this.....uh, uh...
Homemade Handyman Cattleguard ???
It was ok, we didn't see this....
so we continued on our way!
so we continued on our way!
Soon, the landscape changed and we started up to the high fells.
At the top of one of the fells, before we started descending, there was this wonderful tree standing out against the sky, and it was just beautiful. The one lone sheep in front made the picture even better.
Ok, where are we Russ?
After a couple of hours of walking, we started seeing a few houses and then crossed a road where we walked passed past these farm buildings. Bless the Brits love of flowers!
Russ again reading about our location....
Oh boy, Windermere 1/4 mile! Our hike is almost over....
Then we started seeing the Lake in the distance. It also started drizzling rain on us, wouldn't you know! 10 days of dry and then it starts.
Still have to laugh at those narrow little gates. They certainly weren't designed for overweight Americans!
And that, my friends is the stone bench at the end of the trail.
I look tired, and I was, but it was a little anti-climactic for the walk to be over. We're going to miss the beautiful hills of Yorkshire and the Lake District.
We were both a little sad to see it come to an end, but it's been great and a nice accomplishment.
After walking through the town, we found our B&B which was only 2 blocks from the Lake. The downstairs was a sort of sandwich shop-but it was closed when we were there. The owners, Dave and Manny, were interesting to visit with as they prepared our breakfast the next morning. We had a huge room, good nights rest and a lovely breakfast.
Next entry: Sept. 24 Windermere and train back to London
