Coast to Coast Walk - Day 6

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Kirby Stephen to Shap in Cumbria

A Six

Distance: 19 Miles. 

Time Taken: 7 hours.

Weather: Cool with a couple of rain showers.

Dogs

Sheep dogs at Work in Cumbria.

The Walk

I felt a little bit like a cheat on Day six - for two reasons.

Firstly, the pain from my blistered feet on Day 5 was so bad that a radical solution was required if I was to carry on; with that in mind I managed to find and purchase a wide-fitting pair of Keen walking sandles at the outdoor gear shop in Kirby Stephen.

NOTE To WALKERS: there are two gear outdoors shops in Kirby Stephen; and it is this town where all the baggage hauling company's that make a living from the Coast-to-Coast walkers operate.

Feet

Blistered Feet Suck!

Wearing my new sandles gave my feet a little more space to spread and helped to reduce the pressure and rubbing considerably.

Secondly, I decided to have a "rest" from the heavy backpack as I walked to Shap - paying the local friendly and reliable taxi driver £55 to carry my pack from Kirby Stephen to Shap.

Highly Recommended: Alan Middleston Taxi, Kirby Stephen 07930 856778.

This left me free to walk along like the other "day-pack" walkers I'd met coming the other way every day.

And my my - was that much easier!!!

The combination of comfy sandles and no weight to carry made the 20-mile walk to Shap on Day six a much nicer proposition!

meadow path

A Solitary Path Through a Wildflower Meadow in Cumbria.

The hike across the Westmoreland Plateau in Cumbria rewards the Walker with a change in geology, topography, and building materials used in the local community.

But the Coast-to-Coast continues to offer-up beautiful scenery at every turn!

Cumbrian viaduct

Cumbrian Viaduct.

For me, heading towards the Western horizon, day six on the Coast-to-Coast also sees the Cumbrian Mountains of "Lakeland" come clearly into view ahead.

day 6 Mountains

Cumbrian Mountains Coming into View.

The sight of the Mountains adds a sense of thrill - and dread - in equal measures; as I know there are now three tough days of hiking up-hill and down-dale to come.

And having had six good days of reasonable weather on the walk so far - I now begin to worry about the highly unpredictable nature of the weather in the Mountains.

Hopefully, all will be well!

Bull

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