A taxi to Bowness and we’re at the start ready to go at 10am. The journey from Carlisle to Bowness took no more than half an hour, it took substantially longer to walk back!
The weather for most of the day was amazing, warm and sunny, in fact probably a little too warm. We quickly removed layers and changed into shorts.
The route runs parallel to the estuary initially and then through farmland and back to the estuary within the first 5 miles or so. It’s generally flat, easy walking but on roads frequently at the start.
As this sign shows, apparently the distance between the start and finish is 13.5 miles. We’ll, not for us, either we took a wrong turn or an altogether longer route, we covered 17.3 miles and >40,000 steps to return to where we started the morning in Carlisle.
Our lunch stop was the garden of the Greyhound Inn in Burgh-by-Sands around 8 miles into the walk. Burch-by-Sands was a hive of activity with a Coronation street party taking place on the playing fields next door.
By this stage we had said our goodbye’s to the estuary and were walking through pretty villages and farmland around Carlisle. We then picked up the River Eden and followed its course all of the way to the finish point.
Following the Eden valley was a scenic way of making our way back to Carlisle, we were surrounded by Bluebells and the smell of wild garlic for lots of the way.
Later in the day as we got close to Carlisle the weather turned and we were caught up in some heavy rain, probably for the last mile or two. We’d had such good weather all day long that I don’t think any of us cared, quick stop to put our waterproofs on and we pushed on for home.
Tomorrow we head East out of Carlisle heading to Walton for our overnight stop at the Old Vicarage Brewery, what could possibly go wrong! The distance is quite short tomorrow at circa 10 or 11 miles. The weather forecast remains changeable with rain in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon. The temperature is dropping to 14 degrees.
More to come tomorrow …
Stephen Arnison 