Day 7

Shap to Orton

This weather is fantastic, although I am sure the local farmers would welcome a deluge of rain. Some guests in our B&B last night are farmer's wives and say that they are very short of good grass for the animals to eat and are having to buy in feed at very high prices.


The Hermitage B&B in Shap is the best yet, and will be difficult to beat. The building is 420 years old, lovingly restored and set in lovely gardens. The walls and floors are at odd angles which only adds to the charm. There are copious amounts of running hot water and large comfortable baths to sink into after a long day on the fells. The hall contains a large stained glass window taken from Lowther Hall when it fell into disprepair some years ago. The breakfast is first class and the landlady obviously enjoys the whole operation.

Today we had another sunny day and a gentle 8-mile walk from Shap to Orton. Orton is a pretty village, about the size of Thornford, with its own chocolate factory! We crossed the M6 and marvelled at the size of the Hardendale quarry and cement works. Otherwise we have had pleasant strolling on grass across open moorland and farming country. We saw a river bank covered in thousands of primroses and a marshy area covered in marsh marigolds.

There is quite a procession going on in all this fine weather. At one point we could see 3 couples up ahead of us and another 3 behind - making 14 walkers in all. And we know there are others doing the same walk today.

We easily found a stone circle near Oddendale that Julia Bradbury had great difficulty finding when she did her TV series on the Coast-to-Coast. We also visited another stone circle east of Orton which we will pass again tomorrow morning on our way to Kirkby Stephen.

We arrived in Orton just after lunch and had tea and cake in the tea rooms attached to Kennedy's chocolate factory - which included a couple of complimentary chocolates each. Whilst supping our tea we could look through some windows and watch them making chocolates in the adjoining factory area.

We have bathed and showered and are enjoying some relaxation time.

Distance walked today 8.74 miles. Total distance walked so far 70.37 miles.