Well, this was a day to remember! It was supposed to be an 11 mile jaunt (remember: - "You can push a baby pram on this trail." - but turned out instead to be a 15 mile monster with stretches of dangerous riverside root-bound goat trails; of nettle-clogged overgrown pathways; of manure-laden & hoof-pocked hillside meadows; of poor signage and misleading Trailblazer guidebook maps and of just a long day of walking ten hours in chilly moist weather. This day will become better in the retelling but just writing about it now brings back some frustrating moments. However, as Elaine put it during a Team Turtle "group hug" as we neared the end in Burneside, "Nobody fell over and nobody fell out"!
So we left Ash Hining Farm in Bramerskew around 8:45 am and made our way down to the Dales Way trail running alongside the Lune River. Most of the track was fine, with gorgeous views, fine fields and the inevitable stone wall crossings. But soon we moved higher & close alongside the river and hit a really dangerous stretch of trail, a quarter-mile section that was frequently interlaced with a web of tree roots etched into the narrow dirt path, too often hugging the edge of a sharp drop some 30 feet down to the water below. No "baby prams" were being pushed here! 
And even worse as we were spread out carefully crossing this stretch was the sudden appearance behind us of two women struggling with a rambunctious dog on a leash. They didn't wait for us to clear but just rushed ahead to overtake and pass us, brushing close by Elaine and nearly causing her to lose her footing and possibly fall down the steep bank onto the rocks in the water below. A scary moment for sure - we were too busy just surviving to take any pictures.
But made it we, and soon were rewarded with the sight of the Crook of Lune bridge, dating back to the 16th century. The white farm house just beyond dates to 1750 and although we were getting close to the busy M6 highway, it was quiet and peaceful here.
We also were treated to the Lowgill Viaduct, with it's 11 arches soaring nearly 100 feet over our heads as we crossed under it. As we moved on and approached the M6, there was both a "sparkle moment" and a "this really sucks" experience; luckily, the former came the latter. Walking up to the cluster of buildings called "Lakethwaite" and going through yet another gate, there appeared a small cooler sitting on a bench with a note saying "Cold Drinks - 1£". Inside were ice cold Pelligrino orange and lemon drinks - and a place to put the empties!
This almost offset the nasty meadow section with grazing cows we'd walked through just before to find this nice surprise. Unmarked and set crossing a sloping hillside, the half-mile trail (when we could find it) was deeply pocked with cow hoof-prints just deep enough to catch and turn an unwary ankle.
It was getting close to 1 PM after we'd crossed over the bridge spanning the M6 and walked through new-cut hay fields and more big grazing cows. We climbed for a bit through overgrown brambles & ferns and then unexpectedly came out onto the grounds of the 18th century Moresdale Barn B & B, set high up on the crest of the hill with amazing views of the Howgill range ahead. There was a big farm table & chairs set out back and after asking permission from the owner, we settled there for our lunch and mid-day break.
After lunch, we kept walking for miles through sometimes muddy (sometimes very muddy!) fields, through free-range chicken farms, past more cows and sheep, past camping sites and farm houses. It was getting close to five pm and the Dales Way trail signs seemed to have gone on holiday. Somewhere around Honeypot Cottages, we saw a cheering sight, as a paddock holding several small ponies was just to our left. They were racing around the small field, obviously having fun and filling with us with their joy of being.
Then right after this energy bump, there was a long stretch near Burton House (just past the big manure piles) when we absolutely could not decipher the map and trail notes (note: mapmakers - do not put confusing trail sections at the edge of maps and split it into two maps- please!) and after taking a chance and walking a half-mile through an empty field, we finally realized it was taking us west when we knew we should be trending north. So we retraced our steps and had a trail-side general meeting of Team Turtle to figure out what to do next. Frustration was leading to tempers sometimes flaring but we worked it out and found our way finally to a trail marker for our destination - Burneside. It was getting close to 6:15 pm by now, we still had a couple of miles to go and everyone was getting tired of this bad day.
After finally getting to where we could see our town and deciding to walk the small busy road into it rather than bushwhack for the next stretch into Burneside (pronounced "Burn-knee-side" by the locals). This meant stepping into the roadside bushes whenever a vehicle approached or passed us, since there was absolutely zero road-space for walkers. We eventually crossed a bridge over the River Kent and headed into town. Our lodging was the Jolly Angler Inn & Pub and at 7 pm, after nearly 10 hours and 15 miles, we found they stopped serving dinner at 8.
But the new owners were great and the food wonderful! They had a full English breakfast for us next morning and even fixed a travel sandwich for our last day into Bowness-on -Windemere.
But made it we, and soon were rewarded with the sight of the Crook of Lune bridge, dating back to the 16th century. The white farm house just beyond dates to 1750 and although we were getting close to the busy M6 highway, it was quiet and peaceful here.
We also were treated to the Lowgill Viaduct, with it's 11 arches soaring nearly 100 feet over our heads as we crossed under it. As we moved on and approached the M6, there was both a "sparkle moment" and a "this really sucks" experience; luckily, the former came the latter. Walking up to the cluster of buildings called "Lakethwaite" and going through yet another gate, there appeared a small cooler sitting on a bench with a note saying "Cold Drinks - 1£". Inside were ice cold Pelligrino orange and lemon drinks - and a place to put the empties!This almost offset the nasty meadow section with grazing cows we'd walked through just before to find this nice surprise. Unmarked and set crossing a sloping hillside, the half-mile trail (when we could find it) was deeply pocked with cow hoof-prints just deep enough to catch and turn an unwary ankle.
After lunch, we kept walking for miles through sometimes muddy (sometimes very muddy!) fields, through free-range chicken farms, past more cows and sheep, past camping sites and farm houses. It was getting close to five pm and the Dales Way trail signs seemed to have gone on holiday. Somewhere around Honeypot Cottages, we saw a cheering sight, as a paddock holding several small ponies was just to our left. They were racing around the small field, obviously having fun and filling with us with their joy of being.
Then right after this energy bump, there was a long stretch near Burton House (just past the big manure piles) when we absolutely could not decipher the map and trail notes (note: mapmakers - do not put confusing trail sections at the edge of maps and split it into two maps- please!) and after taking a chance and walking a half-mile through an empty field, we finally realized it was taking us west when we knew we should be trending north. So we retraced our steps and had a trail-side general meeting of Team Turtle to figure out what to do next. Frustration was leading to tempers sometimes flaring but we worked it out and found our way finally to a trail marker for our destination - Burneside. It was getting close to 6:15 pm by now, we still had a couple of miles to go and everyone was getting tired of this bad day.
After finally getting to where we could see our town and deciding to walk the small busy road into it rather than bushwhack for the next stretch into Burneside (pronounced "Burn-knee-side" by the locals). This meant stepping into the roadside bushes whenever a vehicle approached or passed us, since there was absolutely zero road-space for walkers. We eventually crossed a bridge over the River Kent and headed into town. Our lodging was the Jolly Angler Inn & Pub and at 7 pm, after nearly 10 hours and 15 miles, we found they stopped serving dinner at 8. But the new owners were great and the food wonderful! They had a full English breakfast for us next morning and even fixed a travel sandwich for our last day into Bowness-on -Windemere.
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