Lucy got me with the sticky buds as we went up Hare Hill so I ran after her to get her back and twisted my right knee really badly. It was agony, but it's no use crying about it, I had to go on we had already booked our beds at the bunk house at Sandy Sike. We walked (or limped in my case) past a really high section of roman fortification on the way up the hill. We were on the road still and nearly at the top when the trail took a left into a field over a stile. The cyclists were there heaving their bikes over the top. Why they were on the footpath rather than the cycle trail I never did find out. We left them behind and continued through along the trail. They soon shot past us and we caught them up at the next stile where they asked Lucy to take their picture. It was a good view; the Solway was in sight, we could see the grey sheen of the river in the distance. The trail started heading down hill again which was murder on my knee. I tried walking backwards which sometimes helps but it didn't make much difference. Then the cyclists flew past again. We didn't see them again, they must have turned off towards Lanercost Priory, as we crossed the road that leads there at the bottom of the hill. The trail contined down hill until we were walking along side a stream, alot of the path was very muddy and squelched under foot, not pleasant. we came off the trail on the wall just outside Walton, over a lovely stone bridge and up the hill to the village.
We were hoping to get a drink of tea there because we had run out of water, but there were no shops and the pub was shut. Time was passing too, it was nearly six o'clock so after a short sit down on a bench we pushed on for the last half mile. Through the village and out the other side we thought we had lost the path but it reappeared down the side of a house and we were back out into the fields again. Down a path that would have been very pleasant if I had been able to walk. That last half mile took me almost an hour and the last few hundred yards uphill were so bad I thought I wouldn't be able to make it. When you have no choice it's amazing just what is possible. A camper was watching me, he thought it was funny that I had taken so long, but when I explained about my knee he was sympathetic, he was stopping there because he couldn't walk any further too. In his case it was blisters, I knew what that felt like!
The camper directed us to the bunk barn, the people who owned the place had gone out, but had told us on the phone the door to the barn would be open. It was and it was really nice if a touch chilly, and there was tea and milk and cups and a kettle! Hurray! Put the elephant down (it had grown during the day), and took off my boots and bandages, and had a brew. Once again we were the only guests in the barn, so chose our beds and went and sat out with our tea. The owner turned up and asked if we wanted a meal? We didn't, and if we would like breakfast? We would, and did we want a bottle of wine? We most definitely did! A most civilised evening ensued, the camper had some wine as well, and joined us to chat and later some more campers arrived and also joined in although they had no booze. Sat out well into the night until the bugs got too big and fancied us for supper. And so to bed.
