Had a very lazy morning, didn't leave until 10:45 becuase we decided to haqve breakfast in bed, which really consisted of malt loaf in a sleeping bag. We were looking forward to getting into Keld and meeting up with Jades family as they were coming to act as a support tent for 6 days which meant daysacks! It was a very windy morning but we were just happy that it wasn't raining.
The first part of the day was up over the moors and again was pretty boggy. Walking over here we met a man that seemed lovely but a little strange! He was wearing boots, short shorts, a t-shirt and then a MASSIVE PAIR OF GLOVES! No exaggeration....they were huge! He also had mud all up his arms and legs, he looked like he'd been rolling in it! He warned us it was boggy up ahead and was warning us, and yeah it was but not that muddy!
We walked on and came to a big road that crossed through the moors, it looked really random like it didn't really belong there. There was a fence along the side of the motorway and the guidebook said that there was an underpass that led underneath but yet again we must have wandered off of the Pennine Way as it was nowhere in sight, due to the Pennine Way yet again lacking sign posts, so we wandered alongside the fence hoping that we would find it and looking a bit confused and were getting beeped at by cars that were passing on the other side, including a bomb disposal unit van!
Eventually we found the underpass and carried on over the moors. We arrived at a farm where there was a sign that read Tan Hill 4.5 miles. The guidebook told us that there was a pub at Tan Hill and we could not wait to get their because we both needed the toilet! We had both gone 40 days now without having a nature poo and we didn't want to make today the day! I think it's become a bit of a competition and neither of us want to be the first to have to go! So, we practically ran the next 4.5 miles although it was really really boggy in places. Could not have been happier to arrive at the pub but it was not at all we had expected. I expected a nice quite little pub, not to arrive in the middle of a scooter convention!.....the awkward moment when you turn up at a scooter convention without a scooter.
We fought our way through the busy pub and used the toilets then went and brought a drink. It isn't until your in a place like this surrounded by people that haven't been out walking all day that you realise how bad you smell....and we smelt bad! I felt bad for the people that we had to squeeze past as we walked through.
As much as we didn't leave we knew that Jades family would soon be in Keld so we left and walked the last 4 miles down into the village. It was a nice walk down and the sun was shining. We were now in the Yorkshire Dales and looking down it lookede really pretty. It was about 6 o clock by the time we got into Keld and as Jades family weren't there yet we went and found a campsite. The campsite was a bit weird as it was kind of spread around the whole of the village in a few different fields that the people owned and the toilet block was only in one of the fields. We dumped our bags in the nearest field and then as we had no signal went up and sat on a wall beside the road in the direction we thought Jades family would be arriving just hoping that they would find us! As we had no signal, the mobile phone was useless, we were thinking back at the times when people didn't have mobile phones and when you said you were going to meet someone, then you ahd to meet them!
They eventually found us and after lots of logistics we ended up in the field with the toilet block. I don't know how they fitted in the car they had so much stuff! It was lovely to see them and they spoilt us! Emma (Jades Mum) had brought us up proper towels and some of Jades clothes so whilst they set up the big tent we had showers and then put on clean and different clothes! This is very exciting when you have only had 3 t-shirts a pair of shorts and one pair of trousers for the last 40 days. Also the joy of a proper towel! I didn't have to try and dry myself with my half a flannel! All clean Emma then cooked us some dinner, it was amazing! It was also so nice to have a tent we could stand up in, everything is so much easier. Not only that....we had pillows!
"we had pillows!" Wonderful!
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