The walk is now over, so back to Scarborough via Leeds. Well, and via Greggs in Morecambe. From there we go back by car to Norwich where we can recover a bit.

First project though was for Liam to put down the rock he’s been carrying for most of the trip, one that was created by a child and the aim is to keep the rock moving. Personally I think he’s mad to carry extra weight, but I didn’t like to say anything.

Last thing to do in Morecambe was to visit Greggs for a healthy chicken bake and latte. This is the same outlet we visited at the beginning of our previous coast to coast, where we started the expedition the other way round. Staff in the shop were exceptionally friendly, a most lovely end to the expedition.

We got to the railway station and then realised that there was no ticket collection machine and we had advance purchase tickets. Fortunately the helpful conductor mentioned we could collect them in Lancaster, and I volunteered Liam to run to the ticket machine there to get them. He was successful  🙂

And that is the end of the blog for coast to coast 2, or what we’re calling the Tapestry Walk (it’s a long story). Been a great week and can’t wait for the next adventure!

DAY SIX – Ingleton to Morecambe

We enjoyed the luxury camping experience at Meadow Falls and started the walk back into Ingleton. Liam bought a bacon roll whilst I went to buy chocolate in the Co-op, which had a wooden door and window because of a ram raid incident that took place just a few weeks ago. Due to our not doing a technical coast to coast we completed part of the route by bus, and instead walked for longer around the Morecambe area.

It’s been a lovely week, a lot of very challenging walking and we’re probably now done with these type of coast to coast walks. Next time a more moderate long distance trail walk or a week of hill walking awaits!

The final comment is that we’ve encountered lots of acts of kindness from people over the last week. Liam has recognised that my navigation and strategic planning is simply better than his and I’ve realised that walking 30 miles per day is too far.

Here’s to the next challenge!

We started off our final day walking into the centre of Ingleton, with the main shop being the Co-op. Unfortunately a few weeks ago the shop was ram raided in an attempt to steal the ATM (story at https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/thieves-flee-scene-after-failed-bid-to-steal-cash-machine-from-ingleton-co-op-1-9079378). The above photo shows the state that it was in when I visited.

What’s a real shame is that the ATM isn’t being replaced, so another community asset has been lost. So many people are working hard for the community in Ingleton, so it must be galling for people to do so much damage. All so pointless….

On the bright side the shop had six fudge bars for £1, so I left pleased.

We had a quick look at Ingleton Railway station before setting off on our last day of travel, and the railway bridge that goes across is an impressive piece of engineering. It’s a shame that walkers can’t cross the former railway line as the bridge would have been a short-cut to the campsite, but it’s now heavily fenced off at both ends.

The story of Ingleton’s station is quite ridiculous as the two rail companies didn’t talk to each other and passengers couldn’t use the bridge for many years. It meant that they’d have to walk over one mile around the bridge to use the service operated by the other rail company and there was no attempt to get the timetables to interact. Further information about the debacle is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingleton_(Midland)_railway_station.

When we last visited the wonderful Meadow Falls campsite near Ingleton the neighbouring pub was shut. That was when the equally wonderful campsite owner Dave offered to drive us to another nearby pub instead.

This time though the pub by the campsite, the Marton Arms was open.

The first impressions were positive, there were some interesting beers available, including some from local breweries.

I had a dark beer and Liam ordered one randomly like normal.

There weren’t many tables free, so we decided to seat ourselves and I was hopeful that there would be fish and chips on the menu. I haven’t had enough of those this week and I was delighted to see that they were on the menu here   🙂 

Liam went for pie and I was more than delighted with the fish and chips. Big chunks of fish like that can often be watery and bland inside, but this had a pleasant taste and was cooked perfectly. The batter had lots of flavour, the tartare sauce seemed homemade and the portion size was generous. Perfectly decent main course meals, with the service being warm and friendly, although sometimes just a little slow.

I’m not normally one for desserts, but I thought that the Eton berry mess sounded tempting, and Liam went for his usual favourite of sticky toffee pudding.

The mist had started to come down when we left the pub, making it looking rather atmospheric. Another day of walking done and then back to the campsite, but no blasted tent to deal with this time…..

We wanted to stay at the same places as last time but we didn’t want to camp. The solution to our problem!

This is Meadow Falls campsite at Ingleton – very friendly as ever!

The inside of our luxury accommodation 🙂

We had a quick stop today in three pubs and cafes en route, as we might as well support the local economy as we’re selfless and generous people. They were (i) the Ribblehead Station Inn, (ii) the Old Hill Inn and (iii) White Scar Cave Cafe.

THE RIBBLEHEAD STATION INN

We had a brief stop at the Ribblehead Inn, located near to the railway station and the starting point of many for the Yorkshire 3 peaks. The pub has changed internally since our last visit two years ago, with the bar moved to the other side of the pub. It felt a little more sterile than our last visit, when it felt more like a traditional pub, but it was clean and the staff were friendly. The real ales were reasonably priced and the food menu looked interesting, although it was a little early to eat.

Of particular note are the male toilets, offering one of the best views from any pub toilets that I can remember…..

OLD HILL INN

It doesn’t look great from outside, but this pub is homely inside and has a real character to it. The staff member was friendly and engaging, with the real ale selection being relatively interesting for a small pub. There’s a piano to play in the main room and some sugar statues located around the building. There’s also an old time recorder which has been donated to the pub for those people wanting to measure their walking times. Not as precise as the LDWA challenge walk certificates offered by Norfolk and Suffolk LDWA though  🙂

WHITE SCAR CAVE CAFE

The final stop on the route was the White Scar Caves Cafe, another modern looking interior. Nice and clean, engaging staff and the food was at the appropriate hot temperature. The bonus was the pleasant views and it meant that we had just a short walk into Ingleton.

The story behind this mountain rescue report sounds very exciting  🙂

Walking through the Dales is a most lovely experience, really feel away from it here (although not so far away that I have no Internet signal).

DAY FIVE – Hawes to Ingleton

As mentioned in the day four summary, we’ve been unable to complete a technical coast to coast due to flooding. So that meant we’ve changed our route for the final two days, this time to take in more of the Yorkshire Dales and several more pubs.

The day started in Hawes and we actually got chance to do a walk around the town itself, visiting the church, the former railway station, the Quakers’ graveyard and some other sites. It’s been nice to actually do some walking distance around tourist sites like these, we’ve missed them due to wanting to get on with our pre-defined route.

We then decided to visit every pub and cafe on the route between Hawes and Ingleton, a lovely treat for us both. Nothing like real ale to rewards us with our bravery, and we saw some lovely parts of the Yorkshire Dales.

The evening is in a camping pod, which is some posh camping for a change as carrying tents around is no fun (we’ve tried that before). I shall update the blog with more photos and the evening’s entertainment later on   🙂