Lady Anne's Way 2019 Day 3

Tuesday 15^th October 2019

Today I chose to miss a part of the route (but I had walked it the last time, so it’s not as if I’ve missed out on anything) and walk the road into Askrigg, mostly because I wanted to avoid my feet being constantly wet by striding through paddocks; the bane of wearing waterproof boots that have lost their waterproofness.  The section I missed had some moments that I recalled vividly, and I do regret somewhat not going past those landmarks again.  One of them was Nappa Hall that I recall being used as a farmer’s barn when I was last here.

In Askrigg, I stopped at a tearoom I had read about online, that apparently offered great afternoon teas, but I had read you had to book ahead.  The tearoom was quite small, and I had a tea and cream scone, and briefly chatted with a small group of people at another table.

I also recalled that the last time I had passed through here, I had heard police sirens, and further along the trail had come across a farmhouse where the nearby lane was full of police cars and an ambulance.  It had peaked my curiosity at the time, but I had continued onward and didn’t hear anything more of the incident.  The husband of the tearoom owner enlightened me by telling me it was a farmer who had threatened to commit suicide, and emergency services were there to assist.  So, nothing like the string of murders my rampant mind had conjured at the time.

About ten or fifteen minutes later, I realised I had left my walking poles back at the tearooms.  There's nothing I love more than adding an extra couple of kilometres to my planned walk, so I backtracked to retrieve them.

The arrival into Hawes

Hawes steam train

Wallace and Gromit would be jealous

Upon arrival in Hawes, I first went to the Wensleydale cheese factory and browsed through the gift shop.  There was a giant stuffed rabbit I was sorely tempted to purchase, but wondered how I might get it to hop along beside me for the next few days walking.  There was also some Wallace and Gromit paraphernalia, but nothing that really seemed worth the dosh.  I backtracked into town to the coop, where I bought some food for both dinner and breakfast, carrying it in a plastic bag while I stupidly decided to walk a section that I had missed the previous time around.  Last time I had walked directly to Hardraw, following a path beside the river, and then the next morning walked the roads to reconnect with the trail a little further along.  Today I decided to walk the trail out of Hawes to the point where I had reconnected back then.  There was no point; The walk was through some rough, boring farmland with little-to-no views to speak of.  Once at the point I had connected with the trail on my previous visit, I veered off, along the country lane, to the bunkhouse in Hardraw once again to stay in a completely empty building.  The owners were away again and had the place up for sale and had mentioned in a recent communiqué that it had been sold.

Day 4