Alan and I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored our walk in aid of Endometriosis Research. Thanks to the generosity of so many of you, we have raised over £3,300 and our Just Giving page will remain open until Alan is 80 on September 13th.
For two octogenarians choosing June to walk the Settle Carlisle Railway route of over 100 miles seemed the ideal month. The Yorkshire stretch certainly lived up to expectations: cloud, sun, cloud and some wet stuff. Plus, a storm so fierce that it blew our waterproofs inside out while we were trying to put them on! We also found ourselves walking through dense, damp cloud and suffered ‘white fingers’ after forgetting to pack our gloves. At ‘The Station Inn’ at Ribblehead we received a true Yorkshire welcome, a roaring open fire, just what you expect to find in June,
The Eden Valley presented very different challenges as we tried to find unwalked paths hidden among face high nettles, Himalayan balsam and brambles and we encountered frisky young bullocks and cows with calves daily. The intense heat was a new experience, but it wasn’t sufficiently powerful enough to dry the deep mud around stiles. Alan discovered that to his peril! On the plus side we did see a red squirrel and watched otters fishing in the river while we ate our picnic.
While travelling daily back and forth between stations to complete the walk we enjoyed stupendous views of the surrounding countryside and then had the opportunity to see the remarkable viaducts from a different perspective as we walked beneath them.
If you would still like to support our appeal or if you have never experienced the Settle Carlisle Railway, then this Summer offers the perfect opportunity to do both.
Thank you all once again for your kindness and support.
Alan Middup and Michael Harris.