Day 0 - Thursday 31 May 2012 - Arrival in Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen
To say we had been looking forward to today would be an understatement. Having thought about nothing else but the Coast to Coast since our first planning day in September 2011, we were both really excited to be finally getting going and raising a bit of money for our chosen charity, The Bracken Trust which is based in Llandrindod Wells near to where we live. The plan was to undertake the walk over 15 days with a couple of rest days in Shap and Richmond and finish on June 15, Dave’s 50th Birthday. Therefore, with our kit checked, a final confirmation of bookings from our B&Bs and various eateries for the duration of our walk, we set off for Kirkby Stephen from our home in Mid Wales, via Dave’s parents in Liverpool. After an uneventful journey up, we just had to take in the Chocolate Factory in Orton as although it is quite close to the C2C route, visiting it during the walk would have meant a 3 mile detour there and back. After a nice bit of cake and a hot chocolate with all the trimmings we arrived at The Old Croft House in Kirkby Stephen which was to be our B&B for not only this night but also when we passed through later on in the walk.
After settling in following a warm welcome from Nick the owner, we had a quick bimble around the town which did not take long and enjoyed a nice pint of Black Sheep in The Bull’s Head and The Kings Arms – not the most tidy of pubs but the beer was good. We had booked in for an evening meal at our B&B which was beautifully cooked and we were joined by a couple from the Cotswolds, The Flying Farmers who had just completed the first section of the walk from St Bees and were intending to complete the remainder next year. After a long chat about the walk we were even more excited to be finally getting going after so much thought and planning.
After a final check of our kit and itinerary we retired to bed hoping that sleep would come quickly and in turn the weather gods would be in a good mood tomorrow.
After settling in following a warm welcome from Nick the owner, we had a quick bimble around the town which did not take long and enjoyed a nice pint of Black Sheep in The Bull’s Head and The Kings Arms – not the most tidy of pubs but the beer was good. We had booked in for an evening meal at our B&B which was beautifully cooked and we were joined by a couple from the Cotswolds, The Flying Farmers who had just completed the first section of the walk from St Bees and were intending to complete the remainder next year. After a long chat about the walk we were even more excited to be finally getting going after so much thought and planning.
After a final check of our kit and itinerary we retired to bed hoping that sleep would come quickly and in turn the weather gods would be in a good mood tomorrow.