The Road goes ever on and on; Down from the door where it began;
Now far ahead the Road has gone; And I must follow, if I can;
Pursuing it with eager feet; Until it joins some larger way;
Where many paths and errands met; And whither then? I cannot say.

[JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings]

Tuesday 27 May 2008

Day 42 - Lothersdale to Malham

26 May
Distance: 15 miles
Number of wannabe killer cows: 1 herd

It was a day of varying surroundings today. After a few days of mainly moorland, today we passed out of moorland and into rolling farmland - which of course meant that we had to play spot the stile and clamber over said stiles.

With Mick's feet still fighting for supremacy over his new boots, we made it through the first nine or so miles in the expected timeframe. Those nine or so miles took us to Gargrave and it was a good way before there that I started fantasising about a tea rooms.

The Dalesman was the first to which we came and whilst supping tea and eating cake we got chatting to a chap who at 4am today completed the Long Distance Walker's Association 100 mile walk.

We were still marvelling at the reality of someone who had undertaken such a feat (and was sitting there talking coherently and looking fresh like he'd just been for a five mile stroll) when arrived Alan and Nicky, who had been walking towards us from Malham to meet us.

With more tea drunk we set off in the direction of Malham.

Then Nicky mentioned that she had brought home-made chocolate covered flapjack with her. I resisted at some length mugging her on the spot for it.

In fact, I managed to wait a reasonable length of time before I called for a snack break to try it out and it turned out to be an absolute treat. We even managed surreptitiously to pocket the rest of the bag, so we'll be enjoying it again tomorrow.

Arriving in Malham we found it absolutely heaving with people, with some sort of a Bank Holiday Monday event going on. The campsite is far busier with tents than any we've been on to date. Woe betide anyone who decides to hold loud conversations or parties all night...

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