20 miles
Weather - overcast to start, clouds just touching the fell tops, some sunshine and then rain in the afternoon and evening
We were on our way by a quarter to eight as we had an extra 3 miles to walk to get back on to the trail. We soon reached Cray and toiling on our first steep climb of the day - Kidstones Fell which gave us great views of Wharfdale and Buckden behind. AW called this track 'a walker's way par excellence'. It was a stiff climb but worth it as the views opened up and we could see where we had been and where we were going. We missed a turning so did not see Stalling Busk and its unusual church. The trail took us past Semer Water and then along the banks of England's shortest river at 2 1/2 miles - the River Bain. The river led us to Bainbridge via the remains of a Roman fort and fantastic views of Wharfdale. We ate our lunch in the middle of the village green by the medieval stocks and surrounded by 18th and 19th century houses.
After lunch we walked 1 1/2 miles to beautiful Askrigg where we saw the vet's house used in the BBC series 'All Creatures Great and Small'. Then we set off on the last 6 miles to Gunnerside via a steep climb to Askrigg Common. We had excellent views until the rain started and we made our steadily downhill to the village. We had dinner at the The Kings Head - a most excellent hostelry with fine beers, wine and, most importantly, food. Oh - and they have a menu for dogs. The fire was lit and we sat by it as it was very cold again - hard to believe we were walking in the middle of July....
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