Day 3
We all drove up to Buckden, then as there was no bus to return by, I drove ahead and left a bike chained to a remote fence at the top of the hills. I drove back to join the others for the stage over the hills to Dent Head. There was time to see the lovely, little church at Hubberholme before we walked up Langstrothdale. Near Cam Pasture we had a problem with cows; at least Jake had a problem. Once they detected his lack of spine they wanted to get at him so Robert let him off his lead and he hurtled off into the far distance, eventually returning when we were well past the beasts.
We entered the corner of a conifer plantation and got a bit lost inside but finally emerged on a track. Some folk in the distance shouted at us but we thought they were hunters or something, and that they wanted us off the track. After trying to ignore them, we thought we’d better go and find out what the problem was. It turned out they were trying to be helpful and were redirecting us onto the correct path.
At the junction with the Pennine Way, I left the rest and headed off to recover my bike, abandoned a couple of miles away. As I sped downhill with no need to pedal, I shared smiles and waves with fellow cyclists who must have thought that, like themselves, I’d cycled over the summit and deserved my seven mile freewheeling. I drove though Hawes and met the team before Dent Head. I kindly suggested that they should walk another couple of miles to The Sportsman to make the next day shorter. I parked in the pub car park but a woman appeared and told the pub was closed until 7 o’clock. As this was a Saturday afternoon, I was rather taken aback at this news: the others, when they arrived after walking for eight hours on a very hot day, were also somewhat disappointed.
I’d found a campsite, using the internet, just down the road. It had an interesting sign advertising ‘a flush toilet’ - note the singular form. The wiring of the shower had a certain finesse and apart from one other camper van the large field was empty. It is in a beautiful situation, by the river. After our evening meal we were forced to shelter in the van from midges. Next morning they were even worse; the other camper van rapidly exited stage left and we quickly decided to follow suit, to breakfast in the car park in Dent.
Campsite near Cow Dub
Midge bites and blister Fellow campers make early exit
Dog! What dog? Don't be fooled!