Library Landscapes

Day 7:  Clay Bank Top to the Lion Inn at Blakey Moor



Erica: Today was an easy day across flat moorland. We took it slow, with a picnic and lots of time to admire the views from the windy, lonely purple moors down to impossibly green farm valleys.



 I'm brought back to the bookshelves of the library I grew up in: the flower- and lark-filled moors above gloomy Misselthwaite Manor and its Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett);  Bonnie and Sylvia fleeing the Wolves of Willoughby Chase with only their wits and a fowling-piece to save them (Joan Aiken); and the Proud-but-Prejudiced Elizabeth at dour-but-hunky Darcy's Pemberley Estate (Jane Austen).

'The first half of the Coast-to-Coast trail climbs through the Lake District, home of  plucky Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter) and the sailing adventures of the Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome). Barbecued Billygoats! I think I may be doing this hike in large part from a pent-up literary yearning.

But today the moors were far from gloomy or gothic. We had some sunny weather and gentle walking over the rolling hills. Grouse, golden plovers and curlews, rabbits and, of course, lots of sheep. Blisters and sore knees had a chance to rest. At at the end of the day, The Lion Inn, perched alone on a windy ridge, offers unexpectedly fluffy pillows, hot baths and the prospect of a half-pint (or pint) and a good dinner to come.

The trekker's life for me!

Every mile we walk raises funds for the Lyons Library! My childhood library brought me here. If you'd like to learn more and perhaps help another generation discover the world, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/blister-sisters-hike-100

Sisters: 78.5 miles   Blisters: at least no new ones today!