Day 13 (Dufton - Garrigill)

Distance: 15 miles
Cumulative: 188 miles
Gates: 21
Stiles: 4

Leaving Dufton

We set out in high spirits, trying to cover as much ground as possible before the rain set in. We reached the tops of Knock Old Man and Great Dun Fell in low cloud, but not too much rain. It was as we sat eating some sandwiches at 12 ish that the drizzle turned into a downpour.
We made it up and over Cross Fell alright, but took a wrong turn somewhere on the way down - the visibility was poor and we hadn't a waterproof map. We descended what we thought was the track of the Pennine Way, returned out to be a bridleway into Kirkland, a village about 7 miles from where we had set off.

Garrigill Post Office and B&B - wonderfully kind!

We decided that it was not worth the climb, and so we headed along the road to Skirwith, where we phoned the owners of the B&B in Garrigill. They offered to come and pick us up. We travelled the rest of the way by car.

Village Green, Garrigill

We met our friend John in Garrigill, who had to be rescued from the fells. The man from our baggage transfer company, Brigantes, said that many people get lost on Cross Fell, as the cairns are incredibly misleading, and guide countless people off the hill in the wrong direction.