Day 14 -- Richmond

I was supposed to walk to Reeth today, but the hotel where I had a reservation was double-booked, so I was bumped. Bed and breakfasts in the U.K. charge by the person rather than by the room, so it is likely that I was bumped in favor of a two-person booking. With no other accommodations available in Reeth, I opted to say at the same B&B in Richmond where I was scheduled to stay on Friday. I planned to walk to Reeth, then take a bus to Richmond.

 

Keld
 

The bus service in Swaledale (where both Reeth and Richmond are located) is poor. There are three buses between Reeth and Richmond each day. Each bus is a mini-bus holding 16 passengers; reservations are required for the afternoon bus. While I may have been able to make reservations for the afternoon bus, I wasn’t sure I could arrive in Reeth before it left, so I decided to take the morning bus from Keld all the way to Richmond, and spend the day there.

Richmond is a delightful market town, with ample restaurants and services, an historic castle, a lovely river walk. Janet and I had already visited the castle in 2012, so today I walked a pleasant 4 miles along the River Swale.

 

Bridge over River Swale 

Along the way, I stopped at “The Station,” a former railway station that was closed in 1969 with the dismantling of unprofitable railroads by Richard Beecham. What had become a derelict building has been restored to commercial businesses as such buildings often are. It was after the lunch hour, so I stopped at The Angels Share Bakery that recently had won a top award for its “Cumberland pie.”  I had a nice discussion with the owner/baker, Alex, and Sam, who was serving the customers. The pie was delicious, but it disappeared too quickly.

 

Cumberland Pie

Alex and Sam

Outside, Yvonne and Mike were celebrating the completion of a walk with ice creams, a British tradition possibly second only to quaffing pints.

 

 

Resuming my loop walk, I passed St. Agathas Abbey, yet another monastery dissolved by Henry VIII.

 

 

Continuing along the river, I eventually returned to my B&B, whose garden is occupied by a weather frog.