Day 7: Shap to Orton

After our long and arduous walk yesterday we were told if we had done the journey by bus it would have taken less than half an hour. Not the most inspirational comment before setting off on today's walk.

Just across the road from where we were staying was a bus stop and lo and behold there was Steve standing there, studying the timetable! He claims he just wanted to know the number of the bus that stopped there- just in case!

We dragged him back for the group photo wearing yet another pair of snazzy shorts.

Today was going to be slightly different as the responsibility for map reading was passed to Steve and Tina. You can see how seriously Steve has taken on this responsibility with his head deeply engrossed in the guide book.

On our way out of Shap we saw the cement factory which is a bit of a  blot on the landscape

But looking back we could see the mountain we had climbed over yesterday. I'm sure the views would be quite stunning from there today.

Today we crossed the M6 motorway. Fortunately there is a bridge going over the road but I couldn't believe how empty it was. Whenever I travel on it the cars are bumper to bumper.

Another C2C sign, not so rare now.

The landscape has now changed from the hills and mountains to the moorlands making the walking easier but not necessarily the map reading.

In a couple of days 3, of us will be leaving the group and will not be completing the other half of the walk. Consequently it was very important that the remaining 3 felt confident about map reading. Tim has lent his GPS gizmo to Paul whilst Tina is trying to get to grips with the Ordnance survey map and Steve is reading the guide book. I decided not to offer any help with the map reading but just observe. Here they are meeting up with another couple we have met along the way. Strange we are all going to the same place but appear to be walking in opposite directions!

This little discussion took nearly 45mins and still the wrong path was chosen! Never mind after yesterday's long walk we only planned to do 8 miles today. We were so confident we could do it in a morning that we didn't even have any packed lunches with us.

Looking towards the east we can now see the Pennines known as the Backbone of England which the group will be crossing over in a couple of days.

I loved the views of the clouds casting their shadows over the distant hills and the lush greenery in the foreground.

Just one more mile to the village of Orton where we are spending the night.

The marsh marigolds were smiling at us in the sunshine.

Even Paul was keen to get up close and personal with the surrounding flora.

Although slightly later than planned it was still early afternoon when we arrived in the village of Orton and time to find somewhere to eat.

This old school was now not only a  chocolate factory but also a cafe.

And guess what? They did cream teas.

Jim was so thrilled he treated us all to a delicious cream tea. Yummy.

Afterwards we walked through the village on our way to Barn House, our Bed and Breakfast stop for tonight.  I went to have a look inside the church where  the original church bells are kept which date back to 1637.

Barn House was at the far end of the village. It was a beautiful house with a large conservatory on the first floor. The light poured into it and once I sat down on the comfy chairs in there, I fell fast asleep!