Coast to Coast Martyn's Comments Day 6 & 7 Copyright © Barry Smith 2012. All Rights Reserved. Now back from my time with the happy chappies, and can report that I had a very enjoyable two days, although always the true lightweight me as I chose probably two of the easiest legs. Met Sheepfellow and Tootsie in Kirkby Stephen on Tuesday evening as they rolled in from a longish day from Shap. Well we had some enjoyable pints and I'd already got the message for the beer and wine, but missed the request for the malt. Tootsie did the honours in the local Co-op and after a feed we went hard at it, sorting out what was wrong with politics in the UK. If only the people had heard then we would all be living in a better world - well I think that is what we had decided by the time we had consumed 2/3rds of the bottle, or was that we all disagreed and that was where we left it? Nice walk from Kirkby Stephen to Keld up onto Hartley Fell and to Nine Standards Rigg, good views and met "the girls" who are a point of conversation. They seem to have an interesting affect on old sheepfellow... Anyway ice creams at the end in Keld and glorious sunshine along the way so can't really complain - apart from the feeling you're walking on a bloody great big dirty sponge for a good bit over the moors. The B&B in Keld was let us say compact and bijou. Nicely presented extended dwelling and we polished off the wine and most of the beer so the packhorse carrier had a lighter load the next day. Thursday dawned a little greyer and more chilly as we set of to the seat of the Smith clan, well it was called Crackpot Hall, but he denied any links. Wet weather gear on fairly early as we climbed above East Grain away from the River Swale and thence onto what has been described as a "lunar landscape", still scarred by the affects of lead mining. The weather was variable, mostly windy and wet then sometimes wet and windy, as we wandered down past the remains of the smelting mills to Surrender Bridge. From here a gentle walk down into Reeth after crossing Cringly Bottom. We arrived to find nobody home at our B&B but found the door open and our bags in the hall, (trusting lot around this part), and got the old boots off and went and found a sandwich and a cuppa just round the corner. Got ourselves sorted a little later and went out - only to find that some Canadians we met in the B&B recommended us not to eat at our first choice of hostelry. As the second was owned by the same people and the staff seemed to flit between, we went elsewhere and found a decent meal and some pints of Theakston's Old Peculier on draught, oh and of course bumped into "the girls" again. Went and watched the beginning of the election results but for myself called it quits although S was well on with the beer and T was starting on the remains of the malt. Friday morning started fine for most apart from T having to admit to the landlady of an unfortunate bed wetting "accident" - I'm sure the full details will be imparted on the much rumoured Sheepfellow Diary of the Coast to Coast - it will probably eclipse even Gertrude Perkin's greatest work. Yes, managed at long last to meet the last of the clan as Gary joined S and T for their stroll into Richmond and I headed back down the M6 home. ;