Day 26: Penrith to Kendal

Distance: 21.3 miles
Time: 6 hrs 15 mins
Weather: Cloudy and windy, rain later
Cumulative distance: 444.5 miles

Checked out of yet another welcoming and comfortable B&B, where a laptop indicating rain later in the day was displayed in the breakfast room. I strolled down to Penrith's bus station to catch the bus to where I'd finished yesterday.

The bus trip was an interesting insight into life in Cumbria. I was one of two passengers, the other being a widowed grandmother who made a donation to my cause and briefed me on the regular bus journeys she makes with her free bus pass. More surprisingly, the bus driver enquired about my walk while we were travelling and he was keen to understand the mechanics of the JustGiving website. He spotted me two hours later on his return trip, slowed down the bus and waved.

Much of my walk was along the A6 as it gradually climbed up over Shap Fell. This is a remote, windswept area, but I was fortunate that the rain held off. I detoured via a bridleway to avoid the main road and met Greg, a long distance walker from Lancaster who was piecing together a string of walks that may one day form his own John O Groats to Land's End journey.

In the back lanes of Kendal the rain finally arrived, so I was a little wet when I met up with Chris, a friend from university days who I'd not seen for over twenty years. We clearly had some catching up to do! Chris drove me to the lodge that his family had bought last year. It is set in the heart of a tranquil woodland amphitheatre, with nature visible from every aspect.

Chris cooked a tasty pasta meal and then drove us to the Eagle and Child pub in Staveley, where we sampled Windermere ale from Hawkshead brewery and Pennine Pale and embarked on the catching up process.