Day 12 - Stainforth

Distance walked: 19km, Actual Time Taken: 5h, Estimated Time Taken: 4h 30m
Ascent (GPS): 893m, Ascent (watch): 327m, Descent (GPS): 887m, Descent (watch): 351m
# Times Lost: 1, G&Ts: Slingsby Rhubarb Gin (Harmless)

I'm inclined to believe the GPS on altitude calculations this time.

Today was a day of chatty taxi drivers, Marie Celeste pubs and passive aggressive landladies.  Also some walking.

My destination for today, Stainforth, didn't have any available accommodation so my tour company had arranged with a local taxi driver to pick me up from there and take me to a hotel in a bigger town nearby.  However, they had arranged a time of 4:30pm and I had estimated I could be there by 3pm.  I was a little annoyed, but fortunately Stainforth does have a pub, the Craven Heifer, so I wasn't too concerned.

Instead, I set off to amble my way to Stainforth rather than walk briskly.  It turns out the extra time was useful.  Malham was also a detour off the trail it took me a good 30-45 minutes of casting about at the top of Malham Cove to find out where the main path connected.  I would follow a good, wide path only to have it peter out and realise it was just a sheep track.  It turns out the actual path was a piddly little thing that looked like a sheep track.  If I didn't know I had time to spare I would have gotten very stressed.  As it was I was merely grumpy.

Below (is somebody else's) picture of Malham Cove.  It is better than anything I could take with my phone.

I haven't met very many other walkers here in the Dales.  It isn't a hotbed of hikers like the Lake District.  However, I have run into the same pair of women several times yesterday and today.  They seem to be headed in the same general direction as me but are using more roads and less hill paths.  I suppose I could ask them where they are going but that would involve talking to other human beings.

I stopped at the town of Settle for a late lunch.  I was going to be sensible but decided to have a ridiculously large, sticky cinnamon bun instead, along with a very good double espresso.  I wouldn't have expected to get good coffee here in the UK but it was worthy of Patricia's.  In spite of all the walking I'm doing, I'm still piling on the kilos.  My hiking pants that 10 days ago were too loose are now fitting snuggly.  At this rate they'll be too tight by the time I come home.

After lunch I ambled the last 7km to Stainforth.  As I approached the village there was a sandwich board on the main road advertising the pub.  I had high hopes for a pleasant wait for my taxi.  However, when I got to the pub it was closed!  Peering in the windows I could see that it wasn't closed down.  There were bottles behind the bar and the tables were all laid.  One even had dirty dishes on it.  It was like someone just shut the door and walked away.  A Marie Celeste of a pub. Very strange.

The taxi driver showed up right on time but it was still a long, cold wait.  At least it wasn't raining.  When I got to my destination for the night, the Craven Arms, I found its front door locked too!  Fortunately there was a number to ring.  When it was answered a grumpy woman came downstairs and let me in.  My route notes always say to ring ahead and let people know when you'll be arriving.  I've been doing that for B&Bs but not bothering when I'm staying in a hotel/inn/pub.  After all, they are open all the time so what does it matter?  Turns out here they shut from 3 to 5pm so it does matter.  I also didn't bother booking a table for dinner here either.  I figured 1 person, out of peak season, shouldn't be a problem.  Asking for a table for dinner just made grumpy woman grumpier.  She insisted on carrying my suitcase up to my room, complaining the whole time about how heavy it was.  I was going to ask for a packed lunch, but the route notes said to order that in advance.  I guessed that grumpy woman wouldn't consider asking on arrival sufficiently far in advance so I haven't.  I have museli bars and trail mix in my pack.  Those along with a big breakfast should be enough.

When I went down for dinner tonight the dining room was less than half full, so I don't see what grumpy woman's problem was.  My meal was interesting.  The dishes were tasty but generally didn't match up to the descriptions.  For entree I had what was listed as a smoked salmon terrine.but turned out to be slices of smoked salmon rolled up with the chive & cream cheese filling.  Main was billed as  beef Wellington but the meat inside was shredded beef, not fillet, and there was no trace of pate or mushrooms.  Dessert was as lemon & lime posset.  Basically a lemon&lime custard/cooked cream.  It was very tangy and absolutely delicious.  I'd rated entree and main as Harmless but dessert was definitely a case of Not Bad.   Grumpy woman got marginally less grumpy when I praised it.  I wonder if she'll be presiding over breakfast tomorrow.  I hope not.