Coast to Coast Day 8 Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Day 8 is a wrap and we loved it. About 20km from Kirkby Stephen to Keld is such a great trail and while the rain held off (thank you), his bestie Mr Wind did not. Wow!

We kicked the day off with a fantastic breakfast at 8am at the Bollam Cottage BnB, some time with the BnB resident and adorable dog-dog, and then headed out the door for about 845am. A quick stroll to the local Co-Op for lunch provisions and we were officially on trail for about 930am.

Today’s trail started with a nice footpath over Frank’s Bridge and then through the edge of Stephen Kirkby town before turning up and up and up and quiet road then a gravel track through a load of pastures. At about 3 miles we left the track and started up and up fields and moors to the Nine Standards, our first milestone of the day.

Very near the top of the ridge, we hit the stone slab sidewalks the Coast to Coast Path team (thanks whoever you are!!) have been laying down across the peat to make for easier walking, helping walkers find their way, and most importantly saving the peat from the extensive damage all our feet can do. I cannot imagine the work it takes to make these ‘sidewalks’ happen. And they are recycled stones no longer require from the mill so that’s pretty neat too. Some have markings!

These slabs of magic take probably hours off walking the path otherwise. Picking your way through peat to avoid wet feet, losing a boot in the mud, breaking poles and rolling ankles is soul sucking. And the whole time you are sort of going off route as you try to find the best spot to step, making navigation a real challenge. Shar and I had hours of peat walking on our East Highland Way hike in Scotland a couple years ago and I swore I was giving up hiking forever .. drama!

Up and up on the new Sidewalk O Slab we made great time and were soon high enough to be blown about pretty good by the wind, and reached the Nine Standards!

The Nine Standards are literally 9 large rock cairns. We read they may have been built for navigation, to make a border, or to distract raiders. Believed to be over 400 years old – showing up on original survey maps as navigation landmarks. You can see them from way down in the town of Kirkby Stephen as 9 small points on the ridge – so it was neat to finally be among them after 2 days of seeing them up there. Much bigger than they seemed.

The wind was nuts up there – blowing anything away and making walking look more like a late pub night stumble than an athletic endeavor. We hid behind one of the Nine Standards for a quick micro break before we headed out for the lengthy traverse across the ridge with Gusty McGusterton.

The Sidewalk O Slab and some little wooden bridges continued for some time – look behind us in the above photo to see just how far it stretches. When available we made quick work of the path, working harder staying on it and upright than making progress sometimes. In the gaps of slabs, we picked our way across the mix of wet and dry ground as best we could while looking forward to the next sidewalk section.

You can see where the Coast to Coast Path team have dropped pallet after pallet of the stone slabs along the trail – making for very easy navigation. When those are all installed this section of the day will be perfection!

As we stared to descend into the valley, the wind got a little less gusty but didn’t let up completely. We were being nudged by ole Gusty vs pushed around – an improvement. Although the sun was starting to peak through by now, we kept the waterproof jackets on as wind breakers!

We walked a half dozen more kilometers to Ravenseat Farm. They often offer a remote tea house but it’s currently closed for lambing season. Their picnic tables are out though for walkers to take their lunch. We took advantage of their picnic table after getting the most adorable greeting by the family dog. A wee Jack Russel!

After a fantastic lunch – despite the winds – we made the last few kilometers along an absolutely fantastic path to Keld.

We had rounded the shoulder of the ridge so stepped mostly out of the wind and the sun had decided to finish the end of the day with us! The farmer had put down slabs for us in the worst spots, the walking was easy and the views were fantastic. Always a little more pep in the step when the end of day pint is near.

Shar named this last section of the walk the ‘Sheepy Hallow’ instead of the Sleepy Hollow thanks to the a bit ominous greeting of a sheep’s skull on the gate. Well named!

For those who don’t have time to faff about reading long blogs:

Date: Monday June 23 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 8 of 17
To/From: Stephen Kirkby to Keld
Start/Finish time: 845am / 330pm
Distance: 18.2 (Hiiker)
Steps: 28,370
Terrain: some road, some field, a lot of peat and a lot of stone slabs
Weather: cool 14c with WIND
Breaky: scrambled eggs on toast, tea
Lunch n Snacks: yummy multigrain but with cheese, banana, cookie
Dinner: steak and ale pie, pints
Tonight’s home away from home: Keld Lodge
Mood: good, despite the wind we had such a fantastic day!
Body: feel amazing, not a pain. My baby toes are now behaving – good little piggies
Highlight: the Sidewalk O Slab
Lowlight: the Ravenseat Tea room closed, we heard her scones are epic!
Deep thoughts: sometimes it’s a gentle breeze and sometimes it’s a gust