River Eden at Great Musgrave

After breakfast part of the morning was spent in Kirkby Stephen having a quick look around the place, buying some supplies including a hot water bottle for my perenially cold feet and sampling the coffee and scones of the local cafe.

Lunch was back at the cottage as we waited for the promised clearance in the weather to appear, which it duly did around 2.30pm which allowed us to explore the Eden Valley countryside.

A recommended walk of some 4 1/2 to 5 miles was from Church Brough to Great Musgrave and back, taking in Brough Castle and some remains of a Roman settlement. A good introduction to the Eden we thought.

And so it proved, a good introduction to the mud of Eden. We expected a fairly muddy walk but parts of this ramble were deep in slurry where the footpaths went through farmyards. Boots were overtopped and never recovered for the rest of the week. When we were almost at the end of the muddy slog there appeared a large body of water separating us from the stile and the road necessitating a detour through an ajoining field.

That obstacle successfully surmounted we made it to Great Musgrave and walked to the bridge across the River Eden from where this shot was taken.

I'm afraid we chickened out on the return leg, opting for a walk along the lane rather than brave the path alongside the river back to Church Brough. Despite some tense moments in the deeper mud around the farms I think we all enjoyed the walk and we had the added bonus of not getting any other parts of us wet as the day ended dry.

Back to the cottage for a hose down, change of clothing, good food and drink before a lazy evening in front of the fire.