On the sixtth day of the Coast to Coast path, we crossed the M6 which was a very definite entry into the centre of the country from the Lakes. The start of our walk from Burnbanks couldn't be more different from other days, walking through luxuriant woodland and across fields was in complete contrast to the previous few days walking
There were sheep and new born lambs as before though!
and the magnificent Shap Abbey came into view in the valley, it's superbly positioned beside the river Lowther
It's a beautiful ruin and a great place to have a mid morning break.
There were some particularly good pillars, perfect for the garden
and you can just about see the hen among the ruins
I liked this front garden to the left of the Market Cross, at Cross Farm House, the plants were set off by the gravel perfectly
From Shap, we took our bakery quiches and cakes up out of Shap, over the railway which bisects a neolithic stone circle, and stopped by some beautiful black fell horses before crossing the M6
and waving goodbye to the Lake District
We made our way over Crosby Ravensworth Fell passing an orchid on the way, we were walking quickly at this stage and so the sheep dropping is in the front of the photo!
We made our way to the beautiful village of Orton just before the Kennedys Chocolate Shop closed
The chocolates as you can see look fantastic.
That night we spent the first of 2 nights at the amazing Shap Wells Hotel with it's beautiful art deco interior and red squirrels in the adjacent woodland.
Above the reception desk and below the majestic staircase and beautiful light
the front doors with a lovely glass panel above
A magnificent radiator
and another view of the reception desk
A better view of the stairs with the lift on the right of the photo just visible
The red squirrels are best viewed at 8am, even a packet of nuts didn't tempt them out in the evening.
Shap village extends for about a mile along the A6, it has quite a few shops including a wonderful bakery with cafe attached, and in what must have been the centre, a 'Market Cross built at Grant of Charter 1687', there's also Shap Chippy, and a supermarket. I remember during the winter, the seriousness of snow that had fallen was determined by whether the A6 was closed at Shap. Since then, the M6 has taken a lot of traffic away from Shap, and of course business. It's apparently a market town rather than a village.
We made our way to the beautiful village of Orton just before the Kennedys Chocolate Shop closed
That night we spent the first of 2 nights at the amazing Shap Wells Hotel with it's beautiful art deco interior and red squirrels in the adjacent woodland.
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