We were anxious to get away early on the final day of our Cumbria Way hike because there was a 16 mile walk to Carlisle to catch our train back to London.
It was pouring with rain when we set off and while not unpleasant, since the route follows the river Calder, it was clear that the Lakes were behind us and ahead would be muddy fields and, later on, cycle paths leading to the city.
Fortunately the rain cleared. We were overtaken by a couple of tall Germans, but otherwise no one else doing this part of the walk. We kept going, stopping only briefly for a packed lunch, and made better progress on the last few miles of cycle track leading to Carlisle.
The last section passed Denton Holme weir, several river flood-gates, some converted mill buildings and, at the very end the impressive Cathedral before reaching Market Cross –the official end of the Cumbria Way.
After all the rushing we still had an hour and a half to spare before our train, so we treated ourselves to wine and tapas at Bar Solo where we’d arranged for Sherpa Van to deliver our bag. And then, the train back to London.
Overall, an excellent walk. The days had passed very quickly. A little too wet underfoot in parts but overall we had been lucky with the weather. Doing it again we’d be tempted to miss out the first and last day –but then that wouldn’t be the whole Cumbria Way.
