Day 79 Bootle to Ravenglass

The train times meant that we had a relaxed start to the day. After an excellent “Cumbrian” breakfast, we boarded the 0913 getting back on the route at 0946. We were quickly joined a lively sheep dog, that stayed with us for over an hour. Eventually we called the owner from the number on the dog’s collar and the dog was collected just before we had yet again to go off-piste on account of the high tide covering the road. This detour, our late start and the wet conditions under foot, meant that we made slow progress and we could do no more than get back to the Ratty Arms just in time for a sandwich, which John had taken the precaution of ordering by phone when it looked like we would arrive after the chef had left. This meant that we had now been in the Ratty on three separate occasions and walked past it a fourth time – another record. Another rather feeble trip of just over 10 miles meant that over the two days we had let 15 mile Johnny progress from 4 miles behind to 6 miles ahead. The trains behaved themselves on the way home

Postscript – the next day we heard the sad news that Gary’s mother died on Tuesday night