Buckden to Ribblehead: Day 3

Our guidebooks indicated this would be the most challenging of our six days of hiking, with quite a bit of elevation to conquer. Chuck and Susy felt refreshed after their afternoon off on Day 2 and decided to go all in on Day 3. It was an all-or-nothing kind of day, as we were getting quite remote, were outside of cell service, and had no taxi services available even if our phones had worked. It’s surprising to us how much of England remains remote and undeveloped.




As we’d been told, the first leg of the day’s route was relatively flat, and then we began climbing—nothing too steep, but long stretches of “up.” We carried extra water in our packs, knowing it might be tough to find places to refill. Along the way, uphill stretches alternated with very boggy, deeply muddy sections where all we could do was try to keep our balance (with varying degrees of success). It was something like walking through sand, but much more hazardous. More and more uphill until we finally reached the highest point on the trail and headed downhill towards Ribblehead. We were thoroughly wiped out by the time we approached the small town but still had 1-1/2 miles of rather harrowing highway walking on a very narrow shoulder to get to our lodging. John and I made it first, and John asked the front desk clerk if we could get a taxi to go pick up Chuck and Susy along the road. Taxis were not an option, but the clerk took John in her own car, and they found them and gave them a much-appreciated lift back to the inn.

At dinner, Chuck announced that tomorrow, he and Susy were going to “be normal people” and forego the day’s hike. Susy characterized the Day 3 hike as harder than childbirth. It was a challenging day, but we all made it. We can only imagine how disheartening it would have been to tackle it on a normal rainy day rather than in brilliant sunshine.

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