This day was only supposed to be about 12 miles, but ended up being just over 16. It rained all day with gales so strong that at time we couldn't stand up.
When we were having breakfast at the Bluebell Inn the cook came in to tell us there was flooding and the pub was in danger of getting flooded, just as the pub finished repairs after the last flood. We came out and, sure enough, the river was very high and the road was almost full of water in our direction.
We could not walk on the Dales Way due to flooding, so had to walk in parallel along the roads. At one point we had to walk along the Haws Road because the road we should have taken to Hubberholme was flooded. Once we got to Hubberholme we were able to follow the road to Oughtershaw. Everything would have been fine if we hadn't used Kamoot.
Kamoot had the Swarthghyll Farm three miles further along the Oughtershaw Road up through the hills. As we gained altitude the rain turned to sleet and the wind got so strong we couldn't stand up straight. We were walking straight into the gale. Finally, three miles later, we got to where the Farm should have been, but there was nothing except emptiness. We were disconsolate, but had no other option but to walk back to Oughtershaw and try to get a ride to the Farm, or find another place to spend the night.
Going back was a bit easier as the wind wasn't in our face and we were going downhill, but we were wet, getting cold and it was getting dark. We got back to Oughtershaw and Chris hailed a man who pointed us in the right direction. At this point our path was fully flooded. The man was nice enough to drive us the last 1.5 miles. We had to sit in the hatch back of his van with the door open and we were sure we would fall out as he bounced down the flooded trail to the Farm.
The room was a god send and it took several hours for us to warm up and dry out.
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