Fields and footbridges between Kirkby Stephen, Hartley and Nateby

A 3-mile pootle (in concert dress!) by L between Cumbria Festival Chorus rehearsal and performance

Route: Walking down from the church door to Stoneshot and turning left to follow signs down to Frank’s Bridge (with the first of many Coast to Coast signposts). Heading straight ahead to enter a field with a cricket pavilion and pitch fenced off in the middle and skirting it round to the right to a gate and then turning sharp left to follow a path up to the summit of Kirkby Hill. Descending in the same sense the other side to turn right on another perimeter path round to another gate and then turning right (and south) to walk back to the original gate down an avenue of trees but then continuing straight on to slip past another gate and join the C to C path again by turning left. Following this treelined path beside the River Eden and then going straight on through a gate, out of the trees, to climb a narrow path uphill, becoming a tarmacked lane at a higher gate and leading on to the hamlet of Hartley. 

In Hartley turning right (with the C to C) as far as a footbridge down to the left, which spurning and leaving the C to C again, to walk up a drive towards Hartley Castle until the 'private' sign. There turning right over a stile to head back down towards the outward route, turning sharply back left over a stile at the last minute to join a bridleway contouring narrowly across the hillside towards Bollam Bridge. Descending at the end to the bridge, in trees, to cross it and follow the bridleway on, inside the edge of some woodland and then in a tunnel of trees as far as a hairpin junction - marked Hartley onwards and Nateby back. 

Taking the turning to Nateby to walk on and down to another footbridge across the Eden, and then take a narrow footpath back south along the riverbank. Once again reaching a hairpin junction and taking the sharp right back up to rise across a hillock, pretty much pathless, towards a gate onto a track, leading, left, to the Nateby Road.

There turning right and following the road back towards the town centre, turning right just after the Baptist Church on Mellbecks to reach Stoneshot again and turn up left to return to the church.

Conditions: After a damp day, grass extremely wet and muddy paths pooled (DMs not waterproof) but surprisingly without rain until the final moments and quite warm.

Pub: Back home for a glass of red after the concert (several hours later). (Pubs full of cup final crowds anyway!)