There is something quite surreal about airports before dawn. Our Airbus 330-300 touched down – several times actually due to a stiff cross wind – at a few minutes after 4AM. Hordes of Boston travelers suddenly filled the passageways that meander gradually upward from the jetway until we joined a concourse of sorts. But it’s not a concourse with gates and shops. It’s just a long empty hallway with occasional openings into rest rooms. Traversing this area seems to take an eternity. Finally there was a sign directing connecting passengers to turn right into another empty hallway. At the end of this hall we encountered the first non-traveler human – a woman seated at a small desk sitting alongside three swing gates which open when a boarding pass is scanned over a glass panel. Then another featureless hall.
But after only 50 paces or so there was an explosion of activity and light and we found ourselves on the inside of the airport security checkpoint. Now crowds of shoeless, beltless people carrying their belongings in plastic bins searched for empty spaces where they could be reassembled. And this is where the true mayhem ensued. Just beyond there, duty-free shops were ablaze with neon light and glittery products of all descriptions. As challenging as all this activity was, the departure board was mind-boggling listing countless flights by departure time with gate numbers that included every three-digit number between 101 and 426. Yours truly did not read the fine print and headed to gate 109 for a 6:30 departure to Manchester – my time and my destination. The fine print at gate 109 read “Ryanair.” I was flying Aer Lingus.
Further study of the board with glassy eyes revealed that the correct gate was, you guessed it, 426! Fortunately there was ample time for me to walk the half mile or so back to the opposite end of the terminal. Then things got quiet again.
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Enough of that. After a very long day [Boston to Dublin to Manchester to Leeds to Skipton and finally to Kirkby Stephen] I have checked into the Old Croft House. The check-in at the B&B was pleasant. I arrived during a light rainfall. It was shortly after 3PM and the sign on the door announced check in time as 4:30 but Rachel, the innkeeper, welcomed me in and showed me directly to room 1 at the head of the stairs. Five minutes later she delivered a tray with a pot of coffee and a generous slice of gluten free raspberry sponge cake!
I’m writing these words at a sketchy bar just down the street called The Taggy Man. There is a fairly lengthy menu of pub food but I’m told that most items are unavailable. But there is plenty of Guinness on tap, a guilty pleasure I feel that I deserve.
Tomorrow I will set out on my quest to conquer the eastern segments of the C2C on my own. The initial phase will be the ascent of 1500 feet to the Nine Standards Rig. This is a walk I’ve been looking forward to because it has been vastly upgraded since Mike and I tackled it in 2023. The wet and craggy path up the slope has been lined with stone pavers. And the “Bog Slog” [see the previous blog] beyond has also been transformed with slate pavers and bridges over the deepest bogs where Mike and I had been nearly sucked into the earth.
Stay tuned for pictures and video – if I can master the Insta360 camera. Fingers crossed.
