Day 14 - Coast to Coast - Egton Bridge to Robin Hood's bay

The Last Post 

(except for the summary to follow)

It's a long way to Robin Hood's Bay

Gill was excited to arrive at the old fashioned railway station in Grosmont and could have stayed there all day watching trains.

The North Sea !!!

On the Coast Path at last

We made it !!!

Throwing the St Bee's pebbles from the Irish Sea into the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay

Day 13 - Coast to Coast - Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge

To the Pole ...

Springing out of bed, the first view was not encouraging.

The view from Heathcliffe's bedroom

So we took the leisurely option and had a slow breakfast.

The weather worsened. Soon we were Scott of the Antarctic, battling against ferocious snow storms. It felt like we were getting acupuncture treatment on our faces.

Liz miserabled ...

The North Yorkshire Moors doesn't change from one minute to the other. Heather and Grouse, Heather and Grouse, Heather and Grouse. 

And bogs, really slippery ones.

So we decided to complete a photoshoot for an outdoors magazine ... such fun.

The weather changed again, back to nice, and we arrived at a lovely pub, in brilliant sunshine, for good old fashioned English cooking. The pan fried lambs liver was delicous. 

Day 12 - Coast to Coast - Ingleby Cross to Blakey Ridge

Walking on Sunshine

Another 20 mile day yet we departed with a spring in our steps, climbing up to the North Yorkshire moors, viewing flat plans to the Pennines behind us and Teeside and moors ahead.

Rather like walking the south west coast path with plains instead of the sea to keep our interest.

It was along this stretch we caught our first sight of the North Sea off "beautiful" Redcar!

There is some doubt whether we can award Liz her ornithology badge. Yesterday she said "I am so over curlews" yet today failed to recognise the call and sight of one flying right across her path. Moreover she thought red grouse was guinea fowl.

Gill caught sight of a bird of prey we have yet to identify. Possibly a merlin or hobby.

Seeing double - another mature moment

And then the hail showers started to come in and it was back to full waterproofs and rapidly changing weather conditions. We all felt good on arrival at the Lion Inn in Blakey, a warm comfortable pub in the middle nowhere. And crashed. After 45 miles in two days the fatigue is setting in.

What's more we awoke this morning to a light smattering of snow and decided on a leisurely breakfast and a later start than normal. To be continued.

Thank you everybody for your comments and support and Annie and James for their advice. Liz's blister is getting better.

Day 10 - Coast to Coast - Richmond to Ingleby Cross

A dull day on the Coast to Coast

livened up by girls bedrooms and blisters ...

Yesterday we had dinner with Ron and Edie, Edie told a great joke:

A duck walked into a bar and ordered a beer. The barman said "buzz off you're a duck", the duck said "yes but I need a beer and my name is Hughy and I'm knackered because I've been in and out of puddles all day". The barman said "alright then". Shortly another duck came into the bar and said "gimme a beer". I'm Dughy and I'm knackered because I've been in and out of puddles all day and I need a beer. The barman said "Oh for goodness sake I can't be bothered to argue, here you are" and gave him a beer. Then a third duck came in and the barman said " I bet I can guess your name, it's Louis and I know what you've been doing all day". "No you don't, my name", said the duck "is Puddles and you don't want to know what kind of day I've had, now give me a beer". 

Who says girls are tidy (Annie, do you expect your mother's case to look like this?)

A thorn between two roses

Today we crossed the Vale of Mowbray, 24 miles, of flat, boring but easy walking. At lunchtime, we felt compelled to get out the survival shelter so the more sensible members of the team could eat their cheese sandwiches in the dry. The next most interesting part is crossing the A19, arguably the most dangerous 100 yards of the entire Coast to Coast trail.

And here is the blister 

Day 9 - Coast to Coast - Reeth to Richmond

What?

Today is St George's day and the locals are making an effort'

This leg took us down the Swale Valley (Swaledale)  through stone walled fields and tiny villages, not as challenging as previous days (a bit like an easy walk in Devon) but all the more lovely for that.

Three lovely walkers still in good shape

 

Can I come?

Day 10 - Rest Day in Richmond

We've just been joined by Ron and Edie (see Day 5) and are off to eat drink and most definitely be merry after massages, facials (Liz and Gill) and a very pleasant rest. Back up in earnest tomorrow.

Day 8 - Coast to Coast - Keld to Reeth

This was yesterday, they do like their sheep in Yorkshire.

Leaving Keld. A very pretty hamlet nestled in amongst old mining country.

We may have to grow old but we can stay immature for ever! 

This old tractor had been left to rot on a hillside and David couldn't resist 'having a go'!

The country side here is littered with the scars of a long-gone mining industry. The silence is palpable and it is an easy stretch of the imagination to 'hear' the sounds of the mining workforce. It must have been a very harsh existence. 

The paths were a bit treacherous here and there with a lot of landslides after the hard winter making parts of the walk dicey in places. This skinny path leads round to an old cave called Swinnergill Kirk where local Catholics would go to pray secretly during the reformation. Must have been keen! How the women negotiated these paths in long, heavy frocks is quite humbling. 

Liz standing near the cave entrance.

Day 7 - Coast to Coast - Kirkby Stephen to Keld

Four milestones in one day

• crossing from Cumbria to North Yorkshire and entering the Yorkshire Dales National Park, 
• crossing the watershed between the Irish and the North Sea (Gill explained this really well, because a wee on the west side of the Nine Standards Rigg would end up in the Irish Sea, whereas turning one's stream to the other side would fill the North Sea).
• reaching 100 miles of walking, approximately halfway.
• crossing the spine of the country, the Pennines

Who's this swamp donkey?

However, the weather miserabled (rain and wind to complement the bogs), and Liz miserabled too because her foot hurt, and the Nine Standards, which demarcate the watershed,  were, frankly, miserable !!!

After weaving randomly across peat bogs, (David had the wrong route programmed into his GPS), we were relieved to arrive at Ravenseat Farm where we were invited out of the weather for tea and cake (delicious) and were reunited with some fellow walkers. Darth Vader on the right was the 9 year old son of the household who waited table admirably while his sister made the tea.

The last three miles were the best of the walk down the top of the Swale valley - if you know Lydford Gorge, you will be halfway to imagining the vista.

 

Day 6 - Coast to Coast - Shap to Kirkby Stephen

One of those days in England

or ... just a perfect day

crossing Westmoreland, 20 miles of heath and moorland, 

A much easier walk than any of the previous five days.

Later in the spring there will be copious flowers amongst the limestone pavements

We only saw this one

Any one know what it is?

We found the first good coffee on the trail so far, Scardale Farm, with two lovely boys in attendance.

We would like to thank everyone for all their lovely messages that have been so encouraging. Keep them coming! 

Day 5 – Coast to Coast – Patterdale to Shap

Beautiful weather at last. Long climb up to Angle Tarn where we spotted the first birds of the day (other than Liz and Gill), Brent Geese ... it gets better.

A fellow traveller told us that mountain rescue had been busy two days ago when we were battling our way to Grasmere, several people were blown over at Grisedale Tarn (where we were the following day) suffering injuries, and there was a fatality in Langdale.

We met our Aussie friends again, Edy and Ron who last night admitted to wearing their Australian Merino underwear for up to 42 days; they must have been humming like a gospel choir – clearly superior to David’s getting pongy after 5!

Highlights

• The Golden Eagle soaring up in front of us as we sat eating our lunch at Kidsty Howes. Apparently the only Golden Eagle in England (who lost his mate in 2005).
• A herd of deer near Angle Tarn
• A  pair of red squirrels at Burnbanks Village. Much more delicate and squirrely than the grey ones.

     

   
     All in all a fantastic day and wonderful scenery in good weather but felt like far more than 16 miles. We were all feeling really knackered by the end (David refused to carry Liz when she threatened a ‘Patsy’ moment towards the end of the day when there were no bloody taxis to be seen).

     Gorgeous pub and fab food. Lots of wine and laughter.

     Tomorrow is another 20.5 miles so off to bed soon. xxx

      Best of the day

1. The views and the weather

2. Golden Eagle

3. Red Squirrels

4. The laughter about the story about camel’s toes (Quote AE “Liz H is outrageous”)

  

       Worst of the day

1. Last night’s accommodation 

2. The last couple of miles

Poem of the day (which does not mean that we got lost)

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

Robert Frost