Day 15 - Glaisdale to Robin Hoods Bay (17.6 Miles)

Day 15 – Glaisdale to Robin Hoods Bay


Finally the last day has arrived, Hooray! After yet another cooked breakfast we set off for our final destination at 9.50am in very humid conditions, stopping quickly for our daily bridge photo! Today was on the Beggars Bridge at Glaisdale.

We walked on to Grosmont via Egton Bridge. At Grosmont we stopped to buy lunch and to look at the Steam Trains and then had a very long steep climb back onto the moors where we had our first view of Whitby.

Across the moors to Little Beck where we stopped for lunch, outside the Methodist church so that Morris and Munroe could go in to have a quick pray!

After lunch we walked up through Little Beck Woods where the heat was very uncomfortable as it was so humid. We stopped to look at the Hermitage, an old hermit’s house, but time was pressing and the sea calling so we moved off again.

We walked over Fylingdale Moor toward Robin Hoods Bay, where we saw our first road sign to the destination.

We walked down toward the village but much to the boys’ disgust and amazement, instead of walking straight in, we headed north toward Whitby! From here we had our first sight of RH Bay, This was our cunning plan so that we could come into Robin Hoods Bay along the cliff path.

We walked for a couple of miles along the cliff path, and then at long last we were in the village. We walked down to the dock and the slipway, and were clapped in by Karen, Colin and Uncle Ken.

After quick hellos it was down to the water’s edge and in we went at 5.02pm.

There were two last things to do, first was to throw the stones that we have carried from the beach at St Bees, into the sea and the second thing was for Morris to pour the bottle of Irish Sea water into the North Sea!

Blister count after 192 miles, Jacqui 0, Gary 0, James 0, Neil 2, Sean 4, and Gail think of a number and then double it!

That’s it, we made it.

Day 14 Chop Gate to Glaisdale (21 miles)

After a nasty breakfast we left to tackle the moors once again. The weather was looking promising.

After a shortish but fairly steep ascent  we reached the top of Urra moor and joined the coast to coast path at Round hill.

We past lots of shooting butts on the way where Gail and Jacqui tried their hand at grouse shooting They Missed!

On the top of the moor the road was very flat and very long. Jacqui and Gail were looking for the handsome and broody Heathcliffe however they only found Gary and Neil giving the windy moors a new meaning...

We reached Bloworth crossing  and picked up the old railway line. After 9 miles we reached the Lion Inn where we stopped for lunch A welcome sight.

After an hour we carried on. A  long stretch of road took us to the side of the Danby High Moor and then on to Fryup and Great Fryup dale The views and the heather were stunning. The heather smelt of honey.

From here it was mostly down hill. Gail was struggling with her blisters and put on a very brave face.

Day 13 - Osmotherley to Chop Gate (12.7 miles)

And so today we set off at 9.40am leaving the B&B (rated as a 6/10) after a very disapointing breakfast and headed up the hill out of Osmotherley.  after a short but steep climb we reached the brow and we had our first sighting of the North Sea over Teeside.

We headed over the moors and the heather is in full bloom.  The colours are fantastic.

We headed along the Cleveland Way toward Live Moor which we reached at 12.00, with fantastic views of Whorl Hill.


From here we had great views of Carlton Bank, where we also stopped for lunch at 12.30pm.

At Carlton bank the views were fantastic of the sea and Roseberry Topping, however they were all spoiled by the industrial wasteland of Teesside

We carried on along the Cleveland Way reaching the Wain Stones at 3.00pm, from here we turned left and headed across Cold Moor towards Chop Gate ( Choppy Hat as the locals call it)

As we crossed Cold Moor we saw a number of Grouse unfortunately we didn’t have any guns with us!

Whilst Morris inspected the heather the boys decided to have a rest !

Just as we were arriving in Choppy hat James realised he had lost his telephone on top of the moors where he had been resting earlier – so he and Morris set off to find it

The rest of the party carried on and arrived at the Buck inn at 4.07 ! Morris and James arrived at 4.50 with the recovered telephone ( Morris was very happy with the extra exercise ! )

Day 12 - Danby Wiske to Osmotherly (11.5 miles)

And so the journey continued! We left Danby Wiske at 9.28am in cloudy conditions,  It had rained last night so we had been expecting to put the wet weather gear on this morning, thankfully it had cleared up and off we went.

As we left, a Canadian mother and daughter were on our path, the mother had eyes for Gary (Munroe) whereas the hot young daughter only had eyes for Morris!!!!

Once again it was a lot of tedius road walking with not very much to look at, however one amusing incident today was when Morris lost his footing on a muddy path and fell over on his backside!  No one laughed!!!!!

On our way Sean found a shire horse that he was very taken with but we managed to convince him to leave it behind.

We crossed the North Allerton to Middlesborough rail line at 11.06 and headed to the A19.  Crossing the road was a nightmare but we managed it without getting hit.

We stopped at Ingleby Cross for lunch at 12.51 and after an hour resting we set off up the hill through Arncliffe wood.  From here we looked across the valley all the way back to the Pennines, where we were two days ago!

We carried on to our destination, Vane House B&B in Ostmotherley. where we arrived at 3.00pm.

We are now sampling the delights of the Queen Catherine Hotel and yet another pint of Wainwright ale, a rating of 9/10!

Day 11 - Richmond to Danby Wiske ( 14 miles)

We decided after yesterdays exertions to have a bit of a lie in and therefore didn’t have breakfast until 08.30, after which we had a walk into Richmond to buy our sandwiches from Greggs. We left the accommodation at 10.27 it was cloudy and cool as we headed off down to the river and pick up the route, which was rather disappointing as it only followed the river for a short distance before heading off along a road and then into the fields.

We eventually passed under the A1 at 10.30 passing by Caterrick Racecourse and continued along the banks of the Swale before again crossing across various fields.

We had decided to stop at Bolton on Swale for lunch with the thought of a quiet lunch on the river banks. Unfortunately the village is half a mile from the river so no nice view! Well at least the spot we chose by the church yard would be quiet – no such luck , they started cutting the grass , there was a concrete mixer going , a major road was right behind and puma helicopters kept flying over every 5 mins – not the most peaceful stop !!!

And off we set again leaving at 1.49pm on the most boring stretch of the walk we have yet to encounter. We walked along the road for most of the afternoon and the term tedious was clearly invented for this afternoon! The only good thing to say was that it was sunny and warm!
Once again Maurice had difficulty today with the stiles and gates, whereas Sean had no difficulty at all!

After what seemed forever, we arrived at Danby Wiske, arriving at 4.12pm at Ashfield House.

Danby Wiske is a small village with an excellent pub where they serve a very good pint of Wainwright Ale! However they do not do food so we have ordered take away from the local kebab shop in North Allerton.

Day 10 Muker to Richmond ( 20 miles)

Day 10 – Muker to Richmond


This is the first of two 20 milers on our journey. So the boys were really looking forward to getting up extra early to walk even further...

It was a beautiful day for walking along the river bank and forging the streams. The best thing about this leg is that it is mostly flat.

The ground under foot was not giving us many problems however Morris was still struggling to negotiate the narrow gates in the walls.


 

After 4 hours and 10 miles we reached Reeth, A very pretty but busy village (used to film All Creatures Great and Small) well Jacqui was impressed any way. We stopped for lunch here.

It was very difficult to give up the sun bathing and carry on.

From Reeth we walked to Marrick which boasts a Priory and a steep climb, Someone told me it was flat...

By now we had left the river for a while and headed on to Marske, a pretty village but not much there, except for a tea room, unfortunately we weren’t allowed to stop as still 6 miles to go.

After another climb towards Richmond (Someone lied!!) We reached a painted cairn. It was downhill into Richmond from here. Were we very pleased to see the sign and the town in the distance?

We reached the Buck Hotel at 6.15 with a half decent tan, sore feet and aching backs. A couple of pints soon cured that.