W16 Grosmont to Robin Hoods Bay - The End

Wainwright leaves everyone going from West to East with a convoluted, hard last stage. He must have been a bit of a sadist because we started walking up 200m and then climbing up a messy, muddy, woody valley before entering a boggy moor and finally walking along the coast for over 3 miles. We were pretty exhausted by the end of it, having walked 18.3 miles and climbed the equivalent of 110 floors. It took us around an hour to actually realise we had done it. Now we are beaming at each other with a great sense of satisfaction. If you are slightly interested in doing it yourselves, I have put some thoughts in at the bottom.

Longer version
The last day is a zig zag which can be cut by miles and miles if someone heads direct to Robin Hoods Bay. We decided not to, however. We set off from the Gallery B&B in Grosmont just after 9. The Gallery is opposite the car park for the 2 stations in Grosmont: National rail on the left and steam on the right:

Unfortunately (sadistically) every step for the next 40 minutes is up, primarily on the road with one bit 1 in 3, and 2 sections 1 in 4. It's not the best start for the final day but eventually you get on to yet another moor, with off to the left Whitby. We then wandered down into a valley called Little Beck, overtaking Chris, who was in right state, having decided to do it in 10 days. The valley is lovely but after heavy rain the previous night, it was muddy, slippery and hard work.

After climbing the valley we were on to yet another moor for 5 miles. This moor was very boggy and we found out later Eric sank up to his waist: luckily we had none of that.

It was a slog but we ended up near Whitby before walking down the coast for 3 miles to Robin Hoods Bay. The cliffs all seem to be eroding btw

At Robin Hoods Bay you have to take your pebble to the coast and you have to sign the book in the pub. We did it all as well as finally getting the last selfie

So another kick the bucket idea done. It is a wonderful feeling. I am pretty sure with getting lost and various deviations we did over 200 miles but 192 will do :-)

IF YOU ARE THINKING OF DOING IT
These are few thoughts:

• It is not a stroll. If you do it continuously, it wears you down. This is a tough walk.
• Go West to East. Its the most popular by far and you get the Lake District out the way
• The Lake District is a bit of killer but afterwards it does get easier
• Chris was doing it in 10 days, Speedie did it in 12 and most were doing it in 14. We took 16 and there were others doing it slower. It is not a race - enjoy it
• Yes you can carry your own stuff but everyone doing it looked shattered. Packhorse and Sherpa will carry your bags if you go west to east (and even you) - the east to west is limited
• We used North West Walks - who planned the whole thing for us
• Only do it from April to September - everything gets more limited after that
• Wear boots with ankle support - quite a few people dropped out with twisted ankles. One person fell and cracked open his head - ambulance whizzed him off. Most people fell at some point - included me: I need to buy an new mobile phone :-(
• Hope for the best but plan for the worst - we were extremely lucky with the weather. Others have had a torrid time. Waterproof for you and for the rucksack are essential
• Buy the O/S maps or get a GPS device - many, many people got lost
• One older couple were doing an alternative route from Morecambe Bay - shorter and less challenging - planned by Contour. Others warmed up on Hadrians Wall

Where we stayed:
- St Bees
- Ennerdale
- Rosthwaite
- Patterdale
- Brampton Grange
- Orton
- Kirby Stephen
- Muker
- Reeth
- Richmond
- Danby Wiske
- Ingleby Cross
- Great Brampton
- Rosedale
- Grosmont
- Robin Hoods Bay

W15 Rosedale to Grosmont - I like roll topped baths

This was the day we dropped off the moors into some beautiful villages, arriving in Grosmont after about 5 hours. We only did 10.3 miles but we had to stop at a small cafe (annex to a bungalow) at Glaisdale for tea and cake, and then we also stopped at a lovely pub (Horseshoe Hotel) at Egton Bridge. The weather was good - in fact we have been so lucky. Grosmont is famous (well in my opinion) for its steam engines, being the location for engine sheds etc that are part of the North York Moors Steam Railway. Tomorrow is the last day and the last post.

Longer version
Another great day weatherwise. We left the moors of Rosedale and walked gradually down hill to the village of Glaisdale. Supposedly the best time to see the moor is late August, early September when the heather turns purple, but to us it was peaceful, calm and quite beautiful in June.

The only annoying thing that ruined the calm was a series of scramble bikes who charged up the moor causing dust storms (each to their own: I am sure they were having fun). Due to the easy walk (and with Eric and Neal from Northern Ireland speeding us both up) we made cracking time.

The C2C is the small business / retirement plan dream. The majority of the B&B's we have stayed in are run by people who are semi-retired. But in Glaisdale we met a retired couple who had set up a small cafe: the cheese scones were the best Andrea had eaten in years. At Glaisdale you start to walk in the Esk valley: it is again easy walking with lots of woods and small villages. At Egton Bridge we stopped at a lovely pub

We are staying very close to the North York Moors Railway - so close we can see them. This is a LMS Stainer Class 5 4-6-0 built originally in 1937

It is a major tourist attraction but I do wish they would not insist on blowing their whistle so often. They run it as a proper railway with full servicing etc. More than I can say for this tractor we met on our travels

Supposedly it still goes.

BTW it is raining but who cares when the B&B room today in the Gallery at Grosmont is this ! I have never had a bath in the room but I could get use to it :-)

W14 Great Broughton to Rosedale

This was our shortest day on the whole walk - a mere 8 miles. We set out at 9.10 and were in the Lion Inn at the top of Rosedale by 1pm. This was primarily because for most of the day we were walking along a disused railway line that use to used (until 1929) to transport Iron Ore across the moor towards Redcar etc. Good weather, endless moorland and flat walking meant that when we got to the Lion Inn we were still energetic, so we walked the first 3 miles of tomorrow's stage. We therefore ended the day having walked 11 miles and went up the equivalent of 26 floors.

Longer Version
We stayed at the Wainstones Hotel last night which was surprisingly good in terms of food. They gave us a lift back to the C2C route - High Clay Bank. It started off straight up with loads of steps but pretty good views of Middlesborough etc.

Initially after the climb you are walking over rolling moorland. Interestingly (well to me) we climbed up Round Hill, which is the highest point on the North Yorkshire Moor National Park at 454m. Did you know that North Yorkshire Moors is the largest continuous area of grouse moorland in Britain !

It's not too surprising because its a plateau with rivers cutting into it. The Cleveland Way and then the C2C generally keep to the plateau. We said goodbye to the Cleveland Way and picked up the old Rosedale railway line.

There was also a charity walk taking place from somewhere to the Lion Inn so we definitely were not alone - in fact it felt quite crowded at one point walking along the railway track - not that you can tell that from this photo.

The Lion Inn must be one of the highest Inns in this part of the world. We could see the Drax power station, which must be 30 miles south of here. It has good beer, good food and also has rooms but alas we were staying in Rosedale. With such easy walking we decided from the Lion Inn to walk around Rosedale Head.

This is technically tomorrows walk but given tomorrow was suppose to be 15, we have equalled them out. I know the 4 Belgium's walked from Ingleby Cross to Rosedale so again there are opportunities for the fit to miss out certain stops. We however have 2 days left or 30 miles. It is an interesting mix of feelings.

W13 - Ingleby Cross to Great Broughton - fantastic views

Wainwright came back with a bang today. Whilst the Lake District was a big climb up and long walk down, the Cleveland Hills are more subtle. You never go more than 350m up in one go but its all ups and downs (a bit like the Old Grand Duke of York). So stats wise we did 14.8 miles and the equivalent of 142 floors. The walking is generally forest or moorland: quite stunning. Also we were right on the ridge edge so you could see miles into the distance e.g. the chemical works at Wilton, the steel works at Hartlepool and the sea. We have only 40 miles left (and 3 days of walking !).

Longer version
We stayed at Park House just outside Ingleby Cross. The food was both delicious and mammoth - both dinner and breakfast. I think in Yorkshire they like the plate piled high with extras in reserve. We had dinner with two couples from Poole Dorset and 3 Irish men from Belfast.

In the morning we headed up the first of probably 6 up and downs - switch backs on legs is how Andrea described them. The North York Moors is the most forested of our National Parks and we certainly spent quite a bit of time in them as shown here with the huge pine trees (btw at this point we were a bit off track but don't tell Andrea)

Soon we were climbing again and the views were brilliant (although a bit overcast). The hills were basically covered in either ferns or moorland - a bit of a Wainwright theme. But I think he got you up here so you could look at the views. here we are at the top of one of them

On another hill you maybe able to just make out 2 lads from Middlesborough who came up to wave the English flag to celebrate the Brexit result- one literally ran passed us on the up section which was a bit soul destroying:

Last view for today (honest):

So a good day of walking with just a little shower (we have been so lucky). Andrea is getting so much faster going up the hills it is quite unbelievable. Also unbelievable is that we are told there is only one big hill to go !!!

Nothing quirky today although we did see an Austin 7

W12 Danby Wiske to Ingleby Cross - bit boring

We are still in rolling countryside: the type that is never written about, probably for good reason. It comes to something when even we are looking forward to a hill or two. We arrived at Ingleby Cross by 1pm with possibly the most exciting bit being crossing the very busy A19  dual carriage way on foot (well at a run actually). So we had covered 9.7 miles and 5 floors in less than 4 hours. At this point I should stop but well the Cleveland hills beckoned and I convinced Andrea to do a slight excursion up the hill - huge mistake. 6 miles, 17 floors later, plus a few bits of colourful language due to trying to traverse part of the wood that had just been forested, and we are back to where we started. On reflection, if there is a choice, stay in the pub and just drink :-)

Longer version
I don't think there is anything to write home about regarding the Vale of Mowbray between Danby Wiske and Ingleby Cross: although it obviously produces lots of food. I suppose in logistical terms we walked over the main East Coast railway line and ran across the A19 (which luckily had a central reservation) but it's not the most memorable part of our journey. The weather. however, has been wonderful - Sun Factor 30 sun cream just was not powerful enough. It was the only real time I have worn my hat and that was to keep the sun off. For those of you who have continued to read (a) I hope its not too boring and (b) here are some photos of the day

The crossing of the east coast main line at the old Danby Wiske station (closed in 1958 btw but still has a sign up !) coincided with the Virgin "Evening Scotsman" train (I know this because it says it on the front) for those in the transporting fraternity:

After this it was a case of wandering from farm to farm. I have to say oil seed rape hurts when you walk through it - its at least 4 foot tall and is tough as old boots. Wheat by comparison is lovely. To show you how bad the weather was today in East Yorkshire I took the following because it was reported that there were 7,000+ lightning strikes in the South East yesterday (no, I too do not know how they counted them):

Yes I am developing a tee shirt tan: not something I expected on the coast to coast: Julia Bradbury only talked of rain in her book (which having read it, I wouldn't buy). Andrea kindly took this near a place called Sydal Lodge. Although I am in red again, I can assure you it was fresh on today - I have 5 of them

So we arrived at the Bell in Ingleby Cross in plenty of time and sat next to the Belgium's (who, for once, we had not seen all day). After soup and pint and the realisation that Ingleby Cross is not into cake or desserts, the Belgium's said they were going to climb Beacon Hill (229m). I thought this was a brilliant idea but rather than do it anti-clockwise we would go through the woods in clockwise direction. How was I to know that they had been chopping trees, and how was I to know that they leave all the small branches and rubbish behind. Once we got proper into the wood (on what I thought was a path) it was like an assault course - cut legs, boggy areas, a certain amount  (lots) of cursing from one of the party. But we made it through the whole wood. And if you do get to the top of the Cleveland Hills this is the view towards Middlesborough - I know it is hard to tell but you can see the sea ! Our first glimpse of the North Sea.

But if you do make it to the top of the Cleveland Hills, what is this place all about - a microwave communication centre ? And why is most of it in pink ?

This walk does surprise us. 4 days left and less than 50 miles to go.

W11 Richmond to Danby Wiske - close up with cows

We are now in the rolling hills (small ones at that) of the Vale of Mowbray. It is so flat that on a 16 mile walk we only climbed the equivalent of 38 floors. Not that made it dull. For those of you who do not like cows close up, do not walk here. We are in arable / dairy farming land. Infant its the first arable crops we have walked through since St Bees. The Belgium's are with us and now there are some new arrivals - a couple from Scotland and chap from Newcastle. It now seems many people do the C2C in stages rather than 1 big walk !!! Andrea omitted that fact when booking it. Oh and the weather (for the Brits reading this) has been hot, muggy and sunny.

Longer version
We set off from Frenchgate in Richmond at around 9am. Well it was suppose to be an easy 12 mile walk through rolling countryside. Richmond is cute as the Americans would say and has lots of eating places. Frenchgate btw is particularly steep:

With the sound of occasional gunfire we headed east towards the A1. They are spending £340m widening it and it certainly seems to be impacting everyone including us C2Cers. We had a mile detour to get to a purpose built temporary footbridge near Catterick. The A1 widening is in full flow

The noise from the A1 is considerably less than the M6. I think I could have watched them working for ages but Andrea was off on mission. Some of the villages around here are very nice and there were a few properties I would love to own. At around 1pm we passed Kiplin Hall: no I have not heard of it either. but its a large Jacobian House that is being done up. Anyway they were advertising tea and cake, so down the long drive we walked. To say it was a bit bizarre as a place to stomp in with you walking boots would be an understatement. In the panelled dinning room surrounded by large paintings of people from the past, we first ordered soup, to find they had run out, then jacket potato, to find they had run out. It is a charity run by volunteers who are trying to do it up. I think service isn't their focus but it was a nice cup of tea... just remembered: I have not drunk coffee since 11th June ! I know the people at work will be shocked :-)

We toddled up the road to go through a big gate where a woman was just closing a second gate. She glibly reported that her van had attracted the attention of the cows. She sure had. First the cows and their calves came to inspect us with a lot of mooing and then like Moses parting the waves in came the biggest bull I have got close to in my life. I am sure they were saying hi but after 1 or maybe 3 seconds we turned around - especially as I was wearing red. No fool me. So back along the road, up a side road and then we stopped to ask a man how we could get back on track. They are wary up here but after a bit of conversation he admitted they were his "beasties" and Foxy the bull was small for a bull weighing in at a mere 1.5 tonnes ! Anyway he thought we should meet them - so it was back to the field in his Discovery (luxury I can tell you). And the beasties were lovely:

They are all pedigree short horns and would not hurt a fly normally .... Foxy is 4th from the right. I have to say after this encounter, the Frisians we met later were childs play. Due to detours and other things we ended up walking 16 miles but the weather is lovely, the people (once you chat) friendly and the walking easy. The pub in Danby Wiske is a bit weird - the bar man really does not want to serve anyone, there are only 2 starters on the menu (oh and one of them is off !) but there are 8 desserts !

Quirky things
Next to the A1 where the contractors have been digging are loads of poppies. Not quirky perhaps but pretty

Also at the A1 next to all the traffic roaring by an number of archaeologists are doing a dig on the remains of a Roman Fort. There we are with all this technology at work building the new roads etc, and next to them are people with hand trowels gradually unmasking a wall or a pavement built 2000 years ago.

W10 - Reeth to Richmond - relaxing

The 4 Belgium's (I thought they were Dutch) who we met at the Ravenseat farm on W7, when having cream teas, were staying with us at the Hackney House: its a small world on the C2C. After a good breakfast (although no Weetabix !!) we set off for Richmond. It is primarily rolling farmland with a bit of woods thrown in for good measure. It was only 11 miles and 36 floors so we did it in under 5 hours i.e. in time for lunch in a pub. It is the largest town (the population is still less than 9,000) on the whole of the C2C and to come into the bustle of Richmond is quite a shock - cars, people, shops etc.

Longer version
We left Reeth behind with fond memories: it is build for tourists and had a good selection of pubs - we ate at the Buck before England's mind numbing match against Slovakia (well done Wales btw). The route is easy and takes you down the Swale to the old nunnery of Marrick Priory (now an activity centre) before cutting up to the hamlets of Marrick and Marske. The Belgium's caught us up by Marrick but we overtook 2 American couples (who we had met before). The valley is wide here and there is the sound of lambs bleeding and the meadows being cut to make winter forage:

This tranquil scene is slightly upset by the sound of gun fire from Wathgill Camp over the other side of the valley, which seems to be an army gun range. Well you cannot have everything, and we are pretty close to Carrick, which is a huge army base. Surprisingly after Marske, the valley narrows and becomes more wooded: the rock formation changes I believe.

After walking through the woods you come out up above Richmond - did you know there are 57 Richmonds in the world ! Richmond came from "the honour of Richmond" which was given by William the Conqueror to Count Alan Rufus in 1071 which included most of north east Yorkshire.

Richmond is now primarily focused on agriculture and tourism. The castle although a ruin since 1525 is still pretty impressive

There are lots of pubs, restaurants and coffee houses. Whilst having lunch in a pub, the Belgium's turned up - small world. We have also met 4 other groups doing the C2C. It's a really sociable walk. Oh, if you are wondering, Andrea's leg seems to be getting better (which is great) and we haven't seen any significant rain since Day 2 ! Tomorrow, unlike most people who are going 20 miles, we are only doing 11 - so a bottle of wine tonight :-)

Quirky thing
I had to take a photo of this in a second hand car garage just outside of Reeth:

Maybe just what you need to get the shopping in Yorkshire.