A night at the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge, the 4th most remote pub in England was a comfortable way to end the day, especially after a huge evening meal there - be warned the portion sizes leave no room for pudding!
Day 11 and a glance outside the window and a peek at the weather forecast was a little uninspiring. Heavy, thundery rain showers were heading our way. After breakfast and readying the daypacks (we get quicker each morning with all the prep,) we set off in waterproofs only to strip off 15 minutes down the road as we dropped down out of the mist and cloud. We wouldn’t need them for the rest of the day…well almost.
We followed a gradually descending track down with the sun burning off the mist to reveal views of patchwork fields and moorland painted pink. Counting ourselves very lucky that the rain seemed to be nowhere in sight, we headed merrily through Glaisdale and Egton Bridge to arrive at Grosmont Station just as the steam train was set to leave. Such a cool thing to see! Another delicious lunch break whilst kicking off the boots and socks to let the feet cool and then it was the steepest climb of the last few days. Up, up, up out of Grosmont onto Sleights Moor with the sun beating down and black clouds rumbling with thunder chasing us. BUT…we could see the sea! The North Sea! The last time we had seen the sea, it was the Irish Sea. That glimpse of the coast, the silhouette of Whitby Abbey on the horizon and the sky getting ever darker spurred us onto Littlebeck where we were staying for the night.
The last ten minutes of day 11 were slightly more stressful than anticipated. After avoiding the cattle thus far, we came across three, massive pregnant, black cows, who apparently had jumped the stone wall right into our path! What’s more, the rain arrived. Brilliant! A quick call to the farmer we were staying with and some detour directions soon had us in her farmhouse kitchen with a pot of tea and homemade cake as the heavens opened. Phew!
Waking up on the last day (day 12 for us) we set off early-ish again as there was more rain forecast later in the day. A beautiful start to the morning meandering through Little Beck Wood with views of Falling Foss waterfall down below us before a long stretch of moorland that had been devastated by wildfires last year. It was hard not to stop and stare at how fire has completely changed the landscape, although what cheered us up was the birdsong from stonechats along the way, who clearly were still finding a way to live here.
Once we joined the road, we came across our coffee break stop, a fantastic honesty shop caravan! Refreshed, we seemed to cover the steep ups and downs of the coast path towards the Bay with renewed determination and before long found ourselves arriving at the famous sign on the wall of the Bay Hotel. We had done it! Walk completed!
A celebratory drink at Wainwright’s Bar and sweaty hugs with other coast to coast finishers as they came in, some who we’d crossed paths with before was the perfect end before we had to walk back up the hill in search of lunch (and cake) and then along the cliff top another half a mile to reach the YHA at Boggle Hole.
If you’ve followed our journey, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And if you’ve ever wanted to walk this trail, DO IT. We did next to no training (my friend was on a relaxing river cruise the week before,) no preparation (I bought a map) and booked everything ourselves about six weeks before we walked it! Enjoy a few of my photos and…happy hiking!
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