Day 15 – Urra to Blakey Ridge

Only 14.5kms today. Thankfully we didn’t have to reverse our trek down from Claybank Top to Maltkiln house. There were some tracks that gave us access back to the official C2C track about 2km from Claybank Top. There were some old boundary markers right where we came onto the C2C track – one had a hand carved on it and the other a face.

This was another day spent striding across the moors amongst the heather. But this time, because the track we were walking was an old railway, we were in the company of a horde of people on mountain bikes doing the coast to coast. Some called out or rang their bells to warn that they were passing but a few were a bit on the dangerous side.

 

When we are walking Steve tends to either be striding out in front (if Carol has confiscated his camera :-)) or lagging in the rear taking photos – Frank has nicknamed him the new “photagonist”, a nickname previously reserved for Frank. But either way at the end of each day Steve generally makes a dash for the finish, showing us all a clean pair of heels as he disappears in the distance :-)

Staying at the Lion Inn, the only place for miles to stay or get a meal. We had room 11 which had views over the moors and a double shower with heaps of water pressure and lots of hot water – bliss! Being in the newer part of the building it also had Internet access and taller ceilings. Some of the doorways in the original building were a health hazard in that if you didn’t notice you could take your head off on the beams :-)

UK Coast to Coast - Urra to Blakey Ridge (Day 15)

Gurning Photo of the Day – Moor Heather

Day 14 – Osmotherley to Urra

Osmotherley to Urra (near Clay Bank Top) 20.3 km. It was quite a hard day with a number of climbs (5 I think plus the last hill in Urra before the accommodation) – total climbing 927m longest climb 213m longest descent 155m.

We were back up on the moors with some pretty awesome views and perhaps because the weather was slightly warmer, and not as wet, the heather seemed to be more in flower than earlier.

As well as the gurning shots Frank had developed a routine of taking photos of our morning tea and lunch stops. On this particular day we were sharing the views with two young women (may have been sisters) who were doing part of the Cleveland Way (which is also part of the Coast to Coast). We asked them if they would take a photo for us and below left is the result (I think they thought we were a little mad :-)

We stopped at Lord Stones Cafe (which is partly built into the hillside) for bacon butties (which are now bacon buns) . We were a bit surprised (if not shocked) to find that it had quite a large car park and was obviously a very popular spot with the folks from miles around. At least we didn’t have to queue for food for forty minutes like the people in front of us did. I got talking to a nice guy in the queue who was waiting for a chip (hot chips not crisps) bun to fuel him up on his 55km run for the day. Turns out he was in training to run the Coast to Coast in September and was hoping to complete it in 36 hours! Made me feel quite unfit :-)

This leg was made that bit harder by having to walk another couple of km from Clay Bank Top (one of which was along a very busy road with no footpath) to get to Maltkiln House at Urra which is  about one mile off the C2C. When I booked they inferred that all we need do was call for a lift, but when Frank called the night before to book dinner (nowhere near to eat) and arrange a lift the lady of the house told him we “wouldn’t need a lift”. By the time we got there Carol and I both thought otherwise. They were nice friendly people but the place could have done with a good spring clean – especially the tiles on the shower.

The top window on the right was our shared lounge area and the location of the shared bathroom.  Our window is the one to the left which was above the dining room where we had dinner and breakfast. The window bottom right was Carol and Steve’s room. We got the feeling it was a converted barn and the door on the end of the building was probably where they unloaded hay. It was a nice old building and in a beautiful (if off the C2C) spot.

UK Coast to Coast - Osmotherley to Urra (Day 14)

Gurning Shot of the Day – Alec Falconer Memorial Seat

Day 13 – Danby Wiske to Osmotherley

Danby Wiske to Osmotherley (20 mins off C2C) near Ingleby Cross, was a 19.4 km leg across more farmland (more moors?).

The walking was not difficult and involved mainly walking on roads and tracks through farmlands. The only respite from this was having to cross a railway line and the (very) busy A19. The service station on the A19 proved to be handy and gave us a place to buy some lunch – one of the few times something was open at lunchtime when we needed it!

The last part of the walk was through Arncliffe Wood which is a forested area that is currently being harvested. There were bare patches where the trees had been removed and piles of logs waiting to be removed. This combination appears to have become a favourite habitat of pheasant as there were hundreds of them in the woods.

We were booked in at Vane House and Carol and Steve had a room on the ground floor while Frank and I had a very spacious family room up several stairs and down a long corridor.

We had fancied dinner at the Three Tuns because the menu sounded really nice but it turned out to be rather expensive and they were fully booked when we got there anyway so we had dinner at the Queen Catherine instead. Osmotherly was a rather quaint village with some lovely old houses and a very nice Outdoor Equipment shop with a very friendly, well-travelled owner who seemed quite happy to stay open past closing time just to have a bit of a chat.

 

UK Coast to Coast - Danby Wiske to Osmotherley (Day 13)

Gurning Photo of the Day – Wood Piles in Arncliffe Wood

(Notice the feather adornment.)

Day 12 - Richmond to Danby Wiske

We were warned that the stretch from Richmond to Danby Wiske 23.5km, and Danby Wiske to Osmotherly would appear a little drab compared with other stretches, and they were right. The Vale of Mowbray certainly didn’t have quite the appeal that other legs of the walk had, and consequently although much flatter it felt like it was a lot longer. We spent a lot of time walking along roads or through paddocks – oops sorry they are fields over here aren’t they!

We had lunch in the church grounds at Bolton-on-Swale where the church there is supposed to date back to Saxon times, although the original timber structure no longer exists it is a very pretty church. It also contains a monument to Henry Jenkins who was reputed to have lived to 169 years of age.

We stayed at The Old School in Danby Wiske, a 19th Century former village school but it really felt just like a small semi-detached and didn’t have quite the character we would have hoped for. Carol & Stephen and Frank and I had small twin rooms up in the roof you can see our open skylights in the picture.

UK Coast to Coast - Richmond to Danby Wiske (Day 11)

Gurning Photo of the Day – nothing of interest to use

Nothing here!

Days 10 & 11 – Reeth to Richmond (and a rest day)

Reeth to Richmond 18.5 km. Another rather wet leg of the trip, so wet in fact that Frank only took around ten photos, and we seem to have misplaced the photos I took of the outside of the accommodation. Steve’s waterproof camera is proving to be a real bonus.

Leaving Reeth we had our first navigational challenge. We missed a turn off we should have taken onto a road but as it turned out our alternate route was quite picturesque. We ended up in Grinton and used a track alongside the River Swale to get back on track. And in my defence (yep – Frank here) it was raining quite steadily and the turnoff was in the  middle of the Reeth Show which was a paddock full of livestock. Had we known Reeth Show’s reputation for bringing rain we might have rearranged our schedule.

The walk included a march through a pretty woodland that went up 375 steps (so they say) that were placed by nuns as a walkway to the Abbey. From there our plan was to have morning tea at Elaine’s Teas that was run in a local farm. In what is proving to be typical for us they weren’t open – we suspect Elaine was at the Reeth Show.

According to Wainwright the route into Richmond provided a great view of Richmond from the sign at the start of town. He may be right but in the haze of light drizzle and the tall trees that are by the road now we didn’t see it.

We booked two nights at Willance House in Richmond as we thought by this stage we would need a day’s rest from walking. Our hosts Colin and Sandra were very hospitable and extremely well organised. They welcomed us in and while Colin took away our wet, muddy boots, Sandra promptly whisked away all our waterproof pants to dry. She returned them the following day not only dry but clean too. Sandra also did some laundry for us at a very reasonable price (Richmond doesn’t have a laundrette). The house had lots of character but was very well appointed – the best of both worlds – and breakfast was wonderful. Cereals, very nice yoghurt, a wide variety of fresh fruits (as well as the more commonly offered grapefruit and prunes), scones, croissants, and of course the full English breakfast including Colin’s special fourteen minute sausages.

We planned to do a lot more blog updates but unfortunately Colin’s Wi-Fi was on the blink and he didn’t manage to get it fixed until we were almost ready to leave. So the guys went to the Railway complex and did come blog updates and emails from there instead, while I went to the hairdressers. The complex included a microbrewery called (imaginatively) Richmond Brewing Company. The equipment would have kept Matt amused for years!

We had a bit of a walk around Richmond which was also notable for being the only place we have managed to get Carol a soy latte so far.

While walking around town Steve and I found an elderly gentleman trying to carry a telephone table and he looked to be struggling. He was actually trying to step in between table top and the bars that reinforce the legs and slide it up his torso. Frank and Steve offered to carry it for him but he insisted they get it into position and he would be alright. He set off looking quite a strange sight but was moving quite well. On our way out of Richmond the next morning we ran into him again. Thankfully he had extricated himself from the table and was on his way into town with his trolley to buy some goods. Turns out he was 80 years old, had mischievous, sparkling eyes and could talk the legs off a telephone table. It took us a while to terminate the conversation but he was good fun.

 

We had a most enjoyable Thai meal at A Taste of Thailand on the first night and then went to one of the local Indian restaurants (Amontola) on the second night. They served the largest naan breads we have ever seen and we were all kicking ourselves for not taking the camera to dinner. They came hung on a steel thing that was a bit reminiscent of a fake Christmas tree, they must have been about 40cm long.

UK Coast to Coast - Reeth to Richmond (Day 10)

Gurning Photo of the Day – Cairn at Applegarth Scar