F'n'S Overseas: Day 17 (Last Day!)– Grosmont to Robin Hoods Bay

A long walk to finish – 25kms – that began with an extremely steep 3km hill coming out of Grosmont – now we knew what the old gentleman in Glaisdale was referring to! And just to top it off we were walking through heather covered moors with patches of bog – again!

After leaving the moors (for the last time!) we came to a small hamlet called Littlebeck. It had some nice old houses but it led to Little Beck Wood. A lovely walk through oak trees that seemed to contain more birdlife than we had seen anywhere else on the walk. The weirdest thing though was a large boulder that had been hollowed out in 1790 called The Hermitage (see gurning photo of the day below). After emerging from the wood we could see most of the way back to Grosmont – well at least to the top of the long hill and our path through the moors before Littlebeck.

And then, much to everyone’s joy, we saw the sea. In fact we were so pleased we stopped for lunch!

After a little more walking we saw Robin Hoods Bay for the first time. We stopped for the obligatory photos and then set off for the last march.

At the harbour we wet our feet in the North Sea and threw the pebbles we picked up from the Irish Sea at St Bees 17 days ago into the water. After all that walking we really needed filling so Steve and I ordered cod and chips – must have been some cod in its day!

We stayed at The Wayfarer Bistro & Guest House in Robin Hoods Bay. The rooms overlooked the main street in Robin Hoods Bay and was most comfortable. There was mail for us when we arrived a Congratulations card from Kath. Thanks for having such confidence in us Kath, or was it that being a Cumbrian lass you knew if we had made it through the Lake District in the pouring rain the rest of the walk would seem relatively easy by comparison? :-)

UK Coast to Coast - Grosmont to Robin Hoods Bay (Day 17)

Gurning Photo of the Day – The Hermitage

The End

317.9km travelled, 9454m climbed and 9467m descended over 16 days of walking (with a rest day in Richmond) and now it’s finished. Even with all the training it has been tough on occasion. Everyone says how terrific the Coast to Coast walk is, and so it is, with some truly awesome scenery along the way and the company of old friends and new. But no-one mentions the howling winds, torrential rain, biting insects, tracks that turn into streams, blistered feet (despite all the preparations) and aching muscles. Despite all that we wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Would we do anything different given what we know now? Yep – we’d buy waterproof pack liners as well as covers, as the covers just didn’t do the job in the heavy rain and the contents of our day packs were often wet. We’d also try and ensure that all the accommodation we booked had adequate drying facilities.

It will feel strange getting up tomorrow morning and not having to walk between 11 and 26km but this leg of the trip is at an end and it’s off to northern Spain next. Asturias here we come!