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Published: October 12th 2010
Day 19 Egton Bridge to Robin Hood’s Bay
I remember people always saying that from here onin it’s all downhill. They didn’t say how many downhills and left out the 10 uphills. We started the day with a cold breakfast tray left outside our door because we wanted to leave by 7:30 and the guy wasn’t going to get up half an hour earlier. Probably don’t blame him and the breakfast tray sounded like a good compromise. We had cereal and a banana. No coffee and of course we have been used to about triple that amount of breakfast. Bad decision by us since as the hours went by I was definitely getting grouchier without the coffee. I’m not addicted - I just need the kickstart to get going.
The walk started easily to a place called Grosmont and we passed donkeys, ponies, ducks, pheasants and grouse and it was flat. We entered Grosmont and it seemed to be straight up for 2 miles. It levelled out then which was good because my knees were stating to quake. We then went over moors and all you could see was moor - not a photo op anywhere - wait I did take a pic of a signpost as it was the only feature you could see. It is tricky going through the moors as you constantly watch your feet for the mud slicks and puddles (mini-lakes). If you leave the path to get around one of these lakes it is like walking on a very wet sponge and you never know when that sponge won’t hold your weight and your foot sinks under. I feel like I’m trying to walk on water - think lighter and faster as I quickly scan the area for the next footfall. I got through this set of moors with amazingly dry feet. Next we travelled downhill steeply into a village called Littlebeck. Here we stopped for sandwiches and tea from our backpacks - nothing available in the village. It was here Ross was hoping to find me some caffeine as my tone was not very lighthearted. We had only covered about 5 miles of the 17. After rising from the bench we had to climb uphill for another 2 miles. We weren’t the only ones having a hard time with this climb. There was a Clydesdale (ridden by a very large woman with a whip) who regularly stopped and he went no faster than us. It was making the rider rather furious. I felt sorry for the Clydesdale. Once we were at the top of the climb we had a mile of flat tarmac to walk on and then another 2 miles of moor. Obviously my lightness and agility had lessened as I ended up with 2 bog-soaked feet . Never slipped or fell through. I just couldn’t manage to clear the water areas and a few well-chosen footsteps which looked like they were little hillocks to use as stepping stones turned out to be fakes - just reeds hiding the water underneath. Can’t imagine what this would be like if there was any kind of predator in the area - imagine crocs or piranhas. We finally got through this and we headed to a Tea Shoppe. It was 1:45 when Ross read from the book that the place closes at 2. Hoofed it a bit. Lunch turned out to be a pot of tea and a bun as she wasn’t serving food this close to closing. Karma. Someday she will need food energy and it won’t be there, just closed signs. We ate all the treats we had in our backpacks when we got back on the road. Our last leg was walking right along the coast up high on a cliff. A cliff that had ravines, etc. which meant up and down and up and down. Finally we spotted Robin Hood’s Bay and our pace quickened. As we passed through the town to the sea we were cheered on by a few groups who had passed us back and forth the last few days. After Ross threw his rock in the Sea (tide was out so we had to walk further of course) we met up with one of the groups and had a drink at the pub (Crabbie’s). I got myself a jet pendant (Queen Victoria loved jet and it was mined in the area) and then we went to our B&B for a shower and rest. Dinner was exceptional. I can’t believe I won’t have to put on my muddy hiking pants and shoes tomorrow or carry a heavy daypack. We are off to London, then Paris. Whew! 40,232 steps or 17.5 mi
Total steps for the WALK not counting the rest days : 512,058 steps or 195.31 miles
A few more than the official walk says because of our few unplanned detours.
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Tot: 0.414s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.1884s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Lynn
non-member comment
Yippee!
I loved your blog. You are an amazingly resilient hiker Di. I am gobsmacked at how far you have walked, up and up and down and oh so wet. Tell Ross I am not sure either why he needed to jog as well. He is iron man. I hope the visa is charged up for Paris! Looking forward to seeing you back here.