Day 4. Grasmere and Wordsworth to Patterdale and the Inn at the Lake

Day 4.  This post was lost in cyberspace despite the save button.  Am reconstructing what I wrote at the end of our fourth day....

Today we began with a tour of Dove Cottage, the residence of William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy.  The main floor of the cottage was rather small and dark on the inside -- very little light shone in from the few windows on this typical overcast day and the cooking fireplace and animal fat candles made it a smokey den.  He later married and had three children here.  We understand that William spent a lot of his time alone in the much cheerier upstairs parlor with the larger windows!  We left with a realistic sense of life in a country home in the early 1800's.

Leaving Grasmere, we resumed our walk through the Lake District, the ever-present stone walls creating a patchwork of fields and pastures.

We climbed up to the left of the waterfalls along the "tongue" and over to Grisdale Tarn, our high point at 1800 feet.

When Ben pointed out our route today, I thought with a shake of my head, "Okay, here we go."  It always looks daunting but we always get there.  He is always bright and cheery and begins many of his informational conversations with, "OK Guys!,..." and starts us walking with "Let's go, Team!"  He is observant and will spend time chatting with each one of us as we make our way.  I've come to believe by this fourth day that we really are walking our way across England!  Can you spot our path?

We lunched below the monument that Wordsworth erected to memorialize the last time he saw his brother, John, who shortly thereafter was lost at sea, called "The Brothers Parting."  More stream beds as we walked the lower Grisdale Valley route.

We came out to a fantastic view of Ben's favorite stone wall -- the longest one he's seen.  Can you follow its path?  Amazing!

Spectacular views today as we descend through woods to our destination, The Inn at the Lake, a rather grand-looking hotel.  We'll be dressing for dinner tonight!

Peter has been conferring with Ben and Dave about the local craft beers and then trying a new one each night.  He also has been ordering menu items that Ben and Dave are choosing, such as whitebait (a sardine-like fish), black pudding (blood sausage for that extra protein pick-me-up), the local savory Cumberland sausage,...  Desserts have included sticky toffee pudding (a gingerbread cake lying in caramel sauce either with a small pitcher of cream or vanilla ice cream), creme brulee, Eton mess (a mix of Chantilly cream, fruit and meringue), tarts, and local/homemade ice cream.  Hard to pass up, but too rich for me to eat given our schedule!

Back Home!

Everyone was kinda quiet on our last morning.  During our drive to York from Robin Hood's Bay, David broke one silence by starting to name all the surfaces on which we walked -- pastures, stream beds, rocks, stones, peat bogs, star moss, sledge grass, moors, bridges, fords, railroad beds, lead tailings, blue slate, manure of assorted types and age, dirt tracks, up and over stiles, through kissing gates, across highways and along roads.  Ben will be heading to Nepal in a few weeks to lead a trek whilst Dave and Sue will be off to Greece next week to lead a sea kayak tour around the island of Milos.

After hugs goodbye at the York rail station, Peter and I took a cab to The Bloomsbury, our B&B, to deposit our luggage and then headed back to the city.  We popped into a French cafe for a mid-morning latte and croissant and enjoyed watching an accordion busker and all the people walking by.

It's beginning to sink in that our C2C adventure is coming to an end.  We explored some of the shops before heading to York Minster, a beautiful Gothic cathedral that was built beginning in the late 1200's.

 We learned several interesting facts from a friendly docent, e.g., Hitler expressly told his troops not to bomb York Minster because he wanted to march into York as had William the Conqueror in 1066.  When I inquired about all the screens that obscure the stained glass, we were told that the lead repairs to the glass had made the windows too heavy and that efforts to remove the lead and restore the windows were to begin in a couple of years.

We walked along the city walls before stopping for a hearty lunch at Betty's.  We got too full on the potato leek soup and an egg and mayo sandwich to sample any of its many famous pastry desserts.  After resting our legs at the B&B, we enjoyed a delicious dinner.  All of the English restaurants or pubs where we dined served a bowl or plate of freshly steamed vegetables family style.  I like being able to choose my portions.

After a pleasant day exploring this historic walled city, we left the next morning in heavy rain for London.  Arriving back in Earl's Court (Kensington) under sunny skies, we deposited our luggage at Hotel Indigo and took the Underground to Westminster Abbey.

Regrettably, the Abbey had closed early so we headed over to the Churchill War Rooms for a brief tour.   Joining the hustle and bustle of people at the close of their business day,

we headed back to an Italian restaurant where we had dined previously and enjoyed our last dinner in London.

The Underground and Heathrow Express transported us to the airport where we caught our flights home.  After 12+ hours of flying and being up more than 24 hours we were relieved and very glad to see Eben waiting for us at baggage claim!

The apples and pears are ripe and ready to be picked.  The Italian prunes were sacrificed to the rainy and windy weather that predominated while we were away.  We have mostly unpacked and are making a slow adjustment back to Pacific Daylight Time.

What an adventure this has been!  Once underway, I never doubted that I would complete the walk.  Blisters were a nuisance but, with appropriate bandaging, were manageable.  Legs were tight and weary at times but, after stretching and once walking, stepped up to the challenges of terrain and miles.  It truly was one foot in front of the other as well as appreciating where one was and what one was doing in that moment...  and not looking ahead and not dwelling on what was behind...  but finding that place of "this is where I am and want to be."  Many thanks to Ben and Dave as well as to my fellow travelers, Liz, David, Jim and Helen.  Most of all, my love and gratitude to Peter -- what an extraordinary way to celebrate and commemorate our 35th wedding anniversary!

Day 10. Richmond to Bolton on Swale and Danby-Wiske

Day 10.  At times using Google's Blogger program has been nearly as challenging as our walk...  I have lost several posts including this one from Day 10.  Fourteen miles today with only 200 feet of ascent.

We left the King's Head in Richmond and walked along lanes and paths along the River Swale.

Our route took us to the ruins of Easby Abbey, founded in 1152 and occupied until Henry VIII abolished the abbeys and monasteries in the 1500's.  Each of us wandered through the ruins of the abbey's many rooms.

I looked up to see ferns and a small vine (maybe soapwort) growing between the stones of one wall.  Perched on the plant was a small, delicate white feather.

 A good omen, I believe.  This was my figurative high point of the day.

Next door was a Catholic church with very old, fairly primitive frescos (in surprisingly good condition) above the altar.  David sat down in a pew and began to quietly sing Christmas hymns -- the acoustics were perfect.  It was a sweet moment.

Leaving the abbey and church, we passed through a couple of quaint villages and continued our walk through pastures.

We heard a sheep bleating in obvious distress.  Pinpointing its location in dense brambles took a few minutes, but Ben and Peter were able to find it.  Ben carries clippers with him, often pruning back nettles, blackberries or low hanging branches that obscure our path.  Today the clippers were used to help extricate the sheep who had gotten tangled up and stuck.

Stopping for lunch at a small church in Bolton on Swale, we caught up with Dave who had brought us treats including "oatmeal flapjacks."  These are not pancakes; rather, they are chewy bars made of butter, oats and honey.  Yummy!  A friendly churchwoman greeted us and invited us to come in and see the recent renovations.  The adjacent graveyard is the well-known resting place of Henry Jenkins whose birth and death dates span 169 years.

Regrettably my knees and heel blister were singing loudly by this point, so I opted to call it a day at 10 miles in favor of a hot bath at our hotel.  Dave was kind to drive me back and even though he then had to turn around to meet up with the rest of the group at the White Swan pub in Danby-Wiske.  

At dinner tonight when asked to tell his high point, Dave said that it was having my company this afternoon on his usually solitary drive.  I am very touched.  Dave is a kind man who quietly lights up every room he enters.  He always describes his high point as "fantastic."  He refers to his wife as "my Sue." After touring Richmond Castle yesterday, Peter and I were delighted to meet Sue as she had briefly stopped in Richmond for a cup of tea with Dave on her way home from visiting their granddaughter in Leeds.  We are most fortunate that he and Ben are part of this adventure!

Day 14. We made it! Robin Hood's Bay

Day 14.  The last day of our coast to coast walk.  My feet are absolutely a mess of blisters.  Peter has done a super-human job of bandaging.  I've decided to give my boots and socks to Ben who will take them (along with other pairs of boots) to Nepal and give them away.

We started back at the train station in Grosmont.  We watched the steam engines for a bit and then began our trudge along the road as it climbs a long hill.  The top was our literal high point.

In the distance we could see Whitby and the North Sea!  More road walking -- the asphalt is hard on the feet and legs - before we walked through Little Beck and turned into another lovely wood.  We came upon a class of school girls who were on a field trip and were measuring the slope of the hill.  Enjoyed our last elevenses beside a stone hermitage (that was chiseled out of a single boulder over a period of 17 years) before continuing on.  My heel blister had begun to sing so we stopped for re-bandaging.  Everyone has been tolerate of my hobbling along; we each have faced our physical challenges along the way.  Shortly our path took us into the last of the heather moors.  Swift and sprightly steps through the bogs!  A quick lunch -- tuna, of course! -- and we were back marching along the road.  We could see the North Sea and as we got near, Ben received a call from Dave who said the cliff path had been closed because there had been "an incident."  A helicopter, search & rescue, police, ambulance were all on the scene.  We later learned that someone had had a heart attack.  So we took a higher, alternative path that opened up with a sweeping view of Robin Hood's Bay.

Walking through the village down a steep lane to the beach was surreal.  We had walked across northern England.  We walked onto the beach, hugged, took photos and tossed the stones we had carried from St Bees into the surf.

We then headed to the Wainwright Pub where we signed the C2C log, enjoyed a cup of tea or a pint before we trudged back up the hill to the Victoria Hotel for a warm shower, delicious dinner and post-dinner C2C quiz in the coffee room (e.g., name five of the local beers; name two breeds of sheep; name the highest point of the walk).

The C2C walk was a trip of a lifetime.  Expectations were met and exceeded.  It was really hard work, and we succeeded in accomplishing what we had set out to do.  We are proud of our efforts, individually and as a team.

We'll bid a fond farewell to Ben, Dave, Liz, David, Jim and Helen in the morning as each of us heads our separate ways in York. Peter and I will spend the day there before heading to London on Wednesday and then flying home on Thursday.  

Day 11. Lovely Day in the Dales

Day 11.  It is Friday evening at the Three Tuns, a small pub in Osmotherley.  Standing at the bar are several local gents, two in tweed jackets and formal English hunting attire and another in kilts.  They are jovial and obviously enjoying their pints. Fellow traveler Dave has joined them and learned that they have just returned from hunting pheasant and grouse (at a cost of £600).

We walked 16+ miles today.  We began at The White Swan, a small pub in Danby-Wiske where yesterday's walk concluded, and walked along roads and lanes for a while until the path took us back into the pastures.  We've walked through many farms, observed farmers hard at work, haying, tilling, rounding up their sheep.  As we walked down a dirt drive toward a farm, we noticed a massive black hulk of a bull on the ground in front of us.  The farmer and his daughter were just leaving, but stopped their car to chat with us.  Seems that some of the farmer's herd had gotten loose earlier in the morning and the farmer had rounded them up and brought back in.  In all the commotion, this bull had become overly stressed and had had a heart attack and dropped dead, all 800 pounds of him.  A big loss to the farmer.

Onward.  The footpath brought us out to a busy, nine-lane highway.  There is no pedestrian crosswalk.  Nada.  The cars zoom by.  We wait for an opening and "sprint" across the first set of lanes to the median, then wait, and sprint again.   With all the C2C walkers -- 10,000 per year -- one would think a signal might be installed!  Onward.  My blister began to sing so I broke down and asked Liz to tell me about episode one of Downton Abbey.  The diversion worked and I settled back in.  One step at a time.

Mount Grace Priory was our lunch spot.  Ruins of an 11th or 12th century priory where monks lived in isolated cells are the backdrop to a stately manor that was restored in the 1700-1800's and used as a wealthy business man's residence and is now a museum.

With a mere 3.5 miles ahead we all opted to continue on, leaving Dave to drive to our day's endpoint alone.

There was a steady climb from the priory that took us through a lovely wood of silver birch.  Not much elevation today for our daily "high point."

We heard wood pigeons cooing; we saw them in New Zealand, too.  I heard another bleating sheep behind a dense hedgerow.  Ben stopped to investigate -- its head was stuck in the wire fence.  A few snips and off it went to rejoin the flock.

We have begun to leave the Dales.  Our path today took us into
Scarthwood Moor.

Dave was waiting for us at the car park.  He drove us to the village of Osmotherley where we're staying at a small pub known for its beer and delicious food called The Three Tuns.  16.5 miles today.  The same tomorrow.  The body is growing a bit weary but I'm not ready for our journey to end!!

Day 13. Glaisdale Grosmont & Goathland

Day 13.  Went to bed last night with a scratchy throat.  David's cold had made its way to Jim and I was not volunteering to be the next recipient.  In the morning, the scratchy throat's still there.   I am not to be deterred.

We left from Blakeley Ridge and trooped single file along the road, stopping to photograph the stone markers that denote the boundaries... no more stone walls.  Some of these markers have names -- "Old Marjorie" and "Fat Betty" were on this morning's route.  We took a group photo at the last cairn we'll see on the C2C; it was our high point as well.

The wind had come up and much like the first days of our journey, it was our companion for most of the day.  Clear, sunny skies.  No sheep in distress although Ben spied two stoats cavorting in the heather.

Having left the moors, we walked through quaint villages as well as a lovely wood outside of Glaisdale where centuries old stones had been laid as the foot path.  They were well-worn and are now concave.  The stories they could tell!  One of the day's high points.

Arriving in Grosmont (the "s" is silent), we went to the train station where several old coal-fed, steam trains operate as locals.  The air was thick and smokey.  We hopped on board and rode the train to Goathland where we are staying tonight.  As we were riding along, David pointed out that one could hear the train making that "chug-a-chug-a" sound.

Although tomorrow will be our last day, it won't be a walk in the park!   We have 16+ miles to go before reaching Robin Hood's Bay with 1700 feet of elevation.  Bogs along with a couple of steep descents are ahead.  We're nearly there!

Day 12. Weekend in the Moors

Day 12.  We left The Three Tuns after a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, fried eggs on thick brown toast (no brown sauce for me!) and my first latte on the trip and picked up where we left off.  Our walk today along the Cleveland Way segment of the C2C trail was nearly 17 miles -- up and over five "bumps" as Ben referred to them.   A bit more than bumps, I'd say. 

 As we crested one bump we came upon a group of hunters who were just finishing their morning's pheasant hunt.  All the men were appropriately dressed with ties and jackets.  They were accompanied by their hunting dogs -- several springer spaniels, a yellow lab and a clumber spaniel .   The gents were an amiable lot and agreed we could take their photo.

  

Our high point today was 1250 feet although most of the bumps were this high.

Moving on, we stopped for lunch at the fourth bump as the mist dissipated and the sun appeared.  We had a spectacular, panoramic view of the Dales below as we enjoyed our goat cheese and chutney sandwiches on brown bread.  Yum!! That's Ben, Peter and Jim getting ready to eat lunch.

After the fifth bump, we climbed down a long stone-stepped path -- a knee killer -- and connected with a old railroad track.  We walked the track through the moors filled with ling heather, grouse and sheep for nine miles.  Then it was up a hill to Blakeley Ridge where we met up with Dave.  A pint for most and a cup of tea for me before we headed on to the Fox and Hound where we will spend the night.

Knees are stiff and hurting; legs are solid and sore.  Glad to have a stretching regiment -- thank you, Laurie and Tucker!  (We won't even discuss the state of my feet!)  We've walked over 160 miles.  Fourteen miles tomorrow!