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!