Like Here Only Different ~ Day 17 Egton Bridge to Robin Hood's Bay.

Egton Bridge to Robin Hoods Bay 16 miles / 25.7 Km 7 hours ~ Egton Bridge - Grosmont - High Bride Stone - Littlebeck  - The Hermitage - Falling Foss - THE NORTH SEA - Robin Hoods Bay.  Tonight I stay at The Villa www.thevillarhb.co.uk

Here we are, the last day.  At 7 1/2 hours this feels like the longest day.  Sixteen miles and my walking companions of the day agree that today had everything we have encountered in the last  two weeks, condensed.

I did not get out to Whitby yesterday and now I have a little regret.  The last few days I have not slept well and feel like I am at home, waking up at 5a.m.

I set out from Egton Bridge in blazing sun.  My walking companions are Geoff and Trudi from Australia.  We have shared meals and chats along the way, today we stuck together.

It is hot and sunny and thankfully this route today had some nice woods.  It wanders back and forth in the environment, and it dawned on  us that we were having a recap.

Lovely farmland

We strolled easily to Gromont and pass its historic train depot

To remind us how much we loved the Lakes district, we had about one mile of hill climb.  Up roads marked 30% Grade.

At the top, we are one again, and for the last time, in a heather moor.

Pink Bell Heather

Red Grouse and Curlew fly and call.  It was a sharp regret that the climb up was now met with a road walk down to Littlebeck.


We pass through several small hamlets which were once the center of Alum mining.  Passing through Littlebeck and into Littlebeck Woo d was a wonderful treat.  The woods were dark and cool and we had the wonderful May Beck tumbling over rocks.. Here in the woods we find The Hermitage.  A little hut carved out of an old erratic boulder.  The year 1790 is carved on the doorway.  There is a bench carved around the inside and two stone seats on top.

Falling Foss comes just in time for lunch. Waterfall and friendly Tea Garden.  It is a wonderful spot and the sound of the falls made everything feel cool.  Lemonade and ginger cake for me.

All along the way today, we had clear views of Whitby and the North Sea.  That first official glimpse was a smile moment.  Our big landmark is the Whitby Abbey, on a hill south of town.  At the edge of the sea, this ruin was the inspiration for Dracula.

You will have to view large to make out the Abby.  Our journey today seemed to have the Abbey as the pivot point.

Pushing on we finally take that momentous right turn and head south along the cliffs of the North Sea.

We sat down here for cold drinks from the cafe up the way.

My guide books firmly request a check in at my room before heading down into town for a celebration. 

Down into town is right.  One last toe crunching walk down the narrow lane.

I let my rock loose in the North Sea.  Wainwrights Bar has a ledger book to sign and I toasted the finish with a cider.  Lift a glass and bid goodbye to companions of the trail.

A trip finished  and a lifetime of memories begin.

Tomorrow I head back to London via bus and 2 trains, then home on Thursday with a ton of stinky laundry.

Cheers, everyone.  Hope you had fun.

I certainly did.

Like Here Only Different ~ Day 16 Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge / Grosmont

Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge 10 miles / 16Km 4 hours ~  Blakey Ridge - Young Ralph Cross - Fat Betty - Great Fry-up Dale - Glaisdale Rigg - Glaisdale - Beggars Bridge.  Tonight I stay at Horseshoe Hotel, www.egtonbridgehotel.co.uk

The way today is easy and mostly downhill.  From 394m at Lion Inn down to double digits, 46m at Egton Bridge.  The fog and mist don't want to burn away this morning.

We start out with two crosses.  Young Ralph Cross dates back to the 1200's and was said to have been erected by a farmer called Ralph upon finding a dead traveler who was penny-less.  The current stone cross dates from the 1800's.  It is a tradition to leave a coin here.

Along the trail is Fat Betty.  A short and tubby stone cross, the trail tradition is to leave a snack and take a snack. 

The snack supply looks a bit dodgy, so I gave Betty my regards and tucked the KitKat away for later.


This site has a wonderful gallery of many walks in the region of North York Moors.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/don.burluraux/index.htm

Here you will find an index of the many crosses and stones.  Some of the stories are quite fun.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/don.burluraux/crosses.htm

We pass above Great Fry-up Dale.  A Fry-up is the traditional British Breakfast of eggs bacon beans mushrooms toast all done up in a pan.  Usually associated with a lot of calories and a lot of fat, it is not an every day thing, though it is tempting.  Can I just say, English bacon  (!!!!!)   I think I have had more eggs in the last 2 weeks than in the last year.  I will have to return to slim rations.  Servings here are monstrous.

The way continues along over rolling land and when we are on Glaisdale High Moor, if it is clear we could possibly see our first glimpse of the North Sea.  Today there is no such luck.  As we slowly descend I still cannot be sure of what I am seeing.  I was sorry to miss the pretty views.  I'm sure I will feel the joy Lewis and Clark felt when they saw the Pacific Ocean.  The heath held a few grouse families to spy on, and I also spotted a Golden Plover.

As quickly as the heather moors started a few days ago, bang they are gone.  We enter into cultivated fields and pick up the River Desk in Glaisdale.

The road tumbled down steeply through the village and at the river I went out to the rocks to get a picture of the Beggars Bridge.  This bridge comes with a legend.  A poor man named Ferris was trying to woo a girl from a higher class.  She lived on the other side of the river.  To be worthy of her, he had to improve his standing and set away to seek his fortune.  He wanted a fair well with his love, but the river Esk was so high that he could not cross, spoiling the goodbye.  As in all heroic stories, he returned successful, and used some of his money to build a bridge so that no one would ever have the misfortune to be unable to cross.

I had hoped to push on to Grosmont and the historic train depot. I will pass through there tomorrow but today was the chance to take a ride on the famous North Yorkshire Moors railway out to the seaside town of Whitby.   http://www.nymr.co.uk/  This historic railway has been featured in many TV and movie productions, including the Harry Potter series.

Today it was not to be.  I arrived without enough time to catch the 130 to the seaside town of Whitby.  I was surprised to find an old stone marker in the high moor that said the path we were on was the Whitby Road.

So it is a quiet afternoon in the sunny yard getting ready for the final 16 mile march to the sea.