Day Fifteen - Blakey to Grosmont - 8 May

Time Departed: 9:45am Time Arrived: 4:15pm Distance: 22 kms Cumulative Distance: 283.7kms Percentage Completed: 91% Weather: Changeable with mostly sunshine and little rain Accommodation: The Station Inn We had a good day walking through the final stages of the North York Moors before reaching Glaisdale for a late lunch. At breakfast we found a couple of fellow walkers had decided to pull out of the Coast to Coast walk due to one of them feeling quite ill. We had kept company with them on and off since Orton. They were very disappointed that they weren’t going to make it especially as they were so close. We did feel for them.

The Lion Inn might be high in the moors in the middle of nowhere but the standard of service and food was very good. As we moved away from the inn we kept high on the moor ridge and came across some very old crosses including one called the White Cross and commonly known as Fat Betty.

We spent the majority of the morning walking on Danby High Moor with extensive views over lovely deep green valleys on either side. We had morning tea at the only shelter on the moor at a stone shooter’s hut. It very conveniently had a stone seat at the front of the hut. These huts are used by shooters for the hunting of grouse of which we heard and saw many.

We encountered twenty minutes of rain which forced us to put on our raincoats and then the sun came out for the remainder of the day. We came across three men running the Coast to Coast in five days and raising money for multiple sclerosis. They would have reached Robin Hood’s Bay by nightfall. We worked out that they would have been running more than a marathon each day for the five days. An amazing effort! At the bottom of the scattered village of Glaisdale we found a pub incorporating a tea room. They had picnic tables outside on a green and it was an ideal time and place to have a late lunch in the sun. Ron and Chris availed themselves of an ale and Neil, Henk and I had a cuppa and “goddies” at the tearoom.

When we left Glaisdale we descended to the nearby River Esk where the path took us through East Arnecliff Wood with a centuries old and well-worn stone path which was originally a trade route. The path led us into an attractive village, Egton Bridge which boasted large, attractive stone houses and a large, impressive church, St Hedda built in 1866. The remainder of the walk was flat along an old toll road along the valley floor of the Esk into Grosmont.

We passed the old toll house on the way with a sign depicting the charges for the use of the road. When we arrived at Grosmont an old steam train was preparing to leave the station. It was exciting to see it being prepared for departure. The Grosmont train station reflects an older era of train travel and attracts many visitors.

After the steam train left the station we headed for our various accommodations. The Station Inn is aptly named as it sits very close to the train line and we all met at the pub at seven o’clock for dinner. It was a busy pub as it is the only one in the village. Tomorrow is our last day of walking and it‘s a longer day. It seems an age since we set out from St Bees fifteen days ago.