Day Sixteen - Grosmont to Robin Hood‘s Bay - 9 May

Time Departed: 8:50am Time Arrived: 5:00pm Distance: 26 kms Cumulative Distance: 309.7kms Percentage Completed: 100% Weather: Mostly sunshine in the morning, overcast in the afternoon Accommodation: Devon House B&B We made it! It was a long day and the path tried to throw everything at us just for good measure! We had a very steep climb out of Grosmont and it took us quite some time to reach the highest summit of the day initially on footpath and then on tarmac. Near the top we set out looking for the High Bride Stones and Low Bride Stones. We found them but apart from realising that these standing stones were ancient in origin we didn’t know anything more about them.

At the summit we also had a good view over Whitby and its abbey. This view kept us company for most of the day and it looked like the path was taking us there instead of Robin Hood’s Bay. Our first break was at eleven o’clock after a steep descent into the small community of Littlebeck. We saw a tea room notice forty minutes along the track at Falling Foss so we didn’t delay. We walked alongside the Little Beck and May Beck streams and on our way we climbed steeply to The Hermitage which is a solid large boulder hollowed out with ample seating for about fifteen inside. It is unknown why George Chubb did this in 1790. We made it to the tea room at Midge Hall by noon and found it sat above the beautiful waterfall Falling Foss. We sat in the beautiful garden and enjoyed a cuppa with homemade cakes. When we set out again we had about fifteen kilometres to go.

The path became very muddy in the nearby woods and it was good to get on some tarmac higher up the ridge. We then went through very wet peat bog areas on Smeaton Low Moor and it became very frustrating and slow going. We had another break after this to regain our energy. From here the path improved and we decided to take the cliff path around the head north of Robin Hood’s Bay rather than the flat straight ex-railway path into town. We were pleased we did this as we had good views over the cliffs and eventually rounding Ness Point we finally saw our destination. It was a good sight. We soon descended from the cliffs and started walking through the streets of Robin Hood’s Bay and descend through the heart of the village down to the sea. We had a lovely surprise with Mylo and Cliff walking up the steep road to meet us. We all walked down to the sea ramp and took out our stones from St Bees.

Mylo photographed us throwing our stones into the sea. We were all very pleased to have reached our destination. After a series of photos to record the event we headed to the nearest pub to celebrate and have dinner. Neil ended as he started with a huge Cumberland sausage and mash.

Mylo surprised us with Olympic Gold Medals which we proudly wore. We all signed the book at the pub and wrote our individual comments. We laughed at Chris’s which, in part, said, “Never again!”. The walk had been a challenge mostly because of the weather. We had some lovely sunny days but the days when it blew a gale, rained, hailed, sleeted and then some snow tested us both physically and mentally. We had the wind against us for most of the way which was unusual. Ron thought Wainwright’s route linked all the muddy paths from coast to coast! As long distance walkers we know it’s all part of the experience and we saw the wonderful and contrasting countryside of the Lakes District, the Dales and the Moors. Importantly, we stuck together as a team. We all have different personalities but we rubbed together very well and this made our walk very enjoyable.