Toward the land of the rising sun

In all my chat about gratitude yesterday, I forgot to mention something incredibly exciting: i could see the sea!! After climbing Beacon Hill and popping out onto Scarth Wood Moor, there it was. Just beyond what Brian reliably informed me was Redcar. It may not quite be my destination (that’s further south and further away) but it still felt pretty momentous to catch a first glimpse of the other coast of the Coast to Coast!

Day 14 provided ample opportunity to prepare for the final push into Robin Hood’s Bay. 

Breakfast was the biggest bowl of porridge I have even seen. I had already eaten the biggest schnitzel I have ever seen the previous evening, so please don’t expect this 192 mile-walk to have left me sporting supermodel proportions. All this food was provided by Heidelberger Wolfgang, quite a character who also happens to own the biggest dogs (German Schnauzers) I have ever seen.

After climbing back on to the Moors and reading a helpful sign about all the things that were going to kill me on this walk (adders, sheep ticks, wild fires...), I set off again, this time in search of the famous Lion Inn.

The walk was easy going along good paths which provided more fabulous views, the Farndale valley looking particularly picturesque with the sun on it. The heather on both sides of the track was in full bloom with only the odd sheep breaking up the carpet of pinks and purples and blues.

I made it to the Lion Inn alive and in time for lunch so the rest of the afternoon was spent having my first bath since Kirkby Stephen (bliss!), chatting to the locals and other walkers and cyclists who were keeping the pub very busy and trying to expand my head to fit in all the sky I could see around me! I’m going to find it quite hard to go back to office life in a couple of weeks.

Day 14:
Walked: 22,512 steps (9 miles)

Stayed and ate: The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge

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