My walking day on Friday started with cake. It was only 9am, but I had already dropped Mick off in Grosmont to walk with Jack Frost (an American chap who we met when he was walking Land’s End to John o’Groats in 2011, and who, having walked the Camino de Santiago last month, had popped back over to the UK to walk Wainwright’s Coast to Coast). I had duly delivered Colin back to his pitch in Robin Hood’s Bay and was about to set out to walk back to meet Mick and Jack, when hunger drove me cakewards.
I met Mick and Jack sooner than I expected, but not before I had submerged both feet and parts of my legs in wallowing bogs on’t moors.
Having taken a different route on my outward leg to intercept them, there wasn’t much repetition in my day, and all recollection of having walked Graystone Hill moor when we did the C2C ourselves in 2008 had long since departed. I guess that, with one heather moor looking very much like the next, there was nothing about this one to make it stick in my mind.
The second episode of cake occurred just before we left that moor, to walk down to Hawsker and on to the coast, although the bit between Hawsker and the coast was broken by a stop in a cafe at a holiday park. Cake may have featured, along with lashings of tea.
The forecast weather for today was heavy rain, without intermission, from about 4am to 4pm, and to the point where we entered the cafe the rain had been pretty persistent, but not uncomfortably heavy. By the time we left the cafe it was really coming down. Still, it was only three miles to Robin Hood’s Bay.
The coast path, in keeping with the dampness of the weather, was muddy, which would barely have been noticed (save for the odd slip and slide) had there been views to capture our minds. Alas, the views were somewhat curtailed, and the grey sky merged seamlessly into the grey sea. It’s a lovely bit of coast, but it just wasn’t being shown off at its best today (which was a shame for Jack, as it’s his first time in this neck of the woods).
This was the only time we broke the camera out, to snap Jack as he snapped his destination
Many C2Cers (mainly Australian) were celebrating on the beach when we got there, and Mick & I did duly shake people’s hands when proffered, but in response to the congratulations received, we did have to confess that we had only completed a day walk.
What to do next, but to take our dripping packs and attire off to a nice tea room for much more tea – and some cake*?
The weather was a shame, and did spoil the views, but it didn’t detract from a grand day of catching up with Jack.
The stats for the day were 14.75 miles walked for Mick and 13.75 for me with Mick having 600’ more ascent than me, at 2700’.
(*There has been one cake-eating incident omitted form this account, purely to stop anyone suggesting that I should join Cake-Fiends Anonymous.)
I had no reason to eat cake at lunch today other than I Wanted it. So if you have to join CFA, so do I. Or maybe, I'll just have the cake and eat it!!!
ReplyDeleteI think you are saving all your fine weather and views credits for next years Challenge. Remember to share!
I thought we had attracted some indifferent weather this year, but your luck seems to be even worse than ours. At least you are choosing nice venues for your wet days!
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