Clay Bank Top to Glaisdale Day 14

After being dropped at Clay Bank Top to resume our walk we had a short, sharp climb onto Urra Moor.  Here, remarkably, was our first and only mist for the whole journey. It was thin, high and lasted only ten minutes.  This was a further instance of the good fortune we'd had with the weather ... and even this brief mist we encountered only because we started early to get stuck into the 19 miles of today's walk.

The 19 miles (29 km) worried us when we first looked at the itinerary but this is a good spot for a long hike as long as you don't get driving rain.  Much of it is on the old Rosedale Ironstone railway which has now been dismantled, leaving a wide cinder and pebble track with a gentle gradient through the moors. Consequently we averaged 5km an hour for much of the trip.

Mysterious face etched into old stone marker on Urra Moor - a neolithic smiley?

The old Rosedale Ironstone railway ... straight and flat!

However even easy walking needs a few breaks and The Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge road was a welcome sight when it came into view, even if it took us another half hour to reach it. We arrived just before lunch and had cafe lattes and hot chocolates, just beating two busloads of elderly tourists. They do a good business up there and have ten Real Ale taps so it must really buzz in the evenings.

Fat Betty (on the right)

Through the afternoon there were occasional showers but nothing uncomfortable.  We paid our tribute to "Fat Betty" where one is expected to leave a treat but also take one that has been left by earlier travellers. We sheltered from a brief shower and lunched outside Trough House, an old stone hut near Fryup Dale (love those names).

Trough House - locked, but provided a sheltering wall for lunch

Fryup Dale - home of the full English breakfast?

As we approached our destination, Glaisdale, we caught up with a weary hiker, one of the few who was not enjoying himself. He was travelling unbooked and had his camping gear on his back. We struck up a conversation and he said that despite his badly blistered feet he had been turned away from camping at the Lion Inn because he hadn't booked (even though they appeared to have ample room for campers). This seemed odd but we took him at his word. He refused an offer of Compeed for his blisters saying that he dare not take off his boots and look. His destination was Glaisdale station, then straight home by train. This seemed so sad considering he was only 1-2 days from completing the walk.

At Glaisdale we found our accommodation at the award winning Red House Farm B&B and were met with a friendly welcome and a hot cup of tea. We found we had caught up with our steady walking friends from Connecticut and they joined us for dinner at the Arncliffe Arms, along with Aileen and some others who had become C2C companions in recent days.

Most of those staying at Glaisdale were walking straight through to Robin Hoods Bay next day, a long haul of 20 miles. We were glad we had taken the extra day to stop at Littlebeck and then have a much more leisurely 12 mile walk on the final day to enjoy ourselves as we approached Robin Hoods Bay with a good measure of self satisfaction.