Oh, rock and roll me over, one more day!
This was a special shanty sung by 19th century seamen who were returning home from a long trip and they knew they were just one day from land.
Well here we are in Littlebeck in North Yorkshire after 18 days plying the Lakes, Dales and Moors and only one day from the sea. The old refrain is running through my head with more than a little sadness.
We had an easy day of it. After our 29km haul across the moors yesterday we had a mere 13km to walk today, through forest along the banks of the Esk, through the villages of Egton Bridge and Grosmont and over the moor to Intake Farm just outside Littlebeck village.
Just outside Glaisdale is Beggar's Bridge with the delightful story of Thomas Ferris, a pauper who courted a rich squire's daughter. He determined to make his fortune at sea and tried to visit his sweetheart before he left but couldn't do so because the river was swollen after recent rains. He duly made his fortune and married his true love (a rare happy ending) and with his new-found wealth he built a bridge so that future lovers should not be kept apart by the Esk.
Beggar's Bridge, Glaisdale
Grosmont gave us the opportunity for a slight change of pace on this easier day, for the North York Moors Railway runs through Grosmont with its steam trains attracting railway buffs from far and near. In fact this was the train that was used as the Hogwarts Express in the original Harry Potter movie.
Grosmont station ... All aboard for Hogwarts!
So we opted for a trip to Whitby, partly out of nostalgia as Irene and I have fond memories of past visits and won't be back there this trip, but also out of expediency because we could use an ATM cash top up and Gen needed another camera chip. The 25 minutes we had in Whitby was just enough time to do this as well as mix with the hordes of visitors which we found slightly overwhelming after the solitude of the moors. (London's going to be a shock for us all!)
A flying visit to Whitby
Arriving back at Grosmont we climbed the last steep hill of the Coast to Coast walk up to Sleights Moor before arriving at our last rural B&B, with the very welcoming Judith and Rob our hosts for the evening and beef and lamb roasts in the oven.
Ancient standing stones on Sleights Moor (High Bride Stones)
It's just before dinner now and I think I can even smell Yorkshire Pud ... what a lovely way to finish!
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