Red House Farm, Glaisdale to West Cote/Clay Bank Top
18.6 miles but Lois cut it in half
9 miles in 4.5 hours. Perfect amount of time for the knee.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by what things you didn't do, than by the ones you did." Mark Twain
Last night after hauling the creaky knees down the extremely steep road to the Arncliff Arms around 7 pm, which is owned by a man named Neil Cook, whose father I met waiting for a bus in Whitby, was told I would have to until 8:30 when a reservation had been made for those of us from Red House Farm. I looked in the dining room and only one man was seated. Asked if it would be possible for me to get some small and light early as I hadn't eaten since 11:30 and was Hungry. NO, I would have to wait as the kitchen couldn't handle the food. I sat and stared at the help, 4 young girls behind the bar doing basically nothing. Actually by 8 pm it was more of a glare. At 8:15 suddenly I could order food. Now there were about 5 tables of people who had arrived. I had the tomato soup and left quickly, well as quickly as the knee would let this person hobble out and Up the hill. Learned this morning that there is a problem with the cook who decides on her own when she is going to start cooking. Silly arrangement with management to let a lowly cook direct operations
Here is the man who was being served, while the rest of the room was empty. And the room extended around to the right with another 5-6 tables.
Early morning coffee setup/later afternoon tea in the room.
Tom and Sandra have been working on their swimming pool since I was here in 2013. Last night they had their first swim in it. And, Lois was the First guest they showed it to.
Amazing what an old barn can be turned into!
Taxi to Lion Inn on top of Blakey Ridge. As the taxi approached the Lion Inn there were 7 groups of hikers just setting off for the day. The outline of their shapes could be seen from a mile away.
Looking back up at the Lion Inn as the disused train line path was begun.
Had a cup of coffee before setting off the days walk. My cup had a square bottom and the saucer matched.
"A Rare and Valuable Habitat. Britain is thought to have almost 75%of the world's remaining moors. North York Moors has the largest continuous area in England.
"Despite appearance, the moorland is not truly a natural landscape. For centuries, sheep farmers and game management have helped maintain this special environment."
The rain is approaching. Quick put on the waterproofs.
First set of people met on the trail today were a mother and daughter team from Minneapolis. Elizabeth and Rebecca. They had been told by Judy and Stuart to watch for me. Chatted for 10 minutes about our walks, and agreed why we can not walk like this at home. Farmers would not allow it.
Missed stopping at Fat Betty and Old and Young Ralph. They are all medieval crosses. Probably used as Way cross or marker stones for hundreds of years. They were a great help to pilgrims.
The Old Ralph cross, or was it, the Young Ralph cross, that legend says was set up to mark the resting place of a monk from Farmdale and a nun from Rosedale. They would often meet at that location for a romantic liaison of sorts, but were discovered by their superiors and came to a nasty end.
Heard about 2 Australians who are taking 24 days to cross the country. Sort of like the "slow boat to China", but possibly their knees have not given out.
Thankful for Ibuprofen!!
The smallest cookie came with the coffee
from the Lion Inn. Saved it for an emergency.
The only other foods being carried today were: 1 clementine, 1 apple, 1 snicker bar (lunch).
Resting in the wet moor.
"Wainwright laid the foundations for the best (it is the BEST) long distance walk across Britain, but even he did not prescribe the route He suggested a particular way of walking from one coast to the other coast. But urged people to find their own variation."
Lois is making up her own journey across England, making the best of a Not the Best Knee, but still on the journey, and can still smile.
At breakfast this morning was a young couple from Provo, Utah. They currently are living in France for a year for the husbands work. He is a nuclear chemist.
The Utah couple at breakfast have been walking a lot with another couple from London who live near where the recent attacks took place. The wife works in that area and they often go out to eat in the artsy neighborhood.
At breakfast there was also a lot of talk about blisters which they all seemed to be struggling with and all the various approaches to dealing with them. At some point they walked with a physician who offered her method, and she knew from experience as her feet were tormenting her. Poke the bubbles open, drain, cover with Compeed.
Last night was able to watch the final episode of Call The Midwife on my phone. Now just two more finales of other shows to catch up on when the wifi is working good, and the evenings are long.
Bird? Other creature?
Judy's painting studio.
Outside of West Cote
The Buck Inn where dinner was eaten, for the 4th time. There will not be a fifth, even though it was tasty.
Dinner: blacken salmon. But eating alone is not fun.
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