I woke up this morning to wet foggy conditions again, however it was bright and you could tell that it was only a question of time before the sun broke through. I had intended to take a photograph of every camp I stayed at, but at the first camp I had been deterred by the thick fog so I took one at this the second camp.
At Lordstones I took the opportunity to pitch the tent close to trees and an unoccupied bell tent for shelter.
After an excellent dinner at Lordstones the night before (best on the CW) and after a few beers with Ulli, Gary & Dean we decided we would take the opportunity of having a Full English Breakfast at Lordstones cafe before setting off on the next stage of the walk.
The name “Lord Stones” comes from the three ancient boundary stones which sit on top of a Bronze Age Tumulus, these stones marked the meeting point of the three boundaries of land owned by; Lord Duncan, Lord Dudley De L’Isle and Lord Wharton.
The breakfast was excellent, huge and we had ordered coffees with the it and after we had finished these the staff gave us a jug of coffee free gratis. All this food and coffee contributed to slowing down the pace of my growing band of trekkers (now an international team) for at least the first 3 miles that morning
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| 'Team Blue' limbering up at Lordstones an oasis on the CW |
Ulli the German, Gary, Dean and Monty preparing for the day ahead. Another tough day lay ahead of us but at this stage little did we realise just how tough and long it would be.
Ulli, getting towards the end of the C2C, was having an easy day so we said our goodbyes and set off walking. I said "I think it's this way" but Dean was quite adamant it was the other way, so off we set in his direction. Five minutes later, after walking out of the camp-site and right around the back, we were in front off the cafe and Ulli again. Ulli must have pondered on how they had ever lost the war.
I remembered Dean & Gary saying last night that they had got lost on both the first & the second day, so after today's false start I secretly vowed to take charge of all future navigational decisions.
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| Dean & Monty fully loaded on the first climb of the day |
The mist had cleared, the sun was out and already the morning was hot and humid.
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| View from Kirby Bank |
In the first 3 miles I knew there was going to be four tough climbs and three steep descent.
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| View from Cringle Moor |
In my post 'Introduction & Planning to the CW' I described how I had kept weighing and reviewing my kit in order to get my overall pack weight down to under 15 kgs.
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| Yellow Leader - 15kgs v 20kgs |
Note how my light, small, 15kgs rucksack is hidden behind me compared to Dean's 20+kgs rucksack below! Dean had chosen to carry a few luxuries, gallons of water and a few days supply of dog food and had easily exceeded 20 kgs. However Dean is built like the proverbial outhouse and carried the load, that would have brought lesser men to their knees, very well.
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| Lightweight Dean |
The plaque was placed there by the Holiday Fellowship, a co-operative society founded in 1913 with the objective of "organising holiday-making, to promote the healthy enjoyment of leisure, to encourage the love of the outdoors and to promote social and international friendship". (Quite appropriate)
It reads:
A request from the Holiday Fellowship.
Friend, when you stray, or sit and take your ease
On moor, or fell, or under spreading trees
Pray, leave no traces of your wayside meal
No paper bag, no scattered orange peel
Nor daily journal littered on the grass
Others may view these with distaste and pass
Let no one say, and say it to your shame
That all was beauty here until you came
Pray, leave no traces of your wayside meal
No paper bag, no scattered orange peel
Nor daily journal littered on the grass
Others may view these with distaste and pass
Let no one say, and say it to your shame
That all was beauty here until you came
It reminded me of my dads favourite quote when on walks;
"Leave nothing but footprints take nothing but photos"
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| Dean & Monty |
Monty was starting to develop a bit of a cough and Dean was beginning to get concerned about him.
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| Looking at Broughton Bank and what lies ahead! |
Eventually we arrived at Wainstones, the first 'milestone' of the day
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| Wainstones |
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| Looking back from Wainstones along the CW |
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| Monty, Dean & Gary negotiate Wainstones |
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| Looking back again from Wainstones |
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| View over Clay Bank to Carr Ridge |
I had caught up with a Canadian guy who was walking the 'Coast to Coast' and was a professor in molecular chemistry for a large multinational chemical company manufacturing fertilisers and pesticides. He also lectured at Quebec University, I had a fascinating and enlightening conversation with him about bio and chemical pesticides.
I also asked what was the attraction of the C2C, he gave a very similar answer to Ulli that there are not many walks that will let you go from one ocean to another while passing through three National Parks and only crossing two motorways and all in just two weeks.
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| A good view of Roseberry Topping or 'The Yorkshire Matterhorn' |
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| Monty on the descent to Clay Bank |
On arriving at the road crossing at Clay Bank we came across this advert and virtually ran the 150 yds. down the road. Unfortunately this oasis turned out to be a mirage, the car park was empty 'The Ration Pod' was nowhere to be seen and definitely not Bacon Butties or Yorkshire Tea. We quietly walked back up the road in single file even Monty's tail was down.
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| The Ration Pod |
Dean & Monty climb Carr Ridge with Gary in the distance
The day was hot so we decided to have some lunch at the top of Carr Ridge. While we were eating Ulli caught us up and from here walked with us.
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| Looking back at Hasty Bank |
First one up for lunch is Monty (after me!)
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| Monty Climbs |
After lunch we look across at Greenhow Bank we will be walking along that later but in the opposite direction because in effect we are walking a big horseshoe.
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| The long and winding road |
Looking back along the route we have taken today the weather is still sunny and warm, however looking south-west across the moor towards Bilsdale Mast the skies are starting to look stormy.
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| Bilsdale Transmitter from Round Hill |
At Blowith Crossing we part company with Ulli, this is where the CW and the C2C divide. It was a pity we had to part company with Ulli he was a great guy, easy to make friends with and well up for a bit of northern (English) banter. We were sorry to see him go.
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| Greenhow Bottom |
Time was getting on and the original plan made this morning over 'The Full English' was to make camp at Margove Park, just past Guisborough. Dean had deposited some food supplies for Monty a few days earlier to cut down on the weight both he and Monty had to carry, so we pressed on.
Then we got our first view of Captain Cooks Monument and another glimpse of Roseberry Topping both still to be achieved before Margrove and time was getting late.
Just enough time though to give Monty a bowl of biscuits. We estimated that we were 2 miles from Kildale and 9 miles from Margrove, if we could get at least water and if possible something to eat we then would have the option of either pressing on to Margrove or camping wild near Roseberry if it went dark ,which it would.
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| Monty's Pit Stop |
Looking right back along todays walk you could see all the Cleveland Banks we had crossed over.
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| Ewe eye view |
As we dropped down into Kildale I couldn't resist the opportunity of yet another photograph.
In the sleepy near deserted village of Kildale a lady with a young child kindly agreed to fill all our water bottles, over 10 litres in total, and so off we set.
The track slopes up to Captain Cooks Monument and by the time we had made it there the sun was getting ready to set.
The monument is inscribed to "The celebrated circumnavigator Captain James Cook, F.R.S. A man in nautical knowledge inferior to none, in zeal, prudence and energy superior to most". An 18th century farm labourer's son from Marton, who went to school in Ayton and became a Captain in the Royal Navy and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He went from Easby Moor to Australia, New Zealand and the scattered islands of the vast Pacific Ocean" It was a profound statement and kind of put our little adventure into perspective!
Captain Cooks Monument
We stopped briefly to put on some more clothing as it was starting to feel cold and then we marched on toward Roseberry Topping.
I had been looking forward to climbing Roseberry Topping. I could just vaguely remember climbing it with my father and having to run back up because we had left a camera lens behind and oddly, we found a tin of carrots tucked into a stone wall at the bottom, which we took with us and added it to our evening meal at camp that evening.
However on arriving where the out and back leg for the climb and descent of Roseberry Topping starts, it was dark, it would have been pointless and time consuming to climb it with nothing to see at the top. I was tempted to suggest we camp overnight and climb it in the morning but Dean was keen to get to Margrove that evening where he knew a good pub so common sense prevailed, or was it that the temptation of a pint was greater, we carried on.
It was about 4 miles to Margrove across Hutton Moor and then down through Guisborough Woods and by now we were walking with our head torches on. After crossing the moor and while descending through the woods we must have past a CW sign, we were now lost.
It was the use of Deans GPS mapping that allowed us to tell, that even though we were in the wrong part of the forest, we were at least on a track that was heading in the right direction.
I knew it was a big forest and in the dark the track seemed to go on for miles, in places it was wide and good underfoot but at times it narrowed to single track and was very muddy but eventually we climbed back up on to the CW and dropped down onto the road.
We arrived at The Fox & Hounds at 'last-orders', kicked off our muddy boots went inside and ordered six pints of bitter and six packets of crisps (between us of course) we went back outside and sat there in the cold and the dark drinking beer, never has a pint tasted so good! We left the pub and walked about a mile up the road to our camp-site, fortunately Dean when leaving some food there for Monty had enquired about camping and had been shown where we could pitch tents. We set up camp, cooked a pasta dinner at midnight and went to bed, another long, but enjoyable day, on the CW!
It was the use of Deans GPS mapping that allowed us to tell, that even though we were in the wrong part of the forest, we were at least on a track that was heading in the right direction.
I knew it was a big forest and in the dark the track seemed to go on for miles, in places it was wide and good underfoot but at times it narrowed to single track and was very muddy but eventually we climbed back up on to the CW and dropped down onto the road.
We arrived at The Fox & Hounds at 'last-orders', kicked off our muddy boots went inside and ordered six pints of bitter and six packets of crisps (between us of course) we went back outside and sat there in the cold and the dark drinking beer, never has a pint tasted so good! We left the pub and walked about a mile up the road to our camp-site, fortunately Dean when leaving some food there for Monty had enquired about camping and had been shown where we could pitch tents. We set up camp, cooked a pasta dinner at midnight and went to bed, another long, but enjoyable day, on the CW!
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