Day 11: Richmond to Lovesome Hill

7:00 am Monday 13th July 2015

Weather forecast for the day: 

Uh oh. 

6:00pm Monday 13th July 2015

Well, as my optimistic sunbeam of a husband would say, 'The weather wasn't that bad today'.  No - it was dreadful.  I am not really kidding, we had a few breaks in the rain, and considered ourselves lucky when it merely drizzled on us instead of hammering down.  It was 18.4 miles today - our longest day yet for mileage.  Not a very 'straight line' on the map, either!

Wainwright himself did not like this section of the walk, and I can see why. Even in fine weather, it was a bit featureless unless you have a particular fondness for fields of crops, and walking along the edge of B- and sometimes A- roads.  There was a fairly hefty detour (due to roadworks) which added an extra mile or two to an already long day. The flat terrain, whilst beneficial to recovering knees, was a bit dull and was countered by the muddy paths which made it difficult to stay on your feet at times.  Also the paths through fields were uneven, so not so great on tired ankles.

However, if you like wheat, barley and rapeseed fields, you will love this stage of the Coast to Coast.

Obviously he likes crops

Highlights of the day were finding refreshments in St Mary's Church in Bolton-on-Swale:

"Please leave a donation..."

Finding The White Swan open at Danby Wiske;

130 miles - done

Only (!!)  60 miles to go

Along the way today, we met this couple, who were very speedy walkers:

Dermot O'Toole and Anne Dudley

Whilst offering advice on what to do about the blisters, (pop them with a sterile needle and then cover with Compeed, apparently) Dermot mentioned he's done lots of 'Race walking'.  I said, 'Do you do the Parish Walk, on the Isle of Man?'  Only 20 times, apparently.   For any non-Manxies out there, the Parish Walk is an 85-mile walk, must be completed in 24 hours, and you are not allowed to run or jog, it is a walk. The route goes past our house in Dalby, and we used to set out a table with refreshments and jelly babies for the walkers, even in the rain.

Dermot and Anne live on the Isle of Man, and this is their 4th Coast to Coast; they were just beetling along. We might see them at the end, but if we do see them I think they'll go flying past us in a blur. It's a small world, as we keep noticing.

We were shamed by another couple when we were hesitating before entering a field of bullocks - the woman hopped over the fence and said, 'What's wrong with you? Are they menacing you, or are you just nervous? Come on!' and off she stomped through the field. We followed meekly behind, rather embarrassed to be noted for being wimps, really.

The last highlight for me (after a death-defying walk up the A167) was finding Lovesome Hill Farm B&B.  John and Mary provide a warm welcome, pot of tea and possibly the most delicious oat biscuits (I may ask for the recipe before we leave). They've got a place to dry your boots, hang your wet muddy walking gear (NOT allowed in the house, and I don't blame them - we would have brought half of the last field in with us if we couldn't take them off first) and then they show you to your room for the night. The 'outlaws' took the cottage tonight, and we've got a room in the B&B. There's a bunk barn as well. Very comfortable and welcoming.

Dinner smells delicious - we're going nowhere tonight!
Note: Dinner was Roast Beef from the farm, Yorkshire Puddings (unrecognisable from the hockey pucks I usually make), lots of veg and then for dessert: Eton Mess.  We are very happy, sated walkers. The kids have gone to explore the farm, looking for the kittens.  Hopefully neither of them will put one in their pockets - we have enough cats already!

Quote of the day:
Grandad/Doobs: (On having to put wet rain jacket back on) This mac isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

I'm sorry to tell you, but I can still see you