Day 16

Day 16:  Egton Bridge to Robin Hood's Bay. About 27 km. 575m up and 540m down. 

Don't know where in cyberspace my Day 15 blog went to. It said it published but I can't seem to find it anywhere. There's an hour or so I'll never get back, and a day of the walk I won't remember :(

Today was a fine way to finish the walk.  The sun was shining all day and there was very little wind.  One of the best weather days of the trip.  It was definitely a full day.  We left our B&B about 9:15 and dipped out boots in the North Sea about 7PM.  It seemed we had lots of reminders of other days of the walk - moors, dales, dlimbs, bogs, mud, forests, kissing gates, sheep, cows, stone walls, and of course the ocean at the end.  Our route today also took us in every direction at some point in time. 

Marilyn said goodbye to the ghost at the Horsehoe Hotel and we looked around Egton Bridge a bit before heading off towards the Hogwarts Express at Grosmont. Egton Bridge is tiny but is known as a hamlet of grand houses. And grand they were - in contrast to several communities we've been through that were largely old row houses. The row houses were usually built originally as labourers' housing. The workers were usually miners or factory workers.  I guess the upper crust were the settlers of Egton Bridge. A quick visit to St. Hedda's Catholic Chuch and an easy walk along an old toll road into Grosmont. Grosmont is known for the North York Moors Railway. We saw a steam train pull in as we approached the town centre.  Apparently one of these steam trains was featured as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter movie. 

And then we started to wear off our breakfast!  A bit of a climb - up to 33% grade for at least a mile - yikes!  It was a walk on the road and we were in awe as about eight cyclists struggled by, sweating but smiling.  Once at the crest we were on top of Sleights Moor just long enough to reminisce about moor walking, then down the other side, cross-country, to the village of Littlebeck. After a quick snack stop we headed uphill yet again through the beautiful Little Beck Wood (aka forest). We found a nice little cafe beside the pretty Falling Foss waterfall.  A few more calories into our bodies and up, down, south, north, forest, road, field and bog. Then one last navigational challenge across some featureless and, at times, boggy and muddy terrain. 

By about 5:30 we made it to within close proximity of the North Sea. Then a scenic cliff-top walk for about an hour before we sighted the community of Robin Hoods Bay and "the end" of our walk.  RHB is a lovely little resort town. Our guesthouse was at the top end of town. We stopped in there on the way by and then proceeded down the steep (30%) hill to the sea. Of course the tide was out so we put on an extra km just to reach the edge of the water to dip our boots. No one else was near by, so I had to take my first-ever "selfie" to capture the moment. We went up to the Bay Hotel bar, signed the register, received our free pint of Wainwright ale, and tucked into a huge helping of fish & chips.  Back to our comfy and spacious lodging at the Lee-Side Guesthouse, and the final removal of hiking boots and backpacks. What a great trip!