Tuesday, 27th August 2002
A
nother sumptuous breakfast at The Lion Inn was tinged with sadness when we learnt that a lady walker from Whitehaven had been killed at Shap and four others critically injured. Apparently two cars had been involved in an accident and one had careered into the walkers. It brings it to mind that sections of this Coast of Coast walk which takes place on the roads are dangerous but I would not have thought that the short section on the road around Shap came into that category and I suppose that fate has taken a hand and that it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We were probably a little reluctant to leave The Lion at Blakey Ridge which was a very lively place but with excellent accommodation but nevertheless we had to get on our travels again and we set off at 9.50 a.m. At our team meeting the previous evening we had decided that as it was a comparatively short run (sorry, walk) to our next location, Glaisdale, only 9 miles, we would walk an extra 5 miles to Grosmont so that the final day’s walk to our ultimate destination Robin Hood’s Bay would be reduced accordingly. The first three miles from a bleak Blakey Ridge were all on the road and proved to be more difficult than anticipated. A strong wind had moved slightly to be a very cold north-easterly and was blowing straight into our faces and made the first part of today’s walk very tiring when it should have been comparatively easy and relaxing.
After we had gone 1 ½ miles, Tina passed us on the road in her Vauxhall Corsa car having checked us all out of The Lion Inn and we flagged her down as I was not feeling too great and we took various things out of my rucksack to relieve some pressure. I was a little apprehensive about going on to the desolate moors when not feeling too well but the short break which we had coincided with the wind dropping and the sun coming out. The day got better and better and the sun shone for the rest of the day.
Although we had only had two complete days of rain, most days had been overcast and this was the first time we had had several hours of consistent sunshine. We reached Glaisdale at 1.30 p.m. and met Tina for lunch at The Mitre Tavern. We only had soup/sandwiches as we still had 5 miles walking to do to get to Grosmont. We left Glaisdale at 2.45 p.m. by a steep descent towards the Railway Station and continued through the woods alongside the River Esk. This was very pleasant and relaxing and we came to a village called Egton Bridge which possessed some very expensive looking properties.
One amusing part here was that there was an old Toll road running through the estate and there was a notice, dated in 1948, depicting the Toll charges. These included Motor Cars (1 shilling), Motor Homes (2 shillings) and a Hearse (6 pence). I am not sure how much business they derived from the Hearse but there was a church nearby so I presume they had planned accordingly!
We proceeded along the paths and roads to Egton itself and then carried on for a further 1½ miles to Grosmont where we met Tina who had parked her car on the pub car park next to the Railway Station. The steam train was in but Pat was in too much of a hurry to get into the pub for his necessary lubrication whilst Mary was still looking demure as though she was ready to set off rather than having walked 14 miles. When we had finished our drinks and Tina had got her next day’s directions from the barman, avoiding big hills which she says her car doesn’t like, we travelled from Grosmont back to Glaisdale where we had booked in at Lanes Farm (not a working farm nowadays), proprietors Brian and Julie Lake. Julie is a Leicester girl so we had local things to talk about and we all stayed in, after an evening meal, to watch Manchester United win by five clear goals in the Champions League.