164 Miles Down - 28 Left to Go

It was difficult to wipe the smiles off of our faces today. Although it was extremely long, today’s walk was a gorgeous introduction to the North York Moors.

We spent last night at the Cote Ghyll Mill Youth Hostel. It’s a converted linen mill and was an interesting mix of preserved industrial and modern architecture. Overall it was an absolutely wonderful place to spend the night. Our hosts were very hospitable and the rooms were comfortable. The YHA is a short walk from the town of Osmotherley, where we had dinner.

Now on to today. Our trail involved several steep climbs, but we took it slow and steady. The weather was pleasant in the morning, but windy on the peaks. We walked along part of The Cleveland Way, which edges an escarpment for several miles. We were so high above the farmland and cities below, it felt as though we were in an airplane looking down. Even birds were flying below us. Although it was strenuous, it felt magical.

The Cleveland Way is a beautifully maintained national trail. Most of the path was lined with flagstones… something like this certainly would have been helpful in the peat bogs a few days ago.

Our Coast to Coast trail eventually diverged from the Cleveland Way trail and met up with a disused rail line that had been used for iron mining in the area until 1900.

After what felt like hours of walking along the rail line, we made our way to The Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge. (I’ll get a proper photo of the outside in the AM). The inn was established in the 16th century, and still looks as it did 500 years ago (low ceilings and dark wood). The inn rooms are scattered throughout the building, and ours is through an obscure door near the entrance to the pub that leads up a set of incredibly steep stairs. The room is actually very nice, but as with a few night ago, we can hear music from the pub below. (Tonight the tune is much better though: Ruby Tuesday instead of Achy Breaky Heart).

We had drinks with our friend from the trail, and were surprised when another friend came wandering in. We all enjoyed a lovely dinner and a couple of pints before retiring for the night.

Day 12 pic have been uploaded.

Good night!