Coast to Coast Day 14 Clay Top Bank to Blakey Ridge

June 30, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

That’s us, Day 14 on the Coast to Coast Path is a wrap. We walked the 14.5km stretch of gravel track all in the high moors to reach Blakey Ridge. A fantastic day!

We started with an 8am breakfast at the Fox and Hound in Slapewath. A nice little hotel that was quite a ways off the Path so it was odd to not be around Coast to Coasters!

At just after 9am, Ray our private car hire (arranged by Contours Holidays) picked us up and we were zooming back to Clay Bank Top where we left off yesterday. Wow, does a car feel fast when you have only been moving by your own feet for 2 weeks!

By 945am, we were on the trail head and ready to stroll the 14.5km to Blakey Ridge. A bit of an incline to start though the trees, a quick pop over the fence and we were on the stone slabs that would get us to the top of the ridge.

After a short uphill work out and pause to catch our breath, we were at about 370m and that is pretty much where we would stay for the next few hours until we reached Blakey Ridge and The Lion Inn.

The path opened up to a gravel / sand track, that slowly meandered across the moors. We followed this path the whole way – so not tough a job for my navigation skills today!

Spending that much time in the moors with a flat path underfoot meant you could really take a look around at all the different flora and fauna, the colors, just how much the landscape actually changed around us, etc.

So neat to see the rock boundary markers dotting the landscape, and experience a bit more of the Cleveland Way (which continued to overlap much of the Coast to Coast today). We even glimpsed and overlapped the Esk Valley Walk trails, and this area is the Lyke Wake Walk too which follows engraved boundary markers. I am always in awe (and jealous) of the public footpath systems here in the UK. Brilliant!

We understand that much of today’s path is on what was the iron workers railway – used by iron workers and their families exclusively before the motor car and change in industry removed the railway in early 1900. I do not recall seeing any proof of the actual railway history other than how flat and gentle the curves of the path are which would be railroad friendly I am guessing.

A couple of highlights included reaching a trig point (or triangulation station) – a cement triangle at the top of a peak used for navigation and surveying. Hikers love a milestone, so these are always a photo opportunity!

Another big highlight was coming around the last bend in the path, and glimpsing our home away from home for the night – the Lion Inn!

The Lion Inn is ‘a 16th Century free-house located at the highest point of the North York Moors National Park, it stands at an elevation of 1,325 feet and offers breathtaking views over the valleys of Rosedale & Farndale.’ The history of the Inn is very interesting and definitely worth a read if staying here!

I have read a lot about each place we are booked to stay. Helpful things like where it’s located, amenities, directions, etc and also less ‘helpful’ things but so much more interesting … like if they have ghosts!

The Lion Inn has a host of ghosts stories and wasn’t I beyond excited to be handed the keys to Room 5 – the very room that is believed to be most haunted here! Mrs Potts?

Well, maybe it was the long walk in the heat, the couple of pints, a big supper, more likely the fact that my Dad is right across the hall in Room 4 making the little girl in me feel super safe – but no ghostie for me. Boo!

I slept like a comfy little hiker baby. And when I did wake up in the night, I didn’t pick up on a single ghostie vibe. At one point Shar (my roomie tonight) did ask if was ok?! Odd. Now, the ghost in Room 5 is believed to be friendly. Maybe they were just being a good host and letting us get our hiker sleep? Or maybe the thing was standing over me all night …

Only have a sec? I got you …

Date: Sunday June 29 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 14 of 17
To/From: Clay Bank Top / Blakey Ridge
Start/Finish time: 945am / 2pm
Distance: 14.3km (Hiiker)
Steps: 21,753
Terrain: small section of forest track and stone slabs/steps then all gravel track in the moors
Weather: 22C with a slight breeze and a few pretty, whispy clouds
Breaky: full English / cooked breakfast
Lunch n Snacks: banana, tuc crackers on trail and then a burger with chips (shared with Shar) at the Lion Inn
Dinner: beef sandwich and chips(shared with Dad) at The Lion Inn
Tonight’s home away from home: the one I was MOST excited about, The Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge in believe to be haunted room 5!
Mood: excited!
Body: feeling good, all my blister buddies seem to be on a little vacation!
Highlight: a full day on the moors
Lowlight: not a tree in sight for just a minute of deep shade
Deep thoughts: doing the same thing over and over and over again is a comfortable routine but even that can chafe

Well that’s us off on Day 15 – catch you when we reach Egton Bridge in 18.5km.

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 13 Ingleby Cross to Clay Top Bank

June 29, 2025June 29, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Day 13 complete! A 22km stroll up and out of Ingleby Cross and then some more up and overs x4 till we hit Clay Bank Top!

The morning started with a lovely breakfast at the Ingleby House Farm BnB. The fruit salad was epic, the company included a couple from New York doing the Coast to Coast and the coffee and tea were piping hot. Perfect.

After thanking our host (and Shar saying good bye to their dog, Socks) we were on our way. First through the small village of Ingleby Cross on some quiet hamlet roads and a quick stop at the local church to see if we could find more of those wooden church mice carvings.

Too bad, the church was locked up so we took a peek in the windows (spotting the purple pew boxes we had read about in the guidebook – bold colour choice) and got back to the task for the day – walk, walk, walk.

Pretty quickly we were in the trees, and the incline was starting to lean up. A mix of packed path, gravel track and some stone steps and slabs had us up and over the valley in no time at all.

At the top, we were rewarded with views of the path ahead and our first glimpse of our ultimate destination the North Sea in the distance. Crazy to think we are so close now! Hard to see in the photo but there looked to bit a bit of a rainbow across the horizon above the sea ahead – a good sign.

Right near the top of this first climb, the Coast to Coast meets up with the Cleveland Way (another walk on our list to do one day) and we would actually remain with the Cleveland all day. At this point the path gets a little confusing though with so many signs, and we made a wrong turn to get to the right detour!

In my defense, I may have been distracted by the googley eyes someone put on the National Path acorn symbol. I am a sucker for googlies!

A local lady walking her dog told us about the Our Lady’s Chapel just off the path. The origins of this Chapel are interesting but best I can make out it was stood up in the 1300s, is still a working Chapel and still welcomes pilgrims to stay. It was very secluded, the smallest we have see yet but no less beautiful. The stone work!

I had a chance to check the map to guidebook and found out where I went wrong, and a quick way to get us back on tracking using one of the many public footpaths all over the hills.

We made quick work of it and even had another walker (doing the Cleveland Way and the guy we now call Sticks) follow us back to the path as we had all done a little happy detour. We would see Sticks a few more times today as we traded places on the path.

Soon we were on our way to the next big climb of the day across the Scarth Wood Moor. This was a fantastic section of the path – wide open, with huge views of the surrounding rolling country side. The path was a mix of packed sand stone or mill stone slabs. Easy waking!

Leaving Scarth Moor we then hit Clain Wood and made our way back up and up into the forest (and a micro break) before dipping back down for a short time on the road and then again back up and up into the trees again for our next climb of the day over Knolls End via what I think is the Carlton Moor. There are a lot of Moors!

We read that this are has the highest density of Heather growing and one look confirms that. Only some of the Heather was in bloom (an amazing purple) and I can only imagine how beautiful it is when it’s all in bloom. Wow!

We stayed on top of this ridge for a little while enjoying the amazing views as we walked, but soon enough the steep, stone descent was upon us and we made our way down, down and down to both get out of the wind and find our lunch break picnic spot. We were at 13km by now and feeling ready for some fuel.

Over lunch we strategized the rest of our day. Confirming our anticipated pace so I could check in with Ray the private car hire giving us a ride from the trail to our hotel (and back again in the morning) and approach to the next climbs. There are a couple of alternative paths for the next climbs – so we decided to split and do all the routes!

Shar would go up and over (she is a Summit Seeker!) and we would do the shoulder approach around the peaks. We set meeting points after them both as the paths came back together each time to check in. Perfect!

Off Shar went. Some highlights..

Off Dad, Hai and B went. Some highlights …

At about 345pm, right around when planned, we met at the Clay Bank Top. This is literally a car park with a picnic table that people use to access all the many trails in the area.

We had pre arranged to meet our driver here at 5pm (but he confirmed he could come early at 430pm) so we had some post hike snacks at the picnic table to pass the time.

Ray our private car hire was very efficient getting us about 30mins to our stay for the night at the Fox and Hound in Slapewath. A bit of a drive (with some tight hair bending turns for these Canadians) but it’s been a great stay.

We arrived just after 5pm to a fantastic welcome, clean rooms and after some showers enjoyed a pint outside and dinner.

For those with only a wee bit of time…

Date: Saturday June 28 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 13 of 17
To/From: Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top
Start/Finish time: 845am / 4pm
Distance: 21.4km (Hiiker)
Steps: 29,948
Terrain: forest track, a few fields, rocky paths, stone steps and slabs
Weather: 22C with a mix of cloudy and sunny skies, nice breeze with gust on top of the ridges
Breaky: amazing fruit salad, and full English at Ingleby House Farm BnB
Lunch n Snacks: pre packed lunch from Ingleby House Farm BnB with crisps, fruits, strawberries, cookies
Dinner: vegetable lasagna at the Fox and Hound Pub in Slapewath
Tonight’s home away from home: Fox and Hound Hotel in Slapewath (transported to/from by Ray’s Personal Car Service arranged by Contours Walking Compani)
Mood: fantastic!
Body: feeling good. Bill, Bob, Edna and Irene (my blisters) understand the house rules now and are being a little less rambunctious
Highlight: walking in forests again!
Lowlight: horseflies!
Deep thoughts: you don’t what you are missing, if you miss it

That’s us off on Day 14, catch ya on the flip!

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 12 Danby Wiske to Ingelby Cross

June 28, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Well, that’s Day 12 on our Coast to Coast Path adventure in the books. Today was short and flat with one big milestone – crossing the major A16 highway with no bridge and no lights.

We started off with a proper slow morning today. We only had 13+ km to walk and wanted to time it arrival in our new town Ingleby across for lunch when we arrived and the ability to check into our BnB.

At 8am we met for our usual breakfast time and some semblance of full English cooked breakfast for each of us. Then we finished getting gear, packs and such ready before heading out the door of The White Swan for 930am. Skies were overcast but it was a great 15C and no rain expected.

Before leaving town we popped down a block to check out the Danby Wiske Church built in the 1200s. They were loading up the place with fresh flowers for a wedding this weekend – smelt amazing and looked pretty impressive!

Just beside the church is a Campsite which looks amazing and boasts a pretty awesome Tuc shop (little shop) so we ducked in and, wow, it was fantastic! Run on the honest system you could get cold drinks, ice cream (even some for dogs), all kinds of crisps and biscuits, homemade cakes, fruit, camping meals and more. Wow!

Many Coasters walk right through Danby Wiske to instead stay in Ingleby Cross or beyond – this Tuc shop is worth a pop on if you do come through! We grabbed some fruit.

Now ready to roll, we kicked off today’s walk with a stroll out of town on the road. Today’s terrain would be a mix of fields, quite a few gravel tracked and roads. No major milestones or features to see on the way.

At about 12km we hit the petroleum station beside the A16 and popped in for a few snack provisions for the next couple of days where there are no shops available… and a little sugar courage for the A16 crossing. This is the MAJOR highway in this area and it’s 3 lanes at least each direction (plus merge or slip lanes as they call them here) and hella busy!

Without any further excuses we made our way to the shoulder of the A16. The goal was to cross the first side, then pause in the middle shoulder for our chance to cross the next side. We ended up making pretty quick work of it. In about 10minutes and thankful for some natural gaps in traffic – we made it! I sure hope the locals are successful in getting a pedestrian overpass built soon – it is a National Path!

From there we had a quick 1km road walk to our lunch stop, The Joiner Cafe in Ingleby Cross. They had a Brie quiche on special and a load of delicious baking – yummy! We chatted with a few other Coasters who came through.

Then it was up to Ingleby House Farm to check into the most adorable BnB ever – we have our own little cabins! Complete with an outdoor seating area in their amazing garden, fresh scones in our room, tiniest mini fridge with cream for tea and clotted cream for the scones, and the nicer owners!

We all had a chance to freshen up, some of us washed a couple laundry items (the windy days and wind gusts are great for drying laundry) and we had some time at our little garden area before we made our way to dinner.

Tonight we ate at The Blue Bell Inn – the only pub / place to eat and gather in Ingleby Cross. Walking in to this bustling place felt like it was the life blood of this little village. We had great food, a game of Farkle and then headed back to enjoy the rest of the evening at our BnB. We wanted to soak up every minute we could.

For those with preference to peruse..

Date: Friday June 27 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 12 of 17
To/From: Danby Wiske to Ingleby Cross
Start/Finish time: 945am / 2pm
Distance: 15.4km (Hiiker)
Steps: 21,466
Terrain: some fields, some roads, a s lots of gravel tracks, and one MAJOR highway to cross (A16!)
Weather: 19C with cloudy skies, gusty winds and clouds and maybe a few mins of rain if that even counts
Breaky: full English / cooked breakfast
Lunch n Snacks: delicious lunch at the at The Joiner Cafe in Ingleby Cross
Dinner: chicken tenders and chips at The Blue Bell Inn in Ingleby Cross
Tonight’s home away from home: Ingleby Farm House in the most amazing little cabin like rooms and homemade scones
Mood: fantastic!
Body: feeling good, I have named each of my pesky blisters now so I can curse them each specially and thoroughly
Highlight: Ingleby Farm House!
Lowlight: crossing the A16 motorway like terrifying game of Frogger
Deep thoughts: if you can’t change it, embrace – the story is always good!

Not a super eventful day on the Path today but that’s ok. That means we are rested up for Day 13 that will take us back up and up and up into the hills. Stay tuned!

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 11 Richmond to Danby Wiske

June 27, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

That’s Day 11 done and dusted on the Coast to Coast Path. A dead flat stroll from Richmond city to Danby Wiske – with views of the Richmond Castle Walls as we left town!

We kicked off the day with a breakfast at The Buck, and then visited a few shops in time to pick up things we needed – like blister bandaids (I am going though mine quick), a new charging cord (I left mine in a BnB), a new book for Shar, and provisions for lunch.

At just before 10am we kicked on the Hiiker digital map, let the family know we were heading out and that’s what we did! Down Richmond town centre, across the river at Richmond Falls and again made Swale River our bestie (on the left this time) for much of the morning.

The first part of the walk was a fantastic path though a large park in the city outskirts – we don’t get to see much forest on the Coast to Coast so any chance is welcome!

Just out of town we had the ‘pleasure’ of the path running through a lengthy field with a bull in it AND it ran along side a rather obvious sewage plant. Lovely! We did not see the bull – phew! We did smell the sewage – ew!

At double time we were out of that field of stank in no time, and entered another long forest stroll. Looks like this area is used to train troops. You could see a couple of signs off with land nav exercise info but we did not see any actual troops in our travels.

Hoping we were done with Warning Signs for the day, we started the more expected landscape of the day – fields!

Kicking it off with my most favourite, a walk through a wheat field. You can take the girl out of Alberta, Canada but … well, you know how the saying goes.

(If your look very close in this wheat field photo you will meet Melvin – please pronounce with a lisp. He is a wool felted Beaver that Shar made to give away on our travels to say ‘thanks from the Canadians’ but promptly fell in love with his oddities, frizzy mullet and cuteness and now he is her traveling companion. You may spot Melvin from time to time in other photos!)

Oh not quite done with those Warning Signs yet. As we passed by the Catterick Bridge town there was a couple of old quarries now full with water … where we learned swimming in cold water can kill. Did you know? The signs here are epic! It looks like a movie poster.

At just over half way we walked into Bolton-on-Swale (not Brompton-on-Swale a hamlet also very close) and found our way to St Mary’s Church which offers a cool respite from the heat, and a cold drinks and chocolate honesty box.

To our absolute surprise they also had a little kitchen to make tea and coffee, a washroom and not just your run of the mill honesty box! The drinks and chocolate were in a fridge, and they offered a bunch of other food items too. The church also has a little table and chairs to enjoy it at. Yes please! We put in our donation, each grabbed a cold drink or chocolate, and sat down at that lovely table to enjoy our lunch break.

As we sat a few other Coast to Coast walkers came in to check out the church, honesty box and washroom. Striking up a chat with each around the usual ‘where are you from’, ‘did you walk from x town today’, ‘are you doing the whole C2C’, etc. Loads of locals lately, a lot of Australians and one US guy. We have yet to meet any other Canadians.

One couple told us that they were chatting with an older, local chap who said to look for wooden church mice in the church. He said when the wood working was being done, a few were added in as a little secret. A look about and we found quite a few! How exciting!

Thanks to Google, we found out they were made by a woodworker from mid 1800s call the Mouseman (Robert Thompson). He added these mousey touches to wood working in churches and abbeys all around the Yorkshire Dales area. In fact, the tradition lives on and you can buy Mouseman things, still find it in new works, etc. I will be looking at the next few churches a little more closely. Adorable!

After an amazing break and making sure we left our little church spot better than we found it, we had a few more fields to cross and a few more friends to meet, this time of the bovine variety. Shar named her Ellis and we almost had to leave Shar behind she was so enthralled. Eventually she realized we had walked away and came running.

Then it was our 5.2km tarmac section – a couple of us put our ear pods in and tuned into a podcast, and a couple of us had a nice long chatty chat to pass the time. It was a very, very quiet road so that was fantastic. I think we saw a couple of cars, a frog, a caterpillar, and a woman on a bike (twice) the whole time – so more like a path than a road really.

This tarmac route is what I have as the original C2C route in the Trailblazer Edition10 and Harvey Maps. However we noticed what was called the alternative through Ellerton is the way the brand new C2C signs are pointing to follow. So this Ellerton route is likely the new way to go and avoids some tarmac walking but its description in the books does not sound any better. While tarmac can be fast walking it can also be soul sucking especially on black tarmac, in boots, and in the heat! Maybe the C2C Team has made further adjustments to this new Ellerton way.

After the tarmac, we pass through a few more fields, by a few more farms and just like that we had arrived in Danby Wiske.

As soon as we turned into town we could see our home away from home, The White Swan in the distance on the edge of the village green.

For those short on time …

Date: Thursday June 26 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 11 of 17
To/From: Danby Wiske to Ingleby Cross
Start/Finish time: 921am / 420pm
Distance: 22.9km (Hiiker)
Steps: 30,183
Terrain: lots and lots of fields, and a good time on the tarmac today too (boo)
Weather: 17C with cloudy skies, gusty winds and clouds but no rain
Breaky: full English / cooked breakfast
Lunch n Snacks: ham and cheese baguette, prawn crisps, cherries, donut
Dinner: fisherman’s pie with veggies
Tonight’s home away from home: The Swan Inn (delightful!)
Mood: great!
Body: feeling good but the feet are trying to revolt of course
Highlight: honesty box and lunch at St Mary’s Church
Lowlight: 5.2km on tarmac
Deep thoughts: if you feel it, address it

That’s a wrap on 11, and we are about to set out on Day 12.

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 10 Reeth to Richmond

June 26, 2025June 27, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Day 10 of the Coast to Coast done! A 17km stroll from quiet and oh so quaint Reeth to the bustling, steeped in history Richmond.

We kicked off from The Black Bull Hotel after an underwhelming breakfast – we are spoiled with all the fancy BnB breakfasts so a hotel breakfast seems so boring. No fancy plates and serving where, no sweet proprietor asking you questions and giving route suggestions, etc.

From Reeth we had a mix of foot paths and touch of road to take us out of the hamlet area. All super flat to wake up the joints. We were trying to pass and stay ahead of a very large Coaster group – made easy when they took a wrong turn at the River Swale Bridge had to circle back. Oops!

About 40mins into the day, we passed the Marrick Prior built in the 1100s and were keen to check that out as a little micro stop. It has been turned into an Outdoor Activity Centre with no public access so we could not go inside but it looked pretty neat and massive!

No matter, we would be getting to know the Nuns who worked there pretty well soon – our next milestone was up and up the Nun Steps. A series of over 375 stone steps they built to get up to the top of the next ridge. More like a stepped stone pathway and wow much have been so much work!

Despite not even being hot out yet and the steps being in shade through what’s called Steps Forest, they were work and ended in even more grassy hill to climb at the top. Blood pumping and sweat dripping now. Let’s go!

Our next milestone of the day was Elaine’s Farmhouse Kitchen at Nun Cote Farm & Campsite. We had heard she made amazing food – so instead of ordering a packed lunch from the hotel, I called Elaine the night before and she agreed to make us 4 ham and cheese sammies that we could pick up as we walked by their farm in the morning.

We hit the hamlet of Marske at about 1030 and made our way to Elaine’s farm to pick them up. A short 10 min detour off the path. She even had some chips and cold drinks we could add. If we weren’t so fresh off breakfast, I would have definitely had a tea and scone – her baking looked amazing! A few other Coasters were there having a treat and tea.

Leaving out her back gate, we immediately rejoined the Coast to Coast and made our way to the next milestone in Marrick a few more miles ahead.

Marrick is another hamlet and boasts the St Edmunds Church which was built in the 11 century and they host an extensive honesty box for walkers. Everything from water to chocolate biscuits (bars) to crisps (chips) and even plasters (bandaids) and supports (tensor bandages) all for donation the church. They even have a little machine you can self-tap your donation amount with a credit card!

We each grabbed a little treat, tapped the credit card, and then had our lunch break right there in the church grounds with a couple other walkers. As we sat a number of other walkers came through to enjoy the honest box – they are the ultimate trail magic!

From Marrick, we were down to our last milestone of the day – Richmond. With some pep in the step from a great lunch break and hopes we might catch a movie tonight, we set off at a great pace. It’s like we have been doing this for days and we found our groove.

Quick work is an understatement. We had great paths underwood with some fields, forest track (the first forest we have actually walk through to be honest) and farm track making for quick walking. Not to many climbs but some undulation which is perfect for walkers to mix it up a bit on the ole hips!

We arrived in Richmond to our home for the night, The Buck – looking much better from the outside than sadly it offered inside.

For those who like a short story…

Date: Wednesday June 25 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 10 of 17
To/From: Reeth to Richmond
Start/Finish time: 921am / 3pm
Distance: 17.1km (Hiiker)
Steps: 29,859
Terrain: a bit of road (including two, long and steep descents into towns – ouch), lots of fields and gates, and 375 stone steps built by nuns!
Weather: humid but not too hot at about 17C overcast with maybe 4 mins of rain
Breaky: avocado toast and scrambled eggs with tea
Lunch n Snacks: delicious ham and cheese sandwich’s from Elaines Farmhouse Kitchen, chocolate, fruit
Dinner: pizza
Tonight’s home away from home: The Buck in Richmond (ugh unfortunately it great at all)
Mood: great, another fantastic day
Body: feeling good, just need this baby two to get the ‘get in line’ memo
Highlight: a movie!
Lowlight: The Buck Inn
Deep thoughts: it can’t all be roses, but even dandelions are better than cow plops

After a quick freshen up, we headed out to check out this little city and see a movie! The Station is an old Train Station transformed into a cinema, art gallery, brew hall, cafe and more. We saw How To Train Our Dragon and had the place to ourselves. Feet up, popcorn in!

That’s us kicking off Day 11 – check in soon!

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 9 Keld to Reeth

June 25, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Day 9 in the books! A fantastic low route ramble between hamlets and a stop for tea!

We left the Keld Lodge after an amazing cooked breakfast – today was only 17.5km of mostly flat walking so we were in no rush at all. A few chats with the staff, an extra cup of coffee or tea or two. A great, relaxed good morning.

During breakfast we had been closely watching the weather across the valley views to see just what she might get up to today. We were prepped for the predicted 95% chance of rain ALL day with gusting winds up to 35km/h but as we watched, a change was a coming! By the time we wrapped up breakfast, it has moved from dark sideways rain to misty sun showers. No way, could we be so lucky? Yup!

By the time we were out the door, no waterproof pants required (but tucked just in our packs close at hand as to not risk weather’s wrath) and just our waterproof jackets on for the mist that was still coming down. No one loved walking in waterproofs head to toe – so we were feeling pretty blessed for the twist!

Off we go! A very short road walk and then we were on fantastic little path farther down and across the valley. Lots of other walkers leaving the Keld Lodge this morning so we adjusted our pace to have the path to ourselves accordingly.

As always on the Coast to Coast, what goes down must come up, we were soon hoofing it up a pretty decent incline out of the deep valley to shoulder the hills. A tough but short slog that was reward with good views and a waterfall and our favorite.. a bridge!

As the sun started to peak out a bit more, the valley opened up and we began our walk along the River Swale. Which we call the River Swell because it’s just so pretty.

The Swell River would keep us company most of the path and right into Reeth today. We were technically walking some of the Swaledale Valley walk as it overlaps the Coast to Coast Low Route (which we were on today). We chose the Low Route for a chance to see some of the hamlets dotting the landscape, a chance for a lunch stop and ultimately avoid the wind gusts expected on top of the wide ridge walk. Shar was caught looking longingly at the ridge lines above once in a while …

There was so much to look at between the bridges, the changes in the river, adorable little lambs and a lot of old stone structures – we assume most were houses at one point when this valley was super busy with led mining far in the past but that’s a guess.

At about mid-day and mid-point on today’s path we walked into the lovely hamlet of Gunnerside and found our way to the Ghyllfoot Tearoom for lunch. What a cute little cafe, and our host was lovely. We could not resist having a cream tea – scone with clotted cream and jam. Yummy!

After lunch, and Shar getting maximum pets in for the two Scotty Dogs (Archie and Max) on the Cafe’s patio, we continued on our way. The trek out of Gunnarside was up and up and up to above the valley. Longer slog than expected but we did have some clotted cream to work off!

Once up above the valley, we enjoyed really easy walking on a soft grass path for quite some time on the edge of the moor with sheep for company and great views. We passed through a couple more very quiet hamlets before making our walk down, down and down back to beside the River Swale on our last few kilometers into Reeth.

One highlight at the end of the day … I did mention we liked bridges … was the swing bridge just as you come into Reeth. Technically we did not need to cross this one but we could not resist giving it a go, just to come back again. The water at this part of the river can rise to a terrifying 3meters in 20mins according to the info board by the bridge!

Arrived in Reeth, we popped into a couple of small shops that were still open – the post office / local store and a crafters cooperative – then made our way for an end of day pint!

For those who like it short …

Date: Tuesday June 24 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 9 of 17
To/From: Keld / Reeth
Start/Finish time: 945am / 415pm
Distance: 20.0km (Hiiker)
Steps: 30,642
Terrain: some road, some grassy paths, lots of fields and rocky paths, a load of gates!
Weather: cool 15c with some wind ( a few gusts) and most no rain
Breaky: full English / cooked breakfast
Lunch n Snacks: amazing jam and clotted cream scone and Yorkshire tea at Ghyllfoot Tearoom in Gunnarside!
Dinner: chicken parm and a pint
Tonight’s home away from home: Black Bull Hotel in Reeth
Mood: great, fantastic trail day
Body: feels good, the blisters starting misbehaving again and I have more heat rash than I care for but overall great
Highlight: tearoom for lunch!
Lowlight: the large groups of Coasters that left at the same time as us this morning making it too busy to kick off
Deep thoughts: don’t get so comfortable that you forget to look around, to appreciate, to pay attention

Well that’s us, off on Day 10 – check in from Richmond our next destination!

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 8 Kirkby Stephen to Keld

June 24, 2025 / runningforthegate / 1 Comment

Day 8 is a wrap and we loved it. About 20km from Kirkby Stephen to Keld is such a great trail and while the rain held off (thank you), his bestie Mr Wind did not. Wow!

We kicked the day off with a fantastic breakfast at 8am at the Bollam Cottage BnB, some time with the BnB resident and adorable dog-dog, and then headed out the door for about 845am. A quick stroll to the local Co-Op for lunch provisions and we were officially on trail for about 930am.

Today’s trail started with a nice footpath over Frank’s Bridge and then through the edge of Stephen Kirkby town before turning up and up and up and quiet road then a gravel track through a load of pastures. At about 3 miles we left the track and started up and up fields and moors to the Nine Standards, our first milestone of the day.

Very near the top of the ridge, we hit the stone slab sidewalks the Coast to Coast Path team (thanks whoever you are!!) have been laying down across the peat to make for easier walking, helping walkers find their way, and most importantly saving the peat from the extensive damage all our feet can do. I cannot imagine the work it takes to make these ‘sidewalks’ happen. And they are recycled stones no longer require from the mill so that’s pretty neat too. Some have markings!

These slabs of magic take probably hours off walking the path otherwise. Picking your way through peat to avoid wet feet, losing a boot in the mud, breaking poles and rolling ankles is soul sucking. And the whole time you are sort of going off route as you try to find the best spot to step, making navigation a real challenge. Shar and I had hours of peat walking on our East Highland Way hike in Scotland a couple years ago and I swore I was giving up hiking forever .. drama!

Up and up on the new Sidewalk O Slab we made great time and were soon high enough to be blown about pretty good by the wind, and reached the Nine Standards!

The Nine Standards are literally 9 large rock cairns. We read they may have been built for navigation, to make a border, or to distract raiders. Believed to be over 400 years old – showing up on original survey maps as navigation landmarks. You can see them from way down in the town of Kirkby Stephen as 9 small points on the ridge – so it was neat to finally be among them after 2 days of seeing them up there. Much bigger than they seemed.

The wind was nuts up there – blowing anything away and making walking look more like a late pub night stumble than an athletic endeavor. We hid behind one of the Nine Standards for a quick micro break before we headed out for the lengthy traverse across the ridge with Gusty McGusterton.

The Sidewalk O Slab and some little wooden bridges continued for some time – look behind us in the above photo to see just how far it stretches. When available we made quick work of the path, working harder staying on it and upright than making progress sometimes. In the gaps of slabs, we picked our way across the mix of wet and dry ground as best we could while looking forward to the next sidewalk section.

You can see where the Coast to Coast Path team have dropped pallet after pallet of the stone slabs along the trail – making for very easy navigation. When those are all installed this section of the day will be perfection!

As we stared to descend into the valley, the wind got a little less gusty but didn’t let up completely. We were being nudged by ole Gusty vs pushed around – an improvement. Although the sun was starting to peak through by now, we kept the waterproof jackets on as wind breakers!

We walked a half dozen more kilometers to Ravenseat Farm. They often offer a remote tea house but it’s currently closed for lambing season. Their picnic tables are out though for walkers to take their lunch. We took advantage of their picnic table after getting the most adorable greeting by the family dog. A wee Jack Russel!

After a fantastic lunch – despite the winds – we made the last few kilometers along an absolutely fantastic path to Keld.

We had rounded the shoulder of the ridge so stepped mostly out of the wind and the sun had decided to finish the end of the day with us! The farmer had put down slabs for us in the worst spots, the walking was easy and the views were fantastic. Always a little more pep in the step when the end of day pint is near.

Shar named this last section of the walk the ‘Sheepy Hallow’ instead of the Sleepy Hollow thanks to the a bit ominous greeting of a sheep’s skull on the gate. Well named!

For those who don’t have time to faff about reading long blogs:

Date: Monday June 23 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 8 of 17
To/From: Stephen Kirkby to Keld
Start/Finish time: 845am / 330pm
Distance: 18.2 (Hiiker)
Steps: 28,370
Terrain: some road, some field, a lot of peat and a lot of stone slabs
Weather: cool 14c with WIND
Breaky: scrambled eggs on toast, tea
Lunch n Snacks: yummy multigrain but with cheese, banana, cookie
Dinner: steak and ale pie, pints
Tonight’s home away from home: Keld Lodge
Mood: good, despite the wind we had such a fantastic day!
Body: feel amazing, not a pain. My baby toes are now behaving – good little piggies
Highlight: the Sidewalk O Slab
Lowlight: the Ravenseat Tea room closed, we heard her scones are epic!
Deep thoughts: sometimes it’s a gentle breeze and sometimes it’s a gust

That’s us cracking onto Reeth today! B

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 7 Orton to Kirkby Stephen

June 22, 2025June 22, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Day 7 was fantastic! Today we walked the 20km from Orton to Kirkby Stephen and it was such a smooth day – from path to views to how the body is feeling after 7 days on trail!

We left The George Hotel after a nice continental breakfast at about 830am and popped by the local shop just up the block for provisions for the day. The lady running the shop was so super kind – we even scored some fresh made baguette sandwiches! Yummy.

Not wanting to back track to pick up the Coast to Coast Path via the road, I downloaded the local public bridlepath map for the area and we found a nice short village walk, little lane tucked very closely between two house, and a couple of fields – the mainstay of today’s walk – and we were back on the path just after 9am! Few, I was either going to get it right and we would join in Scarside (one word) or totally wrong and we would end up back in Scar Side (two words). Seriously, no other names avail?

This must be the hour to start off each day! We saw the outline of more Coasters in and among the trails in the distance than we have any other day so far.

Seattle – a very nice guy from, you guessed it, Seattle who also booked with Contours the same company we booked with so we will see him all about the trip. He has done quite a few of the long distance paths solo and with his wife.
The ‘Couple of Couples’ – two English couples we met out of the gate Day 1 that are walking to Stephen Kirkby. These couples have done many, many other long distance walks around UK and were great to chat with as we are already thinking about what walk to do next! We had the pleasure of running into the Couple of Couples much of the day today.
In the distance we also glimpsed Doc. An older gentleman who is wild camping and just quietly present in his turtle neck tech shirt and waterproof pants everyday. Doesn’t say much but will quietly reply a ‘hi’ and smile if you kick it off. So I do! Each time! He reminds me of a pensive doctor that would work for a little remote hamlet somewhere.

Back on the Path, the day truly started with fields and another and another! I absolutely LOVE this kind of walking. The sun was out (already 22C), slight breeze, blue skies, and in the distance you can see the gate or fence you need to get to – and repeat! Little finish lines all day along the way.

We took a couple of micro breaks along the way when we found shade – a standing break, short, drink some electrolytes, put on more sunscreen and ‘just keep swimming’. The temps were quickly 24C which does make for pretty hot walking with shade so rare in the fields and moors. More breeze please!

At one point my dream of being a long distance path guide came true (winky) … we were crossing the moors where the guidebook says it’s particularly tricky to find the trail and I was all over it! We helped a couple re route as we made sure we too were on the correct path. Then another couple followed along too. Dad’s now calling me Dora the Explorer! Yah!

After a good push through the moors – we took our 11sies break on some well placed rocks (aka a natural bench to hikers) with some sheep for company. We were expecting the weather to change on us – thundershower warnings for later that evening and rain predicted at 90% for the rest of the afternoon – so we wanted to get in at least one sit down break before the rain started and kept us on our feet for the rest of the day.

We did get the rain we expected but not nearly as hard as we thought – it was the ‘I sorta need a rain jacket but it’s too warm in my rain jacket’. So the whole time wearing it you debate taking it off and the whole time not wearing you debate if you need it. Hiker problems, am I right?!

Just over half way, we hit the most Hobbit-like picturesque bridge you ever did see, Smardale Bridge. I swear I could see Gandalf pulling away in his cart making shapes with his pipe smoke. Merry and Pippin making jokes, laughing too hard, half singling jingles – ok that last bit was just me and Shar.

The rain seemed to have stopped for a short while so we took our lunch break here. Sitting along the fantastic old bridge and greeting Coast to Coasters as they passed by.

Right after lunch we had a long ascent out of the Cheese and Salami Shire and got to glimpse a couple of cool things across the ravine beside us. There was an aqueduct way in the distance and some sort of fortification built into the side of the ‘cliff’. Making up stories of what that could have been for or built by, we trudged up the incline to the top of the hills ready to tackle yet more fields.

We were making great progress and had managed to avoid the rain for a few more kilometers of fields and moor – loving the drop in temperature we were moving at a quick pace. That would end just as we were crossed a field for a tunnel under the rail line which we use to put back on the gear and of course a little photo opportunity!

The day ended with some more fields and a little bit of road walking in town and we arrived at our new best time (3pm) at the Bollam Cottage BnB. A little early for check in we debated dropping our bags and heading the couple of block to main street when our most amazing BNB lady offered to let us in a bit early (check in was at 4pm). Yes please! Hot tea, chilled water and cake to welcome us. Yes, yes please!

Refreshed, we made quick work of getting to our rooms and grabbing our dirty laundry to hit the laundrette – all of us keen to shower when we had clean clothes to put on later that eve. After the short couple blocks walk to town centre, we found the laundrette behind the fish and chip takeaway (literally the directions we were given) and clean clothes were ours!

We grabbed some dinner and a pint at the Pennine Inn. I had a local made steak and ale pie – called the Tipsy Cow Pie (love that!) – which was delicious. Then we headed back for showers and to enjoy the visitor’s lounge in our BnB for a couple games of Quirkle and a glass of wine.

For those with only the shake of a lamb’s tail…

Date: Saturday June 21 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 7 of 17
To/From: Orton / Kirkby Stephen
Start/Finish time: 830am / 3pm
Distance: 21.2km (Hiiker)
Steps: 32,931
Terrain: fields, some moors, and some more fields, baby bit of road walking
Weather: 24c with some cloudy and rain
Breaky: continental
Lunch n Snacks: salami and cheese baguette, banana, cookies, strawberries
Dinner: Tipsy Cow (steak and ale pie), chips and mushy peas, cold pint
Tonight’s home away from home: Bollam Cottage BnB (the most amazing so far, the decor this place has is nothing I have seen before and everything I want)
Mood: feeling good!
Body: feeling good, my feet are ready for a little break – switch the blister bandaids, etc.
Highlight: Gandalf’s Bridge (aka Smardale) and clean clothes
Lowlight: the thunderstorm did not play out as the warnings and sky was promising!
Deep thoughts: every fate opens and closes

Enjoying our rest day today (in their amazing lounge after a lazy morning exploring the town). See ya tomorrow!

Brande

PS We saw Ankles in Kirkby Stephen today and he is doing great! Got some new supports for those pesky ankles and continues to make his way. Such a nice chap. We are day behind now with our rest so likely won’t see him again, best of luck James!

Coast to Coast Day 6 Brampton to Orton

June 22, 2025June 22, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

Day 6 wrapped on Friday for us and it was oddly a really tough one. Uphills felt harder than they should have and downhills longer than they were, for all of us today. All the Coasters we talked to said the same – odd!

We kicked off the day with a delicious cooked breakfast at the Mardale Inn in Brampton at 830am – chatting with a fellow Coast to Coaster we have nicknamed Seattle. He told us about a public bridlepath (walk way) that can be used to pick up the Path again instead of the 2.4km back on the road. Yes please!

We didn’t need to pack lunches today as the small village of Shap was about half way and boats a cafe, chippy chop, a Co-op grocery and more so we set off right after breakfast.

Making quick work of the public bridleways (and a stop to look inside the very old Brampton Church), we were on the C2C in no time and heading towards our first milestone at about the 4.2km mark, Shap Abbey. Founded in the late 12th century it is amazing what is left to see – from the altar, the main entrance, the kitchens and more. Lots of conversation about Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. (A book that you must ready if you have not already – fantastic!)

Before leaving Shap Abbey, we took a little 11sies. Shar and Dad both did a little preventative toe / blister surgery. The path today was mostly grass and while that sounds like such a break from rocks (and it is) that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always easier. The feet slide a little more inside your shoes when you are walking down and up on angled fields, making what might have been a nagging spot on rocky climbs now a yelling spot on grass.

Just 4 more kilometers left to Shap for lunches, we cracked on. The temps were into the 20C plus now and everyone was sun screened up, hats on but still feeling that heat as we walked more fields and moors and roads.

Arriving in Shap, we swung by the Co-op for lunch stuff and found a great picnic spot in the park. Friendly folks in Shap walked by saying hi as we ate, one chap (now forever known as The Shap Chap) came on by and near joined us for lunch. By the time he was done sharing his life story with us – and Shar was done petting his cute and calm little Jack Russell dog – he actually said ‘right now that I have told you me life story, I will carry on’. And off he went. The best!

With 12.9km or more left to do, we finished lunch and started our ‘slog’ to Orton (our destination for the night).

We had a good mix of fields, moors, gravel track and some road walking but no big views like we had for the last few days – that took some getting used to. The transition from Lake District to Yorkshire Moors felt too quick. There was still lots to look at mind you, just not as ‘big’ as in the Lakes.

At some point we passed this huge quarry with the most dramatic signs I have ever seen – Quick sand? Dark slurry sludge? Cold Water Can Kill? I thought I was dramatic! Well done on the sign job there Stan.

We put our heads down – some of us put our headphones in and tuned into a podcast or audio book – and made it happen. Stopping anytime where was a tree for some ‘deep shade’ for a micro break to cool down, sunscreen up and carry on. The tan lines on our crew are getting entertaining!

After not too long – albeit it felt long – we were in the Orton vincinity. Orton is boasted about being on the Coast to Coastp Path directly. However, I am not sure what map we were or were not using because Orton Scar sure is but Orton is not. We used some of the amazing public bridleways (those well sign posted walks that are everywhere in this amazing landscape) to make our way the short distance off path to Orton for the night.

Before checking in at the George Hotel, we first grabbed a pint and enjoyed their beer garden at a shady table to cool down. Reading up what we could while we sipped to see if we would finally get some ghostie experiences tonight at our home away from home. Nope!

We had dinner right at the George Hotel and then us sisters walked down to the old Orton Church to check it out. Wow, it did not disappoint. What an amazing building and cemetery. They were teaching people how to ring the bells! People still pull on ropes to make the bells happen and it looks like tough work – no automation here. So cool!

For the ‘give me the quick version’ peeps

Date: Friday June 20 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 6 of 17
To/From: Brampton to Orton
Start/Finish time: 930am / 530am
Distance: 21.3km (Hiiker)
Steps: 32,871
Terrain: fields, up fields and down fields, and angled fields and more fields, and a few roads too
Weather: 24C toasty!
Breaky: full English / cooked breakfast
Lunch n Snacks: strawberries, meat and potato pasty, cookies, banana
Dinner: pepperoni pizza and pints
Tonight’s home away from home: The George Hotel with a fantastic beer garden, crooked floors, and odd steps up and down into rooms that should be on the same level
Mood: grateful to be done the day
Body: feeling good, feet a little grumpy
Highlight: Shap Abbey – love!
Lowlight: the slog feeling today (and no ghost at the hotel)
Deep thoughts: easier is not easier

We all turned in pretty early after that – tired from what felt like such a tough day, and ready to wake up refreshed to do it all again!

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 5 Patterdale to Brampton

June 22, 2025 / runningforthegate / Leave a comment

That’s Day 5, Patterdale up and over the highest point on the Coast to Coast to Brampton (via Burnbanks) done. What a day!

We left our BnB (the Old View Inn ) at about 9am after an amazing breakfast with all the fancy things like tea cups and proper spoons and plates and such – in stark contrast to the stinky hikers we are by Day 6 with no laundry other than in a sink to this point!

A tiny bit of road walking to the trail head, and then we were in it right from the jump! Up and up and up on rocky obvious path with bracken (large ferns) to the left and right of us as we climbed. No crazy cliffs and no scrambling, just hard work up with great views back into Patterdale.

We had four milestones to hit today, the first being an include up to Angle Tarn – just keep walking, just keep walking. With my tummy still sore from yesterday for some reason I was not so much Scaredy Bear today but rather Slothy Bear. One step at a time made sure I kept up with my crew. We made it to the 1,500 feet were rewarded with the views of the Tarn!

We hit Angle Tarn, had a micro break – aka sunscreen and some candy – and then made our way to the next milestone, the peak of The Knott at 2,425 feet / 739 m. While still up and up this was a LOT less steep than our first push out of town but no less rewarding. Mostly obvious rocky path with a few soft (thank you!) grass sections.

The real reward was up next, Kidsty Pike at 2,559 feet / 780 m – the highest point on the Coast to Coast and it deserves all the praise it gets. The first photo in this post is all of us up there and in awe of the view and our accomplishments so far!

The walk up from The Knott has some good steep sections but nothing compared to what we have seen on other days, and all on pretty wide ridges and tracks making it my favourite climb so far.

After the last trudge up, we took our lunch break at the top of Kidsty Pike in amazing spirits, sunshine, comfy grass to sit on, and yummy snacks. This right here is why I do this – my happy place.

Ok sunscreen on and lunch on board, we started the long, long descent down to the next milestone Haweswater Reservoir. What started off as a nice stroll down on the grass, soon became a toe crushing descent. Just when the feeling of your feet sliding forward in your boots was too much, it became a rocky near-scramble which felt better … at first until it didn’t. Oh and then back to grassy toe crushing. Good times!

We made quick time of it – no lallygagging on descents for his crew – we had views of our Haweswater Reservoir. The actually loved a town, cemetery and use this spot as a Reservoir. When the water is low you can see some of the buildings from the old town!

We had another micro little break just at the bottom of the descent in the most amazing little spot beside the river. Shar dunked our buffs in the cool water for us to wear on our necks to cool down.

From there it was about a 6km hike along the Reservoir- a bit of up and down along the path, sometimes a little too close to the edge for my liking, but a great trail. The feet and heat were being felt by now so we made quick work of it as there was little to no shade.

On the other side of the water, we had a 2.4km stretch of quiet road to reach our much deserved home for the night, Mardale Inn. Which had manpower on arrival but made us yummy burgers on the generator power, and then were back up and running by 9pm for the WiFi and hot showers before bed!

For those reading on the run …

Date: Thursday June 19 2025
Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
Day: 5 of 17
To/From: Patterdale / Burnbanks (onto Bampton)
Start/Finish time: 900am / 615pm
Distance: 20.48km (All Trails)
Steps: 35,093
Terrain: rocks up and rocks down and rocks rocks rocks
Weather: perhaps a little too hot at 25C
Breaky: scrambled eggs and yogurt
Lunch n Snacks: 11siesorange juice, banana, 2sies strawberries, cookies and sandwiches, 2sies strawberries, juice
Dinner: steak burger, chips (fries) and salad
Tonight’s home away from home: Mardale Inn (fantastic place to stay!)
Mood: good, fleeting blessed
Body: dogs are barking, hips tight but my tummy issues are gone
Highlight: the highest point of the Path and the trail was tough up up up but not Scaredy Bear tough – enjoyable!
Lowlight: the descent from the highest point was toe crushing
Deep thoughts: there us such thing as too much of a good thing