Coast to Coast Day 10 Reeth to Richmond

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!