Finished! We wrapped up our 16th day of walking the 300+ kilometer Coast to Coast Path yesterday afternoon at the ‘finish line’ in Robin’s Hood Bay! What a journey.
We started the day with some buttermilk pancakes (excited for anything other than the 16th English full breakfast) at the Horseshoe Hotel in Egton Bridge. Stepping out of the hotel door and onto the path earlier than usual at about 830am and in fantastic hiking weather!
We had 26.5km to cover – our longest day yet – and the high of 17C, overcast but with little chance of actual rain all day is what I would call perfection.
We started with a short 30min flat walk from Egton Bridge to Grosmont.
When we hit Grosmont, we popped into the local Cooperative Store to pick up lunch and snack provisions for the day. Our timing was epic – a steam train came as we were in town and right next to the train station. I am a huge Harry Potter fan so rather obsessed with steam trains and UK train platforms!
Back at it, the climb out of Grosmont was no joke! Over a mile, on the road and at a 33% grade for much of it, that was some kind of obstacle! Up and up and up we went.
This is where Shar and Dad as Summit Seekers excel. Heads down, they get it done quick. In contrast, this is where Hailey and I, as the (mountain) Valleys Girls, make it happen efficiently while also enjoying the sights – like the snake, frog, and deer – on the way up.
With our big climb out of the way, we had a fantastic morning traversing gravel tracks through fields and moor, and an awesome path through the Great Wood forest which surprised us with a few gems for the day!
A beautiful saying carved into this fallen tree ‘The tumult of my shattered heart is stilled within this sheltered spot. Deep in the bosom of the Wood forgetting and forgot’ by Allen Grants. The National Path symbol, the acorn which we call the Yay-corn was also carved into a nearby stump.
We also had to take a quick stop at The Hermitage for a photo opportunity. This is a very small cave that from what I read may have been a small chapel for a monk or hermit and was carved out of the stone in 1790 by George Club (there is a G+C 1790 carved directly in the stone above the door.
Finally in our way out of the Great Wood, we took in the Falling Moss waterfall and crossed the troll (clearly a friendly one) bridge. At about 1130am now, we took a little micro 11sies break after the bridge and then were our way again! No time to doddle much today.
Leaving the Great Wood, we had a couple kilometers on a very quiet tarmac road – which gave us our last sighting of the Oreo Cookie Cow. These are the Belted Galloway cows but obviously Oreo is much cuter! Usually we only see them in dark chocolate (black) but this field has a milk chocolate one too (brown) and some calves. Adorable.
We then spent the next hour on moors again – it’s been a bit of a heat wave here so the moors were very dry. Still ankle breaking with the uneven ground so you have to watch each step but no one had to worry about stepping in deep peat mud or water.
Before making our last tarmac traverse and then walk along the coast to the finish line, we had our Lunchsies stop at Low Rigg Farm. They offer a pretty neat honesty box set up in an old caravan, picnic tables and more for Coasters as well as their campsite.
Lunch and sweets on board, we were ready to push the last 4 miles to the Bay. The trail was starting to get busier, lots of Coasters come in for the finish today! We made quick work of the road section – made easier thanks to the views of the sea ahead – and soon we were on the cliffs right beside it!
The feeling was amazing! We had just crossed England with our own two feet. The ocean breeze was so refreshing and the views amazing. All of us had pep in our step and smiles plastered on our faces as we snapped too many photos and finished out the last section of our adventure.
As we came into Robin Hood’s Bay at about 4pm, we walked past the Lee Side BnB (our home for the night) so popped into check in. Making sure we had the pebbles we collected day 1 in St Bees, we headed down and down the town’s steep road and cobble stone steps to the Bay.
We walked out onto the beach, congratulated each other and then retuned those pebbles back to the sea as our final Coast to Coast milestone!
A pint at the Bay Hotel and photo under the ‘finish line’ sign was our last to-do.
For those who prefer a half pint of info ..
- Date: Tuesday July 1 2025 – Canada Day!
- Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
- Day: 16 walking + 1 Rest Day / 17
- To/From: Egton Bridge to Robin Hood’s Bay
- Start/Finish time: 830am / 5pm
- Distance: 28.1km (Hiiker)
- Steps: 40,881
- Terrain: everything – gravel track, forest track, moors, coastal fields, some roads
- Weather: 17c with cloudy skies and a slight breeze. Perfect hiking weather!
- Breaky: pancakes at the Horseshoe Hotel in Egton Bridge
- Lunch n Snacks: cheese bun, crunchie bar, orange juice, cookie
- Dinner: pizza and a pint at Smugglers
- Tonight’s home away from home: Lee See BnB which is absolutely fantastic!
- Mood: amazing! So excited about this amazing accomplishment while it’s over so soon. That flew by!
- Body: feeling good, ready for a couple days of blister heeling but otherwise good!
- Highlight: we finished!
- Lowlight: we finished already!
- Deep thoughts: time goes slow, until it doesn’t
Well that’s a wrap – thanks so much for following along. We are off for a whirlwind 24hrs in York and then back to Canada.
Brande
runningforthegate 