Blakey Ridge

Coast to Coast Day 15 Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge

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Our 15th day walking the Coast to Coast Path is in the books. A 18.5km trek across and down off the moors into Egton Bridge.

We started with a hearty breakfast at The Lion Inn and after a quick snap with the Lion himself we were off on our way to Egton Bridge. Everyone already in a layer of sunscreen and hats, with 3L of water in our packs – we were ready for the mostly wide open moors walk at 28C ahead!

The day started with a few kilometers of road walking – thankful for the wide grassy shoulder beside this busy highway. Not a fantastic way to kick off a beautiful morning but we made quick, happy work of it.

In pretty quick order we turned into the moors on a small path. And for most of the day we were then on either a small path like this our back to the wide gravel tracks we have been on for a few days now up here.

Soon the views started to change. Showing off some farms, hamlets and even the North Sea (the finish line) in the distance. Not just moors everywhere the eye can see anymore. Oh but don’t worry, there were still our constant companions, the sheep!

We were making great progress today, chatting with fellow coasters here and there – including a long chat with Virginia who walked with us for a while. A very nice chap from, you guessed it, Virginia, who has done a number of long distance walks. Great to see him here and there on the trail for the last few days for a nice chat and check in!

At 130 we strolled into Glaisdale, a town about an hour from our destination of Egton Bridge for the day, with high hopes of hitting the local shop for a cold drink or popsicle. Insert major disappointment here! They were closed for their lunch break. What the heck?!? Boo! We took a short micro break in the shade sitting on a concrete step to recover from our sorrow .. and then cracked on. As you do.

After a long descent down down down through No Popsicle Town, we were revived with a walk through a forest!

There were all these cool stones along the path making walking a little more entertaining, we had shade, we had the sound of the river below us. Loved it!

In no time, we came into Egton Bridge and were seated at the Horseshoe Hotel (our home tonight) in their amazing beer garden with cold pints and snacks from our packs.

So quick today we beat our bags! We had to sit in the beautiful gardens with the resident chickens! They are so adorable and very, very smart .. they could hear a crisp (chips) bag from across the garden!

Once our bags arrived, we had showers, had a nice dinner and strolled through the town a little. Our hotel was old, smoking hot, small windows, and no fans … so we stayed out in the slight wind and shade as long as we could!

For those who have the attention span of a chicken…

  • Date: Monday June 30 2025
  • Trail: Coast to Coast Path, England
  • Day: 15 of 17
  • To/From: Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge
  • Start/Finish time: 930am / 3pm
  • Distance: 18.4km (Hiiker)
  • Steps: 29,061
  • Terrain: some tarmac today and a lot of gravel / sand track, with a good section through the forest near the end
  • Weather: 28c with a slight breeze and a few clouds later in the day
  • Breaky: full English at The Lion Inn
  • Lunch n Snacks: sandwich from the Lion Inn, strawberries, OJ, cookies
  • Dinner: cheeseburger and chips at The Horseshoe Hotel
  • Tonight’s home away from home: the Horseshoe Hotel
  • Mood: great, starting to feel the feels about tomorrow being finish day
  • Body: feeling good, even had the old knee brace off for some of the day today!
  • Highlight: chickens!
  • Lowlight: Glaisdale Post Office / Shop closes for lunch
  • Deep thoughts: everyone has a rhythm, their very own rhythm – listen closely and you may love the beat!

That’s us – off on the 16th day of walking and believe it or not today we hit the Finish Line!

Brande

Coast to Coast Day 14 Clay Top Bank to Blakey Ridge

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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