DAY ONE OF HIKING 

First day!  We set off from Robin Hood’s Bay around 9:00 after a hearty English breakfast with perfect weather, around 59 F with light clouds, no rain and little wind.  For the first 3 miles the trail followed the coastline at the top of the cliffs with beautiful views to the North Sea, then turned west through the village of Hawskins and crossed the Yorkshire Moors.  We were thankful for the dry weather as the Moors can be pretty boggy when they’re wet.

After crossing the Moors, we descended into a river valley, stopped for a short packed lunch break, then followed a stream through a deeply wooded area for several miles until we reached the tiny hamlet of Littlebeck.  From here we ascended a fairly steep track through more Moors and followed a ridge with beautiful views across pastoral countryside.  We eventually descended down a road into the picturesque village if Brosmont.  You can see a picture of their quaint, old train station below.  One of it’s recent claims to fame is that the old Steam engine, which still operates, and carriages were used in filming the Harry Potter movies (train to Hogwart’s).  We then pushed on for the final 2 miles to our destination, the small village of Egton Bridge with its 2 bridges, friendly pubs and massive pine trees.  Our legs and feet were screaming at us by this point so first stop, as usual was the local pub for a recovery beer and cider before finding our accommodations for the night.  Total distance for today, 17.5 miles, ascent 2000 feet, ~ 40,000 steps.

After checking into our hotel and showering, we returned to the pub for a hearty meal of lamb, beef stroganoff and homemade hut rhubarb crisp.  A quick nightcap, then crashed into bed for deep sleep!

 


Tradition here is that before you start your coast to coast journey, you take a stone from the shore of the coast you begin, the east coast in our case, then carry it with you to the west coast and throw it into the water there.  Here are our stones from the east coast . . . along with some G&T’s and warm beer!

Pete and Cathy, 2 of our regular hikers
5 miles into our first day - still fresh 

Leaving the coast behind



 

The Yorkshire Moors.  Some of the “bog land” we crossed today with lots of colorful heather.

Train Station in Grosmont where the steam engine used in Harry Potter was filmed.

Real working phone booth in the middle of the woods.


Waterfall in the woods outside of Littlebeck

Biggest pine tree I have seen

Coins imbedded in tree trunk.  Dad said money doesn’t grow on trees 


Don and Cathy stuck on the one lane bridge letting cars pass

Egton Bridge, our destination for tonight!

After 8 hours on our feet, our first stop for a well deserved beer at a local pub in Egton.

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