RACE TO THE FINISH LINE

 DAY 14 - FINAL DAY - ENNERDALE BRIDGE TO ST. BEES

Everyone was feeling fit and energized for our final push this morning.  The weather was perfect for hiking, +/- 60 degrees F and a mix of clouds and sun.  We left the village of Ennerdale Bridge and headed off towards our final hills to climb for the hike.  A few easy streams to navigate then a steep up and up and up to the top of Ravens Crag, then another shorter climb up to the top of Dent.  From there we had a beautiful panorama of the coastline and Irish Sea in front of us and cool wind from the Sea in our faces.  The coast looked so close from up there that you could almost touch it.  In fact, we still had another 10 miles to hike to reach St. Bees.  So, we walked through a few small villages, across some farmers fields, stopped for a brief lunch, then pushed up to the high cliffs on the Irish Sea for our final walk along the coast into St. Bees.  When we arrived into St. Bees, the beach was bustling with summer holidayers enjoying a sunny beach day (a 62 degrees F).  We respected the tradition and removed our stones from our packs that we carried from Robin Hood’s Bay, tossed them into the Irish Sea, then took the obligatory selfies and drank our celebratory pints of beer and cider at the nearby pub.  A taxi took us to Gosforth Hall, our accommodations for the night where we met for some bubbly and our last hearty pub meal of our journey.  Tomorrow we are off to Edinburgh for a night before flying home to South Carolina.

Stone Circle as we set off from Ennerdale Bridge.  Outlanders transfer point?


Selfie atop Raven Crag with the Irish Sea in the distanced


Looking back to the mountains we’ve crossed over the past days



The Irish Sea looks so close . . . but still a good day’s hike away

Lighthouse where we finally reached the coast





Coastal path for our trek to St. Bees (just around that corner cliff)



WE DID IT!  St. Bees at last.


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