14/05/2007 by AOS.

The penultimate day.

Danby Wiske to Grosmont (14 1/2 miles - total so far 192)

After making a donation to our cause, our host of Sunday evening, Jack Lawson of Sycamore House, Danby Wiske, kindly dropped us off at one of the many crosses which stand in this part of the world, in this case one called ‘fat Betty’ although it is actually a white cross.

The conditions were quite atrocious with heavy rain and strong winds hampering our every step. We crossed Great Fryup Deal heading for Glaisdale, (once prosperous in the iron industry and which helped to establish the Iron & Steel industry in nearby Middlesbrough) via Ralfs Cross. This is all North York Moors National Park land and features the longest continuous area of heather anywhere in England. At Glaisdale we met Joe, a fellow walker from Washington DC whom we had last seen when we dropped him off at his digs on Saturday evening . The cold and wet which had continued throughout the day now began to subside somewhat and we were treated to some late afternoon sunshine. The river Esk was a raging torrent but a joy to see after the long dry spell we have had recently.

We entered the beautiful village of Egton Bridge which has links to Nicholas Postgate and the Catholic Recusants, and then on to Grosmont where we arrived just in time to see a steam train of the North York Moors Railway pulling away (saved from Beechings axe back in the 60’s) leaving it’s trademark cloud of steam.

We look forward to completing the walk tomorrow and thank everybody for their good wishes and prayers thus far.

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13/05/2007 by AOS.

Clay Bank to Danby Dale 10.5 miles

After a very enjoyable evening meal and overnight stay followed by a healthy breakfast and having our clothes washed (with special thanks to Tony, wife Lynne and son Stephen), Tony dropped us off at Clay Bank Top where we were able to resume our walk.

We particularly enjoyed the views of Roseberry Topping which is a prominent mountain projectory and is famous as a local landmark.
We followed the old ironside railway believing this to be an easy stretch, when in fact we were climbing as high as 1250ft above sea level. We passed Carr Ridge and Urra Moor before crossing the Cleveland Way, (another well known walk in these parts) and arriving at the (famous) Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge on our onward journey to tonights stay at Danby Dale.
Today we experiencd very heavy rain and got thoroughly soaked but our spirits remain high as we approach the final leg of our journey.

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12/05/2007 by the walkers.

Ingleby Arncliffe to Clay Bank – 11 miles

Today we raise our glasses to Veronica’s niece Janet Hill who married Christopher Wilson in Waterside RC Church, Derry City, Northern Ireland. Loving congratulations to you both; we toasted you special day at dinner tonight.

As we were leaving our B&B in Ingleby today the host mentioned to us that as a child forty years ago she lived at Siddle Grange Farm near Ingleby and she remembers, A Wainwright’s wife dropping him off by car to track the walk named after him. It is this book that we are using now as our guide – our Bible.

Today’s walk took us past Arncliffe Hall, and Osmotherley, the site of Mount Grace Priory, into Scarth Wood Moor where we followed the Cleveland Way, Carlton Moor and Cringle Moor. We were in the North York Moors National Park with its heather-clad moors, extravagant scenery and wide panoramas. The walled patterned field of the Dales gives way to rolling moors. We encountered another long distance walk – The Cleveland Way.

We met up with several walkers whom we had seen in the past few days and were rewarded with stunning views over the moors and our first glimpse of the North Sea; our final destination.

Three of our fellow travellers from Cheshire departed at Clay Bank. Tony McAvoy (AOS NE Regional Co-ordinator) picked us up to stay at his house for the night and in doing so also gave Joe Young another walking companion from Washington DC, America a lift to his digs.

We then attended Mass at St Bernadette’s parish Nunthorpe in the southern suburbs of Middlesbrough where Monsignor David Hogan, Gillian Henderson (AOS Parish Contact) and parishioners, many of whom had sponsored us, made us welcome.

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11/05/2007 by AOS.

Danby Wiske to Ingleby Arncliffe (9miles - total so far 156)

Our walk today was across a much easier stretch than we have experienced recently. However, we also experienced the first sustained period of rain and were very grateful for the trousers donated by ‘Regatta’ which proved to be an absolute boon as we tramped through the wet grass.

Unfortunately Veronica slipped on the wet ground and gashed her shin, but after treatment and putting on a dressing, she will continue the walk in the morning. We crossed the East Coast main railway line at Danby Wiske and then saw low flying helicopters involved in some sort of manoeuvres. We crossed the A167 at Oak Tree Hill, near to the site of the Battle of Standard 1138, and walked through pasture like terrain crossing becks and the river Wiske as we continued. The signs for the walk in this area are excellent and you can’t really go wrong.

Later we crossed the A19 and arrived in Ingleby Arncliffe for our overnight stay.

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11/05/2007 by AOS.

Richmond to Danby Wiske (18 miles - total so far 147)

We chose not to follow Wainright’s route for this particular leg of the walk. Passing through the Vale of Mowbray, we were conscious of the different terrain and landscape we were now encountering and much of the walk was through farmers fields where we no longer saw sheep but cattle in abundance. The cows seemed keen to get to know us and we had to take evasive action on more than one occasion feeling quite intimidated by their demeanor. (I was reminded about the saying that ‘the farmer allows you to cross his field for free, but the bull charges’!)

We crossed the A1 at Catterick and in what had become increasingly blustery conditions we saw many fallen branches and could smell the clover, barley and of course the oil seed rape which is so prevalent at this time of the year. We also heard cuckoos and woodpeckers seemingly encouraging us on our way.

At St Mary’s Church, Bolton on Swale we came across an obelisk which bears a plaque to one Henry Jenkins who died in 1670 at the grand age of 169, and subsequently passed Kiplin Hall built in 1621 by James the first for his Secretary of State. This is the finest example of red brick Jacobean architecture.

On the final leg of our walk today we came across a hangar in a field in which there was a Piper Club aircraft and we learned from it’s owner that at one time it was used to count reindeer over Lapland.

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10/05/2007 by AOS.

Reeth to Richmond 11.5 miles (Total 129.5 miles)

We stayed at Scarr House in Grinton, at the same B&B where we stayed when we did the Herriots’ Way walk several years ago. Mrs Kath Brown drove us into Reeth for our evening meal where we met eight new sets of walkers.

We set off from Richmond along the river Swale initially before turning off after a short distance to the 12th Century Marrick Priory, a Benedictine convent, which now serves as an outdoor centre. Through Steps Wood with its lovely blue bells, marsh marigolds and onto Marrick, crossing Ellers Beck.

The only farm tea room en route was closed; just our luck! We therefore stopped off at the 12th Century church of St. Edmund, and had our “butties” packed lunch.

We entered Richmond at Whitcliffe Wood, entering the Gateway to the Dales, whilst saying goodbye to North Yorkshire National Park.

Calling at a coffee shop in Richmond, a couple of customers showed interest in out walk. They gave us a generous donation, read the article from “Northern Cross” and thanked us for the A.O.S. leaflet; it turned out they were prison officers from Durham.

Later Veronica called at a hairdressers in Richmond and after giving the A.O.S. leaflet to the interested stylist, the young girl remarked that she had already read about us in her church.

Later we enjoyed the hospitality and meal with Jimmy Christison (AOS Ship Visitor at North Tees and Hartlepool) and his wife Anne who had travelled to Richmond to meet up with us.

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08/05/2007 by AOS.

Keld to Grinton (11 miles - total so far 118 miles)

Another good days walking in fine conditions. Today we met a man from London who is doing the Pennine Way walk.

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08/05/2007 by AOS.

Kirkby Stephen to Keld (14 miles - total so far 107 miles)

Halfway Point

We set off after a days rest and crossed the pretty stone arched Franks bridge with it’s ducks and goslings on the water below. We climbed steadily for two hours until we reached Standard Rigg. This lies on the watershed of Britain sending waters one way to the Irish Sea and the other to the North Sea.

The prevailing wind was unrelenting and we could hardly hear ourselves speak being, as we were, totally exposed over Hartley Fell. It felt more like the roaring of the winds at the North Pole! Height 2000 feet. We met two seasoned walkers one an experienced European Walking Guide who volunteered a generous donation for the AOS. Like all other walkers who have shown an interest or indeed given a donation, he was presented with an AOS leaflet giving details of their work and this web address.

Through Whitsun Dale we encountered a hugh flock of Herdwick sheep and then on to the river Swale and into Keld to await the arrival of AOS volunteers John and Carole Hodge who are part of the team supporting us on the walk; they brought some much needed items. We had just arrived at the B&B when it started to rain, the first we have seen in our days of walking so far.

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08/05/2007 by AOS.

Whilst in Kirkby Stephen, Veronica and Eddie were able to attend Mass at the local Church which is served by the Catholic parish of Our Lady of Appleby (from the nearby town of Appleby). Fr Peter Chappell made the couple very welcome and they were able to chat to parishioners after Mass about the walk and the work of the AOS for whom they are collecting sponsorship monies.

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08/05/2007 by AOS.

A rest day…

‘These feet are made for walking’… or ‘These boots were made for walking’.

We never thought when we set off on this adventure that we would be climbing mountain ranges, or have such perfect sunny clear skies (and no rain in the Lake District!). We have climbed so high and practically touched the sky; however, what goes up, must come down.

Scrambling down ravines and over waterfalls was awesome if not dangerous; of course tarns and lakes are two a penny. The babbling brooks, the thunderous waterfalls, the bluebell woods with other wild flowers were a treasure to behold. While grazing sheep and lambs were in abundance, cattle came into their own once we crossed Shap and came eventually into the Yorkshire Dales. Golden Eagles have been sighted in the Lakes and we have been warned via signs to “Beware of Adders” although we have not seen any so far.

The verdant trees by Hawswater were magnificent as was the velvet turf underfoot. At the start of the walk in St Bee’s, we had the red sandstone, the lakes showed us blue grey stone and on into the dales where we encountered limestone. Our walking companions have come from all over the British Isles and beyond and we have encountered them on different occasions as they divided their days out, and met them at B&B’s or in the Pub where we would argue at the evening meal over the best route. We discovered there are four different Coast to Coast guides and in fact Wainright has suggested we adapt our own route. However we are following his, as well as Terry Marsh’s closely. When we have gone wrong, we are reminded of the psalm “Alone with none but thee my God, I journey on my way; what need I fear when thou art near, oh King of night and day”

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