23/05/2007 by AOS.

Many thanks to all who have made donations and provided sponsorship following Veronica and Eddie’s excellent effort.

We can state that at the time of writing, we have received a little over £1000 via parishes, individuals, companies, and well wishers who Veronica and Eddie met whilst doing the walk and who, upon hearing of the work being done by the AOS, made generous donations to the cause. At the end of the walk, Veronica handed me over £200 collected along the way, and she tells me that she has more money accruing by the day!

We are hopeful that this trend will continue and that we will receive other contributions via our Parish Contacts throughout the region.

On behalf of the AOS and indeed the seafarers who will benefit; many thanks

Tony McAvoy
AOS NE Regional Co-ordinator

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15/05/2007 by AOS.

I would like to express, on behalf of the National Board of Trustees of the Apostleship of the Sea in Great Britain, and all our colleagues in the North East Region and indeed all ports around the country, our congratulations and thanks to Veronica and Eddie on the day they have completed this most monumental task of the Coast to Coast Walk.

Naturally, like all charities we hope to benefit from sponsorship monies pledged, but in this case, we have also gained from the significant amount of awareness raised, not only of the plight of seafarers who give so much to keep us supplied with 95% of what we consume, but also of the work being done on a daily basis by this charity.

We extend every good wish to Veronica and Eddie, and of course our heartfelt thanks.

Commodore Chris York
National Director
Apostleship of the Sea “Stella Maris” GB

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14/05/2007 by AOS.

Apologies; today’s walk should read from Danby Dale to Grosmont.

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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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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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