Expectations
This will be an interesting day for all kinds of reasons.
Firstly, will we stick to avoiding cars and hike the 2.5 miles back up to the moor?
Secondly, the Cs and the Ls have very different destinations. The Cs are staying at Sevenford House in Rosedale Abbey. To our great disappointment, the Ls are staying 9 miles away in Church House Farm, Danby! So certainly we’ll be spending the evening meal separately.
Thirdly, will the Cs really hike down to Rosedale Abbey, or will this be when the car-avoiding goal gets thrown to the wind?
For the Cs: 16.44 miles!!! The longest of the entire trip, from The Wainstones Hotel in Great Broughton to Sevenford House in Rosedale Abbey.
For the Ls: 12.34 if walking up the moor, probably more like 11 if driven to Clay Bank Top, ending at the Lion Inn. Their final destination: Church House Farm, Danby Head after a ride from the Lion Inn.
Realities
We did it!!! 16.64 miles, 1,982ft elevation gain, did not set foot in a wheeled vehicle.
Tired and footsore. Blogging will need to wait till after dinner, other than to share that the lovely Ian from Sevenford House met us with the news “We’ve upgraded you from a room to a house”. We have a whole house to ourselves! Even a piano. Luxury 🙂
Back from super meal at White Horse Farm Inn (recommended by the lovely Ian). I seem to have wi-fi if I sit on the couch facing south, so let’s see if that’s good enough!
Last night was one of the most uncomfortable nights so far. The room was absurdly warm, partly because a third of it seemed to be heated from below and partly because only a tiny window could be opened to allow any kind of fresh air. Despite not being a particularly warm night, the room seemed to be about 80F. D ended up soaking some bath towels and draping them on him, which made for a rude awakening for me when I stepped out of bed onto a wad of sodden towels!
We started breakfast at 8am, with Mark joining us and then the Ls. The Cs + CL were planning to walk up to the Wainstones, and Mark was driving the remaining Ls up to Clay Bank Top parking lot where we would all meet up.
Heading to the top of that hill…
Other than the timing being about half an hour out (took longer than planned to get started, and the hill was steeper/slower than we had allowed for) it all worked out great.
Bit muddy in places too…
The Wainstones were impressive and worth the extra climb.
Some more ridge line walking before a steep descent to the Clay Bank Top parking lot.
Met up with remaining Ls and Mark at 11. Delighted that Mark decided to walk with us up to the high point.
After saying our goodbyes to Mark, we continued on.
It got windier and chillier, and the skies looked threatening at times, but overall we lucked out on the weather. It would be a much harder walk in heat, fog, high winds, or drenching rains. Even with good weather, it was a bit of a trudge in the end–much of it on a disused rail line, exposed on the open moor with clear views of the path ahead.
I took a tumble and cut up my hand a bit. First real injury! Mostly hurt pride though.
Very happy to see our first glimpse of The Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge, isolated on a hilltop. You can just see the collection of buildings in the center of this photo on the horizon.
Eventually we reached inn–such a welcome respite!
Had tea & scones/drink/dessert. Not quite sure what emotion D is conveying with this look, but I think we all felt it!
The Ls called their accommodation to get a ride to Danby Head. The Cs continued on foot to Rosedale Abbey, a long but mostly pleasant walk down off the moor and through farm fields and country tracks.
Finally, around 5:30, we arrived at Sevenford House, to be met by the owner Ian who (as already mentioned) directed us toward the wonderful guest house that we have the run of. Wish we could stay longer!
After baths/showers/rest, we walked the 0.3 miles to White Horse Farm Inn for a wonderful meal in a beautiful setting.
Then walked back as the sun set and a rainbow appeared. Ahhhhh.
