Miles walked today: 12.5

Total trip miles: 205.5

Elevation gain: 1,080 ft.

Accommodation: The Victoria Hotel

This morning as we left Intake Farm, Judith provided us with a map and instructions for a quick route back to the C2C path. She walked out with us and made sure we were pointed in the right direction. Nancy and I both enjoyed staying there immensely; the only negative was that they did not have good Wifi. Judith is a real gem and made us feel so welcome and comfortable. The path she showed us was down through pastures and then woods along a beck. Before we knew it we had rejoined the trail just beyond Falling Foss. We could have gone up to see the waterfall but decided against it since we have been there before. I wanted to make sure I had enough energy for the walk along the coast at the end of the day.

Todays hike was a real mix of the landscapes we have passed through pastures, woods, moors, little villages, and finally the coast. We made good time all the way but never felt like we were rushing. Until we got to the coast, we only saw one person and we didn’t talk to him.

We ate our lunch on a bench in the village of High Hawsker. We then knew we were getting close and took on our last section of the walk. In one of the last sheep fields we passed through, three lambs ran ahead of us kicking up their heels and jumping up in the air as if they were celebrating for us. The coast part was a lot of up and down for about three miles, but I didn’t get tired.

We arrived in Robin Hoods Bay and started down the main road towards our finish at the sea wall. People were everywhere and it wasn’t quite the quaint village scene I remember from 2015. Later a woman told us she wasn’t expecting the crowds when she made her holiday reservations last fall, but soon realized it is between a bank holiday and the Queen’s Jubilee so there are a lot more people here. Nevertheless we made our way to the sea, got someone to take our pictures as we dipped our toes in the North Sea and tossed in the pebbles we carried across England. Then again we got our picture taken under the Coast to Coast sign, though I wish it said 200 miles instead of 192. 200 sounds so much better and that’s what the guidebooks say. Of course everyone’s mileage is different depending on their route. Our official mileage came to 205.5.

We are staying at The Victoria Hotel, a rather “posh” place, but they could not have been more welcoming to a pair of tired and possibly smelly walkers. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant in their “Orangery” with a view of the sea. I’m looking forward to sleeping in (I hope) and exploring Robin Hoods Bay tomorrow. Tonight I go to bed feeling very happy and proud of this accomplishment! It wasn’t easy, but I did it!