Richmond to Danby Wiske (23km)

Day 4 - Richmond to Danby Wiske

It was difficult leaving Richmond after breakfast but the day put on a beautiful sunny start to get us on our way.  So far Yorkshire has been a place of great hospitality and the locals have been so kind.  Before leaving our B+B our hostess suggested we pass the old railway station – now a hub for arts and crafts.  This alternative route to rejoin the C2C path out of Richmond bypassed the busy A6136 road and was an excellent suggestion.    

Old Station - Richmond

Just a few steps from the old station, we were stopped by a local man who, having spotted our walking poles and backpacks, volunteered directions to rejoin the official Coast to Coast route.  It was a very sincere and kind gesture.  

Once back on the path, we began the long slog to our next stop.  Today’s walk was extremely trying – not because the track was particularly tough (it was mostly flat) but due to the dreary trudge through monotonous farmland and lack of any distinguishing features.  The latter meant we wasted half an hour and precious energy just outside of Colburn as we navigated the wrong track across a field and had to retrace our steps. 

That said, signage on this eastern section of the C2C has been infinitely better than the non-existent signage in the Lake District although once away from urban centres, the finger posts and C2C signs tend to vanish.  Many farmers help out where they can with small C2C signs and arrows on stiles pointing the way but spotting the damn things can be tricky.  No wonder a couple of carrots were included in our packed lunches today!

Bolton on Swale was a welcome rest stop and diversion on an otherwise unremarkable route. For a tiny village it has various claims to fame including birthplace of two of the Gunpowder Plotters as well as the Jenkins legend (see below).  St Mary’s Church welcomes Coast to Coast walkers with cold drinks inside the church in return for a contribution to the donation box.  The churchyard was also a peaceful spot for lunch (at least the neighbours are quiet).   

My husband the Canadian Mountie

Please note the hat - it has a story… it's not just any hat but a Tilley hat.  Ross wasn’t able to buy one in Perth and yet last week as we passed through a small dot on the map in North Wales, we passed an outdoor clothing shop and there it was.  The only hat in the shop and it was the right size and on sale!  So here is Ross wearing the hat that advertises itself as being the finest in the world, insured against loss and guaranteed for life.  I doubt in making that promise the Tilley people had heard of Henry Jenkins…

A local legend and Bolton on Swale’s most famous son, Henry Jenkins is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard.  He is remembered for the uncanny feat of living an extraordinarily long life – to 169 years old no less.  Admittedly he may have been a bit senile towards the end and record keeping in 1670 mightn’t have been up to scratch.  He’s still thought to have lived to over 100 though so his fame is well deserved.

Memorial plaque for Henry Jenkins

On leaving Bolton on Swale I found something that superseded my cow phobia.  What’s worse than walking through fields with cows giving you the death stare?  Why having to walk through a field containing a few bullocks especially when a particularly curious one decides to saunter along the path towards you.  All I can say is that I’m glad we were walking in a pair.  There’s something to be said for safety in numbers - I’d be even happier crossing these fields if we were in a crowd of around a hundred.

Bovine death stare

The weather changed suddenly outside Kiplin and the big gust of wind preceding the rain tore off my cap as we stood on the road verge and hurried to put on our raincoats.  Ross was very gallant and chased it down the road to retrieve it.  Just in time as the rain was quite heavy and accompanied us on the next stage of our walk through fields.  Wainwright found this part of the walk excruciatingly boring and I must say I’m with him on that one.  

While the flatness is easy on the feet, field after field in the Vale of Mowbray became plenty wearisome.  It’s not surprising therefore that some walkers do the entire 37km stretch across the Vale in one day.  I couldn’t fathom walking so much in one go and so we have split the trek over two days.  Good in that we ‘only’ had to walk 23km today.  Bad in that we have exactly the same type of walk tomorrow… at least it will be a shorter journey.

Barley fields in the Vale of Mowbray

Today was also unusual in that we didn’t come across any fellow Coast to Coast walkers along the trail.  At least not until dinnertime at our B+B in Danby Wiske when we met a fellow walker, a schoolteacher from Lincolshire doing the C2C on her own.  We shared our mealtime sitting around the common kitchen table and traded stories about the trail.  

I’m really not looking forward to having to walk through much of the same landscape tomorrow.  Then again I’ll probably think back to this fondly on Wednesday when we have to haul ourselves up and over the Cleveland Hills.