Distance: 7 miles
As this day’s walk was to be quite short, we took a leisurely breakfast chatting with Tom and Sandra at their lovely B&B, the Red House Farm.
My mom, June, decided to join us on this section of the C2C. We left Glaisdale on a beautiful spring morning, crossing the river by the railway bridge.
As we were leaving we walked up on the graceful, arching bridge crossing the River Esk. Called the Beggar’s Bridge, it was built is 1619 by a Thomas Ferris, who, many years earlier and in order to be considered worthy of his intended bride, had set out to make his fortune. On the night he left for this adventure, this river was flooded and uncrossable; he was unable to visit her farm in order to bid her good-bye. Many years later, when he returned a wealthy man, he built this bridge so that no lovers hence would be separated by such a flood. (And, yes, he finally married the girl).
We walked on stepping stones as the path continued into the East Arncliffe Woods.
The River Esk was ever present and a pleasant sight to behold as we traveled the trail.
The charming village of Egton Bridge was not far from the grand Egton Manor, which we viewed from the trail.
Donkeys were grazing on the manor’s property. We had been asked not to feed them and they knew we would not offer any goodies, so they did not pay much attention as we passed by.
Occasionaly we glimpsed the lush Esk Valley.
We walked along an old toll road. Passing the toll cottage, we noticed the original description of the tolls was still posted on the side of the cottage (Horses, carriages, motorized vehicles, motorcycles, etc. Note the date: August, 1948).
Our next village, Grosmont, was known for its North York Moors Railway. The train arrived regularly throughout the day and was well worth the wait when we saw it steam into town with whistle blowing and steam pouring from its smokestack. During the 19th century, the train was a necessity when ironstone was discovered nearby. These mines are now gone, but the nostalgic train remains. If this locomotive looks familiar, it is because this train has been used in films such as Harry Potter and Brideshead Revisited.
While we waited to check out the train, we enjoyed walking through the locomotive shop where volunteer laborers kept these trains working and clean. Leaving Grosmont, we were faced with a substantial climb back up to the moors, this time to Sleights Moor, from which we could finally view the North Sea and Whitby Abbey.
During each hike I typically contact the B&Bs ahead of us to notify them that we will arrive as scheduled (or not) and to pick up any tips to help us on our journey. I had contacted Judith, our delightful host at Intake Farm B&B, for this reason and she directed us to a short cut across the fields to her farm. When we arrived Judith almost received us as family and invited us to sit at her kitchen table to enjoy tea and cakes while she prepared dinner. She kept her freezer full of prepared meals since she never knew how many people might show up for dinner. This evening we ate at a dinner table of twelve guests, which included campers who had raised their tents on her lawn. We had an enjoyable evening chatting with several hikers who were just about to finish the trek at its eastern end as we were and others who were just beginning the east to west direction of the C2C Path.
