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Time: 10.25h. Up: 220m. Down 240m.
Distance: 38.5km. Difficulty: easy but long Day 11: Richmond (130m) to Osmotherly (170m) Miles is feeling somewhat better but thinks – and we all agree – that it would not be wise to rejoin the hike on a day where we will be hiking almost 39km (24 miles). We walk out of Richmond, past the town sewage works (not the best choice of routes, I admit, but that’s where the C2C signs led) and then through a damp and dripping wood before coming out onto the wide flat Vale of Mowbray. From there we walk, sometimes along roads, and walk, sometimes across fields, and walk, sometimes through woods, and walk and walk and walk. People reveal unexpected sides of their personalities on a long hike like this. For example, Oliver turns out to be a multi-talented hiking partner. Not only does he keep us entertained by telling us hilarious stories of his many odd experiences, he also clears the way of nettles, slashing at them with the one pole that he consents to carry. On balance, however, after much reflection and some painful stings, I decide that he is a better story-teller than nettle-slasher. It is a hot day and our watches tick slowly. By the time we arrive in the village of Danby Wiske, the mid-point of our hike, five hours have gone by and we are seriously flagging. We are looking forward to lunch in the dark cool confines of an old pub… but it is not to be: the pub is closed. We are partially saved by an enterprising B&B owner who sells us and 12 other walkers and bikers sandwiches and drinks and cream teas under sunshades beside her house. It isn’t dark, it isn’t cool, but we recover nevertheless. A mile further down the road Russell drops a bombshell: he has a thermonuclear case of butt-chafe and will henceforth only be able to walk bowlegged like an orc. A quick conference is convened. Suggestions are made as to ways of shortening the way (by taking a taxi or a bus), but Russell is having none of it: Oliver is not the only stubborn stoic in our group. Russ opts to waddle on. Our three doctors (you can’t be too careful on a long hike) confer as to the best treatment and Russ goes behind a bush to apply it. Not a highpoint of the trip for Russ. And yet there is something very positive about it: although we all know that Russell’s slower pace will make the day longer for the rest of us, no-one complains. There is no rancor. It was, I realize in retrospect, a moment of true solidarity. We cross a busy railway where Dad almost gets run over by a train, then a busy road where we all run a similar risk. Time passes… slowly… and… slowly… in the distance the heights of the Yorkshire Moors are seen through the haze and start to move closer. We are all glad that we will not have to climb them until tomorrow. At last, around 6:15PM, we reach them. The Vale of Mowbray is behind us at last. And it is then that I realize I have Done A Bad Thing. I have not paid close enough attention to the map. In fact we do have to climb a good 200m (650 feet) up the hills, and then descend around 150m (500 feet) to get to the village of Osmotherly where we will be staying the night. At first the others don’t believe me, but as it becomes clear that the path we are following is going nowhere but up, the disbelief turns into something uglier. In vain do I claim that Osmotherly is such a lovely village that it is worth the extra work. Sally informs me that out of respect for my past good deeds she is going to give me a choice: I can either die fast or die slowly. My frequent apologies of “Sorry, dudes” do not seem to be working. I decide to hike fast and out front. Finally, eleven and a half hours, and ten and a quarter hours of hiking, after we left Richmond, at 7:15PM, we arrive at our B&B in Osmotherly… to find the door locked. Fortunately Miles appears and although he initially tells us to go away, he soon relents. Dad tells me that he doesn’t want to seem ungrateful, but he really didn’t need a gift like today. We are all knackered. But the tour planner will not let them rest! I do my best Doreen imitation and tell them that they must hurry up and shower and come straight back down because I have booked a table in an excellent restaurant around the corner at 8PM. It is unclear if I am going to survive the night. Fortunately the restaurant really is excellent… and by 9PM all remaining animosity has evaporated. At the table Russ passes around a close-up digital shot of his thermonuclear chafe zone. It isn’t pretty, and it shows how hungry we are that this does not destroy our appetites. Some of us (Dad) consume an ENORMOUS meal, others merely pig out. By 10PM we are all back in our rooms and going to sleep. After all, tomorrow will be another long day :-). Summary:
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C2C: The Coast to Coast Hike