Day 10: Blakey Ridge to Little Beck

Today was forecast to be quite hot so we left right after breakfast to try and get a far as possible before the clouds burned off.

After what seemed like ages trudging along the road the Lion Inn was still the only building we could see but after some time we caught a glimpse of the North Sea again. Eventually we made it onto a path but rejoined the road some time later.

The views were quite distant and we’d see all the way down and along different valleys as we wound our way across the top of the moors until finally starting to descend into Glaisdale.

We knew the village shop closed from 12:30-2:30 so were trying to get there in time to pick up a cold drink to help us on our way. We made it in good time however the drinks fridge was not what one could call cold so we opted for (potentially quite old) lemonade flavoured icy poles instead.

We continued through the gorgeous East Arncliffe Woods very relieved at the shade and cool air coming off the Esk River below. Part of the track was giant stone slabs that were so worn in the middle they must have been used for hundreds of years.

We then passed through Egton Bridge and initially missed the turn off but realised halfway up a very steep hill – better to realise at that point than at the top!

After backtracking and taking the right turn we were walking along a private road that provides access to a large estate. There was a holiday cottage called The Old Potting Shed next to a walled garden and opposite The Manor and beyond, The River Lodge, so it was quite a vast estate. It even had a Toll Cottage which had been used to monitor a toll gate in the past.

The path then went under the railway and on into Grosmont which is a town that used to operate iron smelters but is now known as a destination for steam rail enthusiasts. They even run a Hogwarts Express train occasionally. 

We gratefully sank into chairs at the local tavern for a bit of lunch and some icy cold drinks. We decided to rest our legs for an hour before tackling the last brutal climb of the walk: 700ft/230m up to Sleights Moor in the blistering sun along a road.  We guzzled water and dragged ourselves up from one tiny bit of shade to the next dreading the walk across the top of the unshaded moor but the wind gods helped us out with a strong breeze once we were up there.

After crossing the moor, and playing Frogger again across the A169 this time we took the recommended side track to our lodgings at Intake Farm. Only the track seemed to require us to go through the driveway and yard of a different farm that lacked the usual public footpath signage so we ended up taking a circuitous, at times boggy route that saw us needing to clamber over a barbed wire fence at one point.

We got to the right place in the end but it wasn’t quite a straightforward as the map indicated.

Annoyingly for our hosts when we arrived the power had been out all afternoon and was unlikely to be back on for a few hours so we had to wait a bit longer to wash the stink and grit off before a rather late dinner.

Oh well, it gave us time to repack our bags ready for the last walk tomorrow (and clothes for the following day as our lodgings tomorrow are in too remote a location for the bag carrier to bring them!).