Grinton to Richmond

Saturday 10th April 2010

For the last day of my holiday I had a short walk from Grinton Lodge Youth Hostel to the castle town of Richmond. This was mostly a dull walk under stunning weather with just a few of highlights. The first was Steps Wood on a path between Marrick Abbey and the village of Marrick. This ancient path passes through a wonderful wood that was resplendent in a dense covering of woodland plants that were sadly not yet in bloom. This clearly defined path was still a pleasure to walk up as Steps Wood is one of those beautiful, ancient woods that are tragically fast disappearing from our countryside. Another highlight of the walk was Applegarth Scar, below which is an extensive view across Swaledale. The path continues below Whitcliffe Scar before entering Whitcliffe Wood, another delightful walk through a wood that was also bedecked with woodland plants, which is a sure sign of health in a wood (as well as the welcoming sound of birds).After a dreary farmland crossing between Marrick and Applegarth this was a wonderfully relaxing way to end the walk under a warm sun. Emerging from the wood I walked along a road all the way into Richmond which has some interesting historical buildings but was just too crowded for my tastes. After a wander around the castle walls I caught a bus to Darlington and thence a train home. This was a good week's walk with a wide variety of walking. The change in scenery as I have crossed the country was dramatic. My heart belongs in the Lake District, so that was easily my favourite part of the holiday and the rest of the walk couldn't hope to compare. But that is one of the attractions of the coast to coast, that it passes through such a wide variety of landscapes, some of which will naturally appeal to you more than others. Besides the mountains of the Lake District, the mines of Gunnerside on the day before this walk were really fascinating and I wished I'd been able to spend more time exploring them.

Beyond Richmond the coast to coast follows the River Swale to Bolton-on-Swale before crossing the vast Vale of Mowbray, which from all reports is a flat, featureless expanse of farmland. The terrain doesn't improve until one reaches the village of Ingleby Arncliffe on the edge of the North York Moors. Rejoining the coast to coast at that point would be desirable and something I hope to do at some point.

Kirkby Stephen to Grinton Lodge

Friday 9th April 2010

I had calculated this walk as being twenty-two miles so I set off early for a good, long walk but in the end I think it must have been more like twenty-six miles over some very hilly terrain, so it took me over ten hours to complete and by the end I was really exhausted and my feet were aching. The walk started with an ascent of Nine Standards Rigg by climbing up a road onto the open hillside. Nine Standards Rigg is a significant hill on the Coast to Coast as it lies on the watershed of England, all the rivers and streams from now on flow towards the east coast rather than the west coast behind me. I visited this hill in 2004, but unfortunately I was not able to on this occasion. There are different routes over the hill in different months of the year because of erosion-prevention and the December-April route doesn't go to the summit but skirts the western slopes heading south to a road. I was quite disappointed at not visiting the summit but the road walking gave me an opportunity to put some speed on and eat up some of those miles that I had to cover during this walk.

Leaving the road I crossed a wet moorland hillside, and was soon joined by the later season paths before dropping into a secluded valley farm, Ravenseat. Leaving the farm I walked above the narrow, picturesque valley of Whitsun Dale and rounded the corner into the young Swaledale. Crossing a valley mouth I dropped down to the picturesque spot where the Pennine Way crosses the coast to coast, near the village of Keld. Here I had lunch and enjoyed the sunshine with a lovely waterfall beside me. I passed this spot last year while walking along the Pennine Way and it was nice to be able to enjoy this tranquil spot again. Setting off, the route now changed tempo completely as I climbed up the side of Swaledale to the old Swinner Gill Lead Mines where I left the picturesque Swaledale and climbed out of the valley by a rough and steep path onto the top of the hill. On the heather-covered moorland I walked past areas where the heather was being burned and descended into another area of mine workings, the Lownathwaite Lead Mines in the deserted valley of Gunnerside. Passing the eerie, old mine buildings I climbed once again up the side of the valley onto the moorland top where I found a bleak, desolate wasteland caused by the mine workings. I also found a good track that I was able to follow for several miles across the top, down into the valley opposite and along the bottom of the valley to a road.

Sadly the good track does not lead all the way to the youth hostel as I really wished it did. Instead, rough, boggy walking resumed as I crossed heather-covered moorland above a wall and a network of fields eventually reaching a track that would take me to a farm house. Now with weary steps I crossed countless fields as I dropped into the village of Reeth. With the little strength that I had left I crossed the River Swale and climbed up the steep road to Grinton Lodge Youth Hostel. My epic walk had been completed in awesome weather and across some stunning terrain. Unlike my previous day's walk this one had great variety and significantly prolonged walking through open country. The coast to coast doesn't have another day like this until it reaches the North York Moors, fortunately the next day was my last.