I awoke at about 8:00 after an uncomfortable night's sleep on the hard ground, filled with the excitement that came from knowing that today I would finish the walk. I had a cup of tea before greeting a glorious day and packing my things away. I took great delight in discarding everything that was no longer of use to me: spare rations, tea bags, even the remainder of the sugar. I don't know how much lighter it actually made my pack but psychologically it removed several kilos from the load! I went to say goodbye to the lovely lady who had offered me the place to stop and we chatted a while about bird life and walking and holidays. She flatly refused to accept two pounds from me but I flatly refused to leave with out paying her!
Walking up along the river in the shade of the forest trees was lovely although the path very muddy. Several day-walkers before me chose, at various stages, to turn back but there was no stopping me! I found myself thinking what a delightful stroll this was and decided that, should I be in the area again, I would definitely revisit this path. I passed 'The Hermitage', an impressive cavern carved out of a solid chunk of rock, and the Falling Foss waterfall which shone up through the trees like a feast for my eyes.
Once out of the wood some sections of road and tedious heather moor-land led me to Hawsker. Barely pausing for breath I passed straight through and on to the coast. And what a sight it was! After 10 days of walking I finally found myself standing on the cliff-edge path with nothing before me but blue sea and blue sky! I admired it and savoured the moment.
My pace now quickened as I knew that completion lay only a couple of miles away. I encountered a number of people on the path, many of whom recognised me as a coast-to-coaster by my backpack and haggard looks. Some congratulated me on the achievement and I found myself feeling not so much like I had achieved something but more like I would be relieved to finally get it over and done with!
With only hundreds of metres to go I saw the outline of my Dad in the distance and we waved to each other. We embraced and then walked together to where he had parked the car and where my Mum was also waiting. The three of us headed down to the bay where I took my final steps of this adventure and bathed my aching feet in the cold salty water of the North Sea.