Day 10 - Thursday 22nd July
Danby Wiske to Beak Hills
11miles: 6h 25mins
Woke at about 6:30am after a good sleep. I slept with the foot end
of the sleeping bag inside a plastic bag to try to prevent it getting wet.
It didn't work! It was wetter than ever from condensation. I woke once in
the night and thought I heard raindrops but maybe I dreamt it. Got up around
7:15am, packed up and left at 9:35. We climbed up through the woods and
I ate some raspberries and bilberries that were growing there. This was
what can only be described as an undulating section. It was now possible
to see the North Sea in the distance, which gave a feeling of nearing the
end even though there were three more days to go. Steve knew that at some
point there was a cafe in a 'cave' (the Lord Stones Café) but he had
never been able to find it. (He lives in Middlesborough and had once gone
out looking for it) We thought we might reach it by lunch time but in the
event we stopped for lunch just before a road. We set off again and after
crossing the road found a sign, almost lost in the grass, pointing to the
cafe. It was indeed easy to miss. We stopped for a drink and got into conversation
with two girls (who it transpired were two lesbians from Liverpool). They
were walking the Cleveland Way which follows the same path at this point.
We continued to a farm at Beak Hills (another couple of miles) that offered
camping for £2 where we arrived at around 4:00pm. It was very basic
with a toilet and an outside tap but absolutely no washing facilities, although
it had the advantage of being very quiet. It was a fine warm afternoon so
I took the opportunity to wash my shirt and trousers under the tap and hung
them on the fence to dry. The farmer and his wife were friendly people who
were busy haymaking. A storm was forecast and he said if it got really bad
we could seek shelter in the barn. The rain set in at 8:00pm and was very
heavy but I was warm and dry inside the tent. I rang Gemma and texted Dave
to ask about train times for the journey home. I was asleep by 8:30pm.
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