We slept well but breakfast at the Lion is not available
until 8:30am so by the time we had ours and paid the bill (£72 for the en suite
room) it was 9:25am before we were on our way. The morning was dull and grey but
not raining. Occasionally some light rain would moisten the air but insufficient
to make us wet. No one else was on the Rosedale railway path although at one
point a car did pass us going in the same direction. A heavy shower at around an
hour after we left made us stop and put on our rain clothes which we would wear
for most of the day despite the fact the sun tried to break through as we set
off again. A few minutes later we met the first eastbound Coast to Coaster of
the day - an Australian woman who had flown over for fourteen days to do the
walk! Then followed within a few minutes a series of others including two more
Australians, two Canadians, two Dutch and eight other people from
various places in the British Isles. All has started the day from Clay Bank
Top. A little later a lone trailing walker who had started from the Lord Stones
Cafe also went by making 15 walkers in all. We continued on to Bloworth Crossing
where we spoke to some locals out for a days walking and then joined the
Cleveland Way and headed out past Round Hill. Now we started to meet Coast to
Coasters who had set off that morning from Ingleby Cross. We stopped for lunch
sheltering behind a stone from the cold north easterly wind at around 13:15pm
about a mile short of Clay Bank Top. After an hour we continued. As we descended
it became noticeably warmer and after we crossed the road at Clay Bank Top, we
stopped to remove our rain clothes before the ascent of Hasty
Bank We passed two women who were Coast to Coasters heading, like us, for Great
Broughton. This brought the total for the day to approx 25, As we
approached The Wainstones a large group of school children were just leaving,
some more cheerful than others, having spent the day practising climbing.
Reports from others had indicated that they had been in low cloud for most of
the day and although it had lifted for our crossing of Hasty Bank it had now
returned and engulfed The Wainstones. We dropped down into the next dip and took
a path right into the woods. this would take us in an almost direct line to
Great Broughton. It turned out to be the muddiest path we had yet encountered!
By now Gemma was feeling tired and it was a long two miles to Great
Broughton where we easily located our B&B, Ingle Hill, which welcomed us
with tea, cakes and biscuits. A father and two sons (in their 30s') were also
staying there and walking the Cleveland Way for charity covering over 20 miles
each day. We were also joined by a young woman who had come to accompany
her brother for a couple of days who was also doing the Coast to Coast east to
west but at double our pace! They would be departing tomorrow for Danby Wiske.
After a shower we headed down to the pub, The Jet Miner, (Great Broughton has
two pubs and a small village shop) for a meal best described as good pub food.
The bar meals were large portions and cost £6 or £11 for two if you are really
hungry! We were back at the B&B shortly after 20:00 and Gemma was in
bed and asleep before 21:00pm. I wrote my journal and was in bed around 22:30pm.
It has been a good day's walk for the most part on fairly level ground and rain
which continuously threatened had stayed away. It now felt , however, ore like
winter than summer in the cold north easterly wind.
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