Trial by Moor and Summer Solstice

Its been a while since we had internet access so this blog entry has to cover a lot of ground (like us). I will have to describe it backwards from this moment. We are at Intake Farm in Littlebeck which is only 10 miles from Robin Hood's Bay! Today as we walked across our last piece of moorland we saw the North Sea shining blue in the distance and we shrieked with delight - hard to believe we are actually nearly there and only one more day to go! Since our last post we have been tested by the gods and goddesses of the Yorkshire Moors who must have thought that we wimps from USA needed a greater challenge. On Saturday we set out at 7am from Ingleby Cross to walk 22 miles across the wild and untamed moors of north Yorkshire. Oh yeah! It started to rain as we left the farm and so we chose our "full metal jacket" rain gear with gaiters. Lucky. As we climbed steadily on to the moors the wind picked up to a howling gale so I was hardly able to stand upright and the rain came down horizontally "like stair rods" as they say here. We battled on (at least there were no bogs!)knowing we had no choice but to keep going and had one oasis in the form of a small isolated cafe called The Lord Stones cafe in the middle of nowhere where we had great cappucino and scones. Then we hurled ourselves out into the wind again. It was impossible to stop walking even to have sandwiches as the wind and cold grabbed you and threatened to toss you into the air so we just kept going -Vidya listened to her "moor mix" on her ipod and 10 hours later we staggered into the famous Lion Inn pub at Blakey Ridge. People were in there having dinner and they looked at us like we just arrived from an arctic expedition as we came through the door. After hot baths (and a gin and tonic) we were in good shape again and ready to greet our guests Robin, Nancy, Myrren and James who had driven from London to meet us. What a banquet we had that night!! Now as I look back on that day -it was wonderful - wild intimacy with the elements that is not something I usually experience and an incredibly beautiful moorland impression. Next morning -better weather - James and Myrren walked with us from Blakey Ridge to Graisdale where we had lunch together before they set off back to London. It was great to have had company! We walked on to the village of Grosmont last night which is famous for its steam railway. We were joined this time by Imo's friend Henry and his dog Louis who came up from Derby to walk with us. We had another pub dinner in The Station Tavern with other C to C'ers and one highlight of the evening was the look on the barman's face when Vidya asked if they had extra virgin olive oil! Today we set off in glorious sunshine for Littlebeck - a short 5 mile day to allow us to "rest" and enjoy the beauty of this delightful hamlet with a trickling brook or beck through the middle of little cottages. The farm where we are now is a working farm - we were greeted with tea and chocolate cake and then played with two tiny kittens - part of a gang of farm cats here as we waited for Shepavan to arrive with our bags. Tonight we are celebrating the summer solstice and reflecting on this amazing journey that we have been lucky enough to share. Tomorrow we finish!