Day 4
Egton Bridge to Rosedale Abbey
15 miles
We had a good breakfast in the sunny conservatory of the Old Mill and set off in high spirits on a lovely morning. The first job was to cross the stepping stones but we were used to them now.
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| Leaving Egton Bridge |
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| Back across the stones |
We soon left the road at an Inn Way sign for Delves and as usual, spent some time crossing fields and stiles until we re-joined the road at the village of Delves. We walked through the village and then took a track into Arncliffe Wood.
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| Follow the sign to Delves |
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| Descending to Delves |
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| Entering Arncliffe Wood |
Some sections in Arncliffe Wood were paved 'trods,' an old pannier-man's way which made the going easy and we were pleased that the tracks weren't the muddy mess we had got used to yesterday. We came to a large stone known as the Wishing Stone. Our Inn Way book explained that it was believed that if you circumnavigated the stone three times your wish would come true. I walked on leaving Carole circling the stone...
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| Carole considers the Wishing Stone |
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| Catching up after circumnavigation |
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| The Pannier-man's trod through Arncliffe Woods |
The trod descended to reach the River Esk where it resumed as a track beside the river. We followed the river for a while and reached a pub called the Arncliffe Arms. We then climbed the steep road to reach the village of Glaisdale.
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| The River Esk |
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| Looking back down river |
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| Climbing into Glaisdale |
Leaving the village we descended to the river once more and soon reached a very pretty old mill.
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| The old mill near Glaisdale |
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We continued by the river and crossing fields to reach the village of Lealholm where we were delighted to see a small cafe. The lady running the cafe was a farmer's wife and as we enjoyed our cream scones and coffee she told us how badly the lambs were doing in this unusually cold weather. She explained that when a sheep gives birth to twins outdoors the first-born often dies of cold while she is giving birth to the second.
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| Weather vane near Glaisdale |
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| Carole makes a friend |
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| A grassy path besides the river |
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| Hurrying out of our way |
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| Lealholm and what does that sign say....? |
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| "Share my scone...?" |
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| "You cannot be serious!" |
Leaving Lealholm we now walked for a couple of miles on the road until we reached a sign marked 'Glaisdale Rigg', onto the moors and on to some narrow paths which would be difficult to navigate in bad weather. Some sections were boggy and the moor seems vast and bleak until a clearer path is gained along Glaisdale Rigg. A rigg implies a ridge and our path followed this long curving feature for some distance across the top of the moor.
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| Climbing to Glaisdale Rigg |
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| The Inn Way book mentions these standing stones so we must be right! |
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| Walking along Glaisdale Rigg |
Eventually there were fine views into Great Fryup Dale on our right and our notes said to look out for a large cairn at the head of the valley, which we located easily. We then had to look for a smaller cairn, which we missed because it was a poor effort and set back from the track. We wasted some time to-ing and fro-ing trying to find our turn off before back tracking to spot the elusive cairn.
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| Carole looks into Great Fryup Dale |
Leaving the rigg path and entering the rough moor again was a boggy experience and we were grateful when we came to the 'George Gap Causeway'. This is another stone trod which seems to appear and disappear; one suspects some sections have simply sunk beneath the moor. We were pleased to walk on the causeway when we could, both for the firm surface and as a directional aid.
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| The George Gap Causeway |
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| The white square ahead of Carole is a marker on the Lyke Wake Walk |
At one point we crossed a very worn, wide path which is the famous Lyke Wake Walk and as the rain had started, we stopped to change into waterproofs. Hail stung our faces and rain tried to get under our hoods. It made us admire the builders of the trod and the hardiness of our ancestors who didn't have the luxury of Gortex.
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| An older sign to 'ROSDAL' |
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| Last photo of the day |
By now the rain was torrential and I put my camera away in a waterproof bag. Our long walk to Rosedale was along a path that necessitated much gate opening and closing with our sodden gloves. Our wet weather gear was working well and we were still dry inside our man-made shells. We discussed what a different experience this would be on a nice day and how grateful we were not to be sheep.
Fortunately there were no more steep climbs and we passed on to Rosedale Abbey slightly chilled but in good spirits. We squelched into The White Horse Inn and the landlady kindly called the August Guest House, which is a mile outside Rosedale. We then booked a meal at the inn for later in the evening and were soon being taken to our accommodation by our considerate and entertaining host for the night.
We were relieved of our wet gear with a promise that it would all be dried next to the Aga and went to our room for a cup of tea and a hot shower. Another good day!
