Day 7 – C2C Walk

The alarm went off this morning at 6:40 am and to be honest I really didn’t want to get up. My legs ached and the thought of 20 odd miles again wasn’t appealing at all. We went down for another full English and then set off out of the village after first taking a picture of the village green where wainwright was interviewed when doing the TV series in the 1970’s. The walk started by following roads and after a few miles we came to Marrick priory, another church partly ruined by Henry VIII. From the priory there are some steps up to the village to Marrick and you get a great sense of history as you walk up them. They have clearly been there for centuries and it’s not hard to imagine families walking down every Sunday to go and pray. As we left the village we then came across a sheep in the fields with 2 sets of horns. The first were curly ones as you see on most sheep but it also had 2 long sharp horns that made it look like a devil sheep. One of the strangest sights so far on the walk.
The next few miles were through fields again but today the paths weren’t as grassy as yesterday. This was to be the story for most of the day and made it very difficult on the feet. A few more buttercup fields and again following the river Swale before we then entered the biggest town on the whole route, Richmond. The first thought in our heads was that my car was parked here and how tempting it would be to just jump in and drive to the end. We quickly dismissed that and moved into the town. We got some supplies at a supermarket, resisted the temptation of the local chippy and took a picture of the plaque celebrating the 1927 total Eclipse which was centred here.
Time for lunch here with views of the castle and the river and then it was off up the hill to walk through the rutted fields once more. Then we had a surprise as we came across the two Stevens. We had met them a few days before and had fleeting chats as we trudged through the lakes. We got talking and decide to walk the rest of the way together. They are both really good blokes and have formed their own walking group called ‘WithaVee Wanderers’, based on the fact that their name is spelt with a V and not a PH. One looks like a walking version of the hairy bikers and the other is a total comic who nicknames himself the Blithering Idiot. For miles he had us in stitches and was just the tonic we needed for the long afternoon facing us.

A small detour was forced on us as we approached the A19 and Catterick Racecourse and then it was back in the fields until we reached Bolton on Swale. The interesting fact here is an obelisk in the graveyard of the local church which has an inscription in the memory of Henry Jenkins who allegedly lived until he was 169 years old. I doubt he did but inside the church is a plaque in the wall that explains his story. The church also had a fridge of ice cold drinks available, literally a god send in the hot sun and high temperature, to all walkers for an optional donation and a signature in the guest book.
The next 6 miles to Danby Wiske were very tedious with all of us suffering from sore feet and legs. But finally we arrived and the last hundred yards with the White swan in view created huge relief for us all. A total of 26.46 miles were walked today and over 50 in the last two days. This walk is starting to take its toll and with the weather being so sunny and hot it’s very energy sapping. Having said that we are still going and a few beers and some good food get us refreshed again ready for tomorrow.