Day 11: 16 July - Fylingdales Moor to Robin Hood Bay - 13 miles

I had a restless evening. Sleeping in the bivvy bag has not always been comfortable because of the heat but last night it had been incredibly warm. I felt like the meat in a roasting bag that has been placed in the oven; I was faced with the choice of opening the bag and letting in the midges or sealing it up and lying in stifling and sticky heat. By 4.30 in the morning I had had enough and got up, watched the sun rise and readied myself to go. I had only a few miles left and I thought I might as well get to Robin Hood’s Bay for breakfast. I finished my traverse of the moor which became quite boggy towards the end, parts of the path being on raised wooden platforms, and soon came out onto country lanes. High hedges and trees, more cultivated than anything I had seen for a while, and white wooden signposts were clear indications that civilisation and hence the end of the walk were approaching. I followed the lanes down to a caravan park and to the cliff edge walk that is the last couple of miles to Robin Hood’s Bay.


At the town I headed down the steep road that led to the rocky bay and here I threw my pebble that I had collected from the beach 11 days ago into the sea. It was still early and I sat for a while looking out to sea, nothing in particular on my mind, and then decided it was time for breakfast.

I ended up halfway back up the hill from the bay as the one or two places by the bay were either not open or for residents only. It was then time to work out how to get back home. I headed to Scarborough on a local bus, found that trains from there were slow and expensive and ended up on a bus to Leeds. It was a local bus, with regular stops, including York, apart from when we headed the 70 miles down the motorway to Leeds. I did not care as I was sat in a seat near the front and using my pack as a pillow, dozing gently. From Leeds I was able to get to London and finally from there a coach to Corsham. I ended my coast to coast with a late night walk home from the coach stop spurred on by the thought of a night in my own comfortable bed.