Day 8: 13 July - Bolton-on-Swale to Ingleby and to Live Moor - 22 miles

I awoke and left by 5.15. There were two reasons: firstly I had spent the night on the edge of a plantation and did not want to be there if anybody arrived to work; and secondly, having heard it was to be the hottest day of the year I wanted to get some miles in during the coolness of morning.

This part of the walk is said to be the most boring of the route. However for me - walking in the still calm of the morning, the sun low on the horizon ahead of me and with mist sitting over the fields while the day began to awake - it was magic.

The walk was straightforward, mostly along road and through farmland and fields. The most notable part was crossing the four lanes of the A19 - heading to Middlesbrough some ten miles north of me - to get into Ingleby Cross. I had now done about 12 miles and it was still early so I headed straight for the pub to ponder my next move. I had to wait for an hour outside before the pub opened, chatting to a couple of woman doing the walk and waiting for a lift to somewhere. Pub open, I had a baguette and, torn between stopping and knowing that because it was still early I should move on, worked my way through three beers. Eventually however, I made the decision I knew I should and headed off.

From here it was off into the countryside again, up into an area of pine forests and some short but steep climbs up onto open moorland once again, where again it was a period of false summits. Tomorrow I was being collected by a friend a few miles east of here to pass the day with him and his wife and decided it would be nicer to spend the night on open moorland rather than press on to the road so I looked for a suitable night stop as the day advanced.

I set my bag down near a large cairn with a view across to the north. As the evening drew in I sat with by back to the cairn and looked out over the glow of Middlesbrough on the horizon and occasionally the sounds of civilisation rose to meet me in the still evening air; a dog barking, the indistinct noise of voices and the gentle drone of traffic. I had only 6 miles to walk tomorrow to Clay Bank and a minor road where Shaun would collect me for a day’s rest before pressing on so I settled down to sleep knowing tomorrow would be an easy day.