The first mile and a half was steeply uphill on a road with a signpost stating a 1 in 3 gradient which I've never seen before. Just before the start of the climb we passed the steam railway which the area is famous for.
Grosmont Steam Railway
Once the climb was out of the way we ran some more of the moorland before yet another descent into the valley at Littlebeck. We then followed a rather uninspiring forest heading almost due south for 2.5km so in effect we were walking this bit but not actually getting any closer to the coast! My feet were very sore again but at this stage I didn't care. We took the forest section at an easy pace - it was muddy and the rocks we were walking on were slippy. I think we had it in the back of our minds that the only thing that could stop us now would be a broken ankle.
We then had our final climb onto the last section of proper moorland called Low Moor and once we had reached the top we could see the sea! The photo hasn't come out all that well but we could see a ship in the distance and Whitby with the famous monastery at the top of the hill next to it.
First sight of the North Sea!
We kept running as much as we could even though it was yet another warm day but we did stop briefly at Hawsker about a mile and a half from the coast for some drinks. We also came across our first sign for Robin Hoods Bay - I just had to take a picture!
Not far to go!
About 15 minutes later we had reached the coast proper and we took another break to take it all in. Even if we didn't reach Robin Hoods Bay we had at least gone from Coast to Coast. The scenery was breathtaking and was probably the most uplifting bit of the whole trip. It was then just a case of 3 miles along the coast before dropping into Robin Hoods Bay and the steep road down to the sea.
Now reached the coast - just 3 miles to Robin Hoods Bay!
We made it! 190 miles completed in 5 days, 4 hours and 54 minutes! The tide happened to be right in when we got there which saved us the extra 100 metres walk on the beach. All of a sudden the foot pain, which by now both of us had got pretty badly was forgotten in an instant. As we had our photo taken a bigger wave came in - our feet had truly touched sea water!
At Robin Hoods Bay - Made it!
As we were still very whiffy, but also tired we treated ourselves to a B&B that evening where the owners also kindly agreed to do our clothes in a rapid turnaround for a small extra fee. We then had the rest of the day smelling normal to wander around the beach, shops, ice cream and food!
The perfect end to a perfect trip.
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