Day 10 Richmond to Osmotherley (24 miles)

After a good chinese in Richmond & a different breakfast (US breakfast for Mike and smoked haddock plus poached eggs for me) we set off in the sunshine by 8.30am. We initially walked by the Swale with good views of Swale falls & the castle.

View of Richmond castle from over the Swale

We then passed into farmland and set a fast pace as the forecast was for rain later.We caught up with Jo,Sarah and Louise plus Mark, Stuart  and Di. We paused  at Bolton on Swale to view Henry Jenkins grave who lived to 170.

Henry Jenkins Grave

We then carried on and  bid a temporary goodbye to Di plus others  as we took a field route to Danby Wiske & they took the road. We passed through wheat, barley, maize, stubble and grass fields in multitudes before reaching Danby Wiske 20 mins after Di et al.

One of the many fields we passed through

We stopped at a pub, this is the only one I have seen where they sold Compeed plasters!  After a pleasant drink sitting outside on the village green in the sun we carried on with the 3 Brummies, thunder rumbled in the distance, eventually the heavens opened for a prolonged period making the walking a challenge. Several times we saw “twisters” forming in the clouds though none touched down. We were walking towards the rain, it was balck in front of us with chain (horizontal) lightning arcing across the top of the hill we had to climb whilst westwards (were we had come from it was bright and clear).

The view forwards

The view backwards

Eventally we reached the A19 dual carriageway & took  our lives in our  hands & crossed to the promised land of a pub and dryness. We arrived at the Blue Bell at Ingleby Cross to find it in darkness & the door shut with a notice saying shut to 5 pm, being thoroughly wet & it being 5.01pm we pushed in & shouted until we found a barman. Having had a drink with Di et al (they were staying here) we re donned our waterproofs & carried on for the last two miles up Arncliffe hill, the forest road had became a yellow river in the torrential rain.

Upon reaching Osmotherley we found the Youth Hostel surrounded by water as the river has burst it’s banks & the YH cut off from the village, of course our bags were also left at the Youth Hostel by the Sherpa Van company earlier in the day!!

So we  were left in the damp clothes we were in, trying to find alternative accommodation & attempt to get dry.  We eventally ended up with the only room in the village in the Queen Catherine pub (only pub in England named after Catherine of Aragon though Elephhant and Castle is an anglicisation of enfante de castille her title) Whilst looking for a room we bumped into the 2 norwegians who had commented that the food they were eating was nice, whilst we would of just been happy with findig a bed, they had also skipped this stage by taking a bus so we hated them for two reasons, anyway relations were restored when I bought them a glass of arsenic each and hoped that there next nights accom (10. Miles from anywhere else is struck by lightning and burnt down)!!!.

Wee count 8 total 44