Done!

POST WALK UPDATE:

Whilst there’s an awful lot I know I’d do differently next time with respect to the format and content of a blog, with this sole exception, I don’t intend to go back and add further detail to my posts from the walk itself. It just feels more honest to leave them original untouched. I’ll make the exception in this case, because the original post had only that single word entry.

Intake Farm last night was indeed one of the better places I stopped in. I’ve said before that I’m not too keen on B&Bs where you feel you’re living in someone else’s house. And whilst this place had a small element of that, it had the sort of informality you get from a working farm which suited me to a tee. Let’s use an analogy – if you’re the sort of walker who thinks hot drinks should come in mugs rather than posh teacups, then you’d be happy in a place like this.

I met a party of four American Coasters here, three women and one bloke, comprising I think a couple, a sister and a friend. Tim and Clare were the only names I caught, and I think again they were mostly newly retired. They were in the UK to complete the second half of the walk after a successful trip a couple of years prior to do the first half.  Turns out they were an impressive bunch who had walked in several continents – and were busy planning a trip later this year to Nepal. Notably, although having arrived slightly early, they had gone out again to add a few extra miles just exploring the neighbourhood – I wish I had that sort of energy! Despite being well travelled, the cultural differences shone through at breakfast time – I was reminded again of just how many ways an egg could be cooked – and they were still very unsure what Weetabix was all about.

The 12 miles today essentially became just a simple march to the finish. Nothing else mattered. I didn’t even pack my rucksack properly this morning – it all just got stuffed in randomly.

And it turned out to be one of the most painful 12 miles of the trip.  For the previous four days I’d adopted a tip I’d seen elsewhere (possibly in a Lonewalker blog), and stuffed down two paracetamols and two ibuprofens with breakfast. It was only because I didn’t bother today that I realised quite how much this might otherwise have helped the legs and feet through the first few miles. Today the feet seemed much more tired, sore and generally ‘niggly’ from the outset.

Anyhow, make it I did – about 4.5 hrs I think it took.

I finally only started dawdling on the steep road down the sea itself – probably in an effort to savour the moment. Judith my partner had actually called me during the last half mile or so, and thankfully she had the intuition to know I wanted to enjoy the last few minutes completely free with my own thoughts. 

As predicted the tide was fully out. And of course I did what thousands before me must have done – dipped the boots, threw the pebble, had a pint in Wainwrights bar, signed the book, bagged the photo, and generally realised that the folks around you didn’t even notice never mind cared what you’d just achieved.

And then, with the minor distraction of one last bacon butty (I never did spot the chip shop), I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do more than catch the first bus heading homewards. One final indignity was that this had standing room only all the way to Scarborough!