Total distance: 277 miles
Ascent: 650m
Weather: warm, overcast, brightening up later
Critters: Bunny, deer, brown thing
Best greeting of the day: "By, it's warm, in't it"
Almost straight out of the door of the Smugglers' we turned up Albion Road and up the Flagstaff Steps out of Robin Hood's Bay, around the woods and up on to cliffs on wooden steps, to a stone path with bad erosion. Saw an unidentified brown mammal, possibly a stoat.
Through a woodland tunnel at Boggle Hole and down the steps passing the youth hostel and cafe buildings. It was overcast, humid and still this morning and there seemed to be an awful lot of steps to go up and down and back up. There don't seem to be nearly as many gulls out today, not many winds to glide on.
We passed Stoope Bank Farm, where they are farming hell hounds and out to the cliffs again, passing an old war lookout post, partially overhanging now. We noticed at Scarborough last week that a couple of them there are down on the beach now. The path then widens out and becomes more grassy.
Through some big meadows, the new path through ruins of an alum mine. There were signs saying there are adders about here and to keep dogs on leads for safety. Also signs requesting dogs be kept on leads due to wildlife conservation. And dog owners who think these signs don't apply to them.
Turning up on to a track, we could see the Ravenscar golf course (very slopey) and walked through woodland, there was a tree with lots of big fungi growing on it. In Ravenscar we stopped at the National Trust visitor centre for a drink and bought some sarnies. Walked through more meadows by another rocket post. We passed two benches but it was deemed too early to stop for lunch, so we walked on. There was an old ww2 radar station in a field above the path. It was quite ugly.
Walking around fields and meadows, above Beast Cliff, we heard a beast, possibly a seal, more probably a highland cow down on the lower edge coughing. There were quite a few sea gulls and crows and a kestrel on the thermals here. There is very little wind today, but it is warm. Cliffs became more wooded with rowan trees, hawthorn and gorse. Coming round a wall we startled a deer, which bounded off over the field and over a drystone wall. It was too fast to get photo of, so I took pic of landscape instead - from here you can see Scarborough, Filey Brigg and Flamborough Head. Also did a bit of pied wagtail spotting.
At Hayburn Wyke we didn't see the advertised waterful because some people were sitting on it. Nice little woods though - lots of steps and gnarley oak trees. Soon after, we had lunch on bench - about 1.5 hours since we saw the last one. As we approached, a couple appeared walking the other way. We were closer to it, so were able to walk nonchalantly up to it first. Good job too or there could have been bench rage.
Walked on passing an old building, which has seen use as coast guard station, a ww2 mine look out, part of the cold war nuclear warning system and is now bird watching shelter. In the future, it's going to be in the north sea.
Round cliffs (surprise) with fields and skylarks singing. We began to see more people as got closer to civilisation, including two chaps on teeny tiny motorbike and quadbike things. It seems clifftops weren't really the best place to discover how well they corner. We revisited our signpost to Helmsley, at the same time as a nutter with 50 litre rucksack took a picture of it before running off down the Tabular Hills Walk. Didn't think he was going that fast, but we calculate that if he can keep going at that pace, his knee will drop off.
Round the cliffs (overheard little girl announce she was going to have a go on the bouncy castle when then got to the top) into Scarborough and then along the North Bay, celebrating the end of our walk with 99s in the sunshine. The tide was almost completely in, so there was no writing on the sand at the end of this trip; the small strip of sand still not covered by sea was covered with people, doing what people do at the seaside.
We came up to Scarborough town centre through Prince Alberts Park, passing the castle and Anne Bronte's grave. A bit of wandering around and we found our way to Beiderbecke's Hotel. My feet are filthy.
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