Yorkshire Wolds Way - 79 miles from Hessle to Filey (5 days)
Tabular Hills Walk - 48 miles from Scarborough to Helmsley (3 days)
Cleveland Way - 106 miles from Helmsley to Filey (1 + 7 days)
It has been a couple of weeks since we finished our walk, but the reminiscing about how good it was hasn't ended yet. The photos are uploaded and can be viewed here,
So, in the end, what did I take away with me? I especially enjoyed the varied scenery of the Cleveland Way, although if it is quiet you want, then the YWW and THW will provide this. The Wolds are pretty, and geologically interesting and we saw a lot of wildlife. I was a little disappointed how much road walking there was on the Yorkshire Wolds Way, especially given the number of times Rob pointed out a nearby footpath which could have been used instead. On one of our "normal" walks, we probably would have investigated them instead, given how often they seemed to run parallel and join up with the route later on, but when on a Way, you really should stick to the Way.
At 16 full days walking, this was our longest trip yet with the highest mileage per day - an average of 17 miles per day, with the shortest day being 11 miles and three days of 22 miles. We both felt these days were good lengths, long enough to be challenging and cover good ground, with shorter days mixed in so we finished a little earlier and had a bit of a rest.
Again we were lucky with the weather, having one very windy day, one day of rain, two rather damp, misty days without views but which were generally ok for walking in and the rest of the time it was dry, with either sunshine or light cloud. Temperatures were in the mid to high teens most days and we usually wore trousers, t-shirts and shirts, with lightweight shoes. On the wet days, we used Sealskinz socks with liner socks, which proved surprisingly comfortable, even for wearing for long periods of time and certainly more so than wearing big heavy boots all the time would have been I'm convinced.
I was very happy with the gear that I took with me. I had a Platypus failure which was disappointing as it was quite new (it has since been replaced under warranty) but water bottles were in good supply so it wasn't critical.
On setting off, I was a little nervous as I had a brand new pair of Asics Gel Fuji Trabuco shoes which arrived the day before and although I've had a few pairs of Trabucos, the style of these seemed quite different from previous designs. They have a completely flat sole and, without the lining that the GTX version has, the seams inside the shoe felt quite prominent and scratchy to the touch, but with a pair of thick socks this wasn't an issue at all. They have very thick soles and good tread, I found them comfortable on all but the rockiest of paths and that was after having done 20 odd miles. They have fine mesh which kept out sand quite well too. Having walked 280 miles in them I've been impressed - but I don't think they'll last many trips like this. The feet coped with the trip very well, other than pre-existing injury niggles. Rob had a blister and I'd done something to my ankle from doing the Oldham Way two weeks before - my ankle was quite painful and swollen at times, but ibuprofen helped and it sorted itself out by the time we got to Filey.
I discovered you can buy gel filled tubes to protect toes and prevent corns, which worked brilliantly on my knobbly little toes. These are made by Scholl, come in short tubes and longer lengths which you cut to size and I heartily recommend them to all people with strange toes.
Moving swiftly on from the subject of feet...
We organised packed lunches mostly but did stop most days somewhere along the walk but several of the pubs mentioned in our guidebook were closed or only serve food within certain hours, so I would strongly recommend checking with places beforehand if you are planning on relying on them.
We stayed and ate here:
Hessle: Premier Inn
Bought lunch in Co-Op in Manchester previous day.
North Newbald: The Gnu Inn, packed lunch
Pocklington: The Feathers Hotel, had picnic with family
Stopped at the Wolds Inn, Hugget (excellent steak pies, apparently!)
Thixendale: The Cross Keys, packed lunch
Ganton: The Ganton Greyhound
Lunch at the Ship Inn, Muston
Filey: The Station
Lunch at the Clock Cafe, Scarborough
Scarborough: The Royal
Lunch bought from Cooplands Bakery in Scarborough town centre
Levisham: The Horseshoe
Late lunch at the Moors Inn
Appleton le moors: The Moors Inn
Bought sandwiches in Hutton le Hole
Helmsley: YHA, packed lunch
Stopped at the Sutton Bank visitor centre
Osmotherley: The Three Tuns, packed lunch (ask if the flat is available!)
Great Broughton: The Wainstones Hotel, packed lunch
Stopped at Glebe Cottage tearooms in Kildale.
Newton Under Roseberry: The King's Head
Lunch at the Fox and Hounds, Slapewath
Saltburn by the Sea: The Spa Hotel
Lunch at The Tea Rooms, Staithes
Runswick Bay: Runswick Bay Hotel, packed lunch
Stopped at Sandside Cafe, Sandsend
Robin Hood's Bay: Smugglers' Boathouse
Bought supplies at village stores in RHB
Bought drinks and sandwiches at the National Trust visitor centre at Ravenscar
Scarborough: Beiderbecke's Hotel.
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