WTC Ways Trip summary:

Total 233 miles walked in 16 days

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.

WTC Ways Day 9: Appleton to Helmsley

Distance: 17 miles
Ascent: 450m
Weather: overcast with a few spots of rain, turning sunnier and warmer.

I slept quite well lest night apart from the tv in the next room and someone snoring and, rather unexpectedly, cuckoos. This last one was dismissed as a dream.

We left Appleton village around back of the fancy (and fancily named) Dweldapilton Hall, down a stony track with big hedges on either side. It was much cooler this morning, which necessitated a quick stop after not a short time to change tops and put my fleece on. We hadn't gone far when we met some sheep, nibbling the hedges.

Turning right through a gate with an unusual latch and on to bridleway though middle of a field, there were lapwings and curlews. As the path neared some tall trees we saw and heard a murder of crows making a right racket, the path becoming steeper narrower and more horsey down to a gate and into pretty Hutton le Hole.

After yesterday's lunch issues, we decided it would be wise to buy some supplies at the village shop here.
There was a very narrow kissing gate that people with quite big bags only just fitted into and we followed some other walkers for a while but they soon turned a different way. A wet , muddy little  bridge led on to fields, with snoozy belted galloway cows and swallows and swifts. Up the lane to cattlegrid, we got cropsprayed again and saw a weasel legging it into a hole. It probably didn't want spraying either.

We walked through the villages of Gillamoor (pub opened at 12 and we decided not to wait) and Fadmoor (pub closed completely) and up a quiet lane, well quiet apart from a vintage motorbike buzzing around, to a tree lined lane signed to Sleightholme Dale only and down track to Hold Cauldron.

Coming to a bridge near the old converted mill, we saw a deer up the path ahead of us. As we went up the hill (steep!) we could hear it moving in the woods but didn't see it again.

Getting to the top there were lots of orchids, also lady's mantle and yellow archangel. Here we heard a cuckoo. There was then a debate about whether cuckoos sing (cuck?) in the middle of the night, and it turns out that they do. Sometimes - there is an old rhyme according to wikipedia. Or maybe it was a dream afterall. The footpath led out through a field and onto Skiplam Road, which was long and straight and there was nowhere to stop or sit down for ages and my tummy was rumbling - but at least the sun came out.

We passed a big posh house and then went through a tiny, damp little copse the was full of flies. A bit further on we had a sit by the edge of field and ate our sandwiches, watching hares lollopping about. Crossing more fields and woods, we came out in little valley with a farm and jacob's sheep. Heading down the sheep field to a little stream, we crossed a footbridge and into woods full of bluebells. We had a sit on Bob's bench and admired the flowers and ants, and then were off again, up a blumming steep path. Rob saw a deer, but it had gone by the time he turned to point it out to me. The track goes between Carlton Park Wood and fields full of hares and pheasants. I have an itchy ankle and hope I've not been bitten.

The track goes along the bottom of Ash Dale, a wooded valley with many flies, flowers and a woodpigeon chorus. We also witnessed a mountain biker nearly falling off in the mud. He looked a bit embarrassed. The sound of church bells brought us into Helmsley - we walked through the village past the market cross where the Tabular Hills Walk ends and the Cleveland Way will begin tomorrow.

WTC Ways Day 8: Levisham to Appleton-le-Moors

Distance: 13 miles
Ascent: 400m
Weather: sunny and warm

Beautiful day and beautiful walk down little paths and lanes through woodland with just about every type of flower in swathes (ed- plus Speckled Wood butterflies.) But in this world it seems you rarely get anything for free, and the path was a horrible churned up muddiness. We both got stung on the knees by nettles, prickled by holly and poked at by gorse, but at least nobody slipped and fell in the mud.

Crossed some small fields with rough fell sheep and a squirrel, through a gate onto higher track, more mud.
There was a bit of confusion in a cow field near a small farm at Hagg Wood about which bridge to cross over Levisham Beck, as the signs pointed in all directions. We made a decision and crossed the farthest footbridge, then walked through farmyard with big plush chickens and over the Farworth railway crossing.

The THW takes a steep lane up (hot!) and out onto stony lane lined with more trees and flowers. We heard what sounded like  a buzzard. It is very pretty here, apart from the big, burly sheep. We took a detour into Newton hoping for early lunch at the White Swan but it is closed during the day (except Sundays) so we had a sit by the duck pond and watched the ducklings and a baby moorhen.

Leaving the village we entered some woodland and across Stony Moor, which is proper upland heath with rocks, heather and small trees plus plenty of bog. The path leads into a small pine plantation, which looked lifeless in comparison, and out into farmland (bunny!) and onto slightly (maybe) drier (maybe not) paths. We went along a few farm tracks and through a wood of silver birch trees, crossing the stream by a footbridge (passerelle!) and out on to lane into Cropton. We called in at the New Inn for a pint of Yorkshire Pale and Yorkshire Classic - and some crisps because they'd stopped serving food 2 minutes before we walked in.
Leaving Cropton along the road, with a horse escort, we stopped to look at a sign listing some woodlandy things round here, we've seen wood sorrel and dog's mercury, but nothing really exciting like the tawny owl they promised. A nice grassy track led through open woodland, and we made it to Appleton without needing to crack open the emergency food (beef jerky is a lot like Dwarf Bread.)

Leaving the walk for the day, we turned into Appleton (sheep on the main street!) and the Moors Inn, where they brought beer and made us sandwiches. I like it here. (No phone signal or wifi.)

WTC Ways Day 7: Scalby to Levisham

Distance: 22 miles
Ascent: 360m
Weather: misty

Leaving Scarborough, we got a bit lost in a nice, but huge, wooded cemetary complete with a little secret garden. Eventually we made it out on to the cycle track that leads to Scalby, where we saw two greenfinches and a lot of noisy starlings.

Joining the Tabular Hills Walk again in Scalby, we walked along the banks of the Sea Cut, a waterway built in the 18th century by Sir George Cayley to take floodwater out of the Vale of Pickering. Oddly, the water doesn't go out to the sea anywhere near here but turns back inland again, the water going out to sea 150 miles downstream at the Humber estuary. It looked quite brown and fast flowing today.

During the day we've seen primroses, bluebells, crosswort, lesser stitchwort (or perhaps mouse ear) buttercups, vetch, cranesbill, wild garlic, pale pink stuff took a photo of to identify later (ed - cuckoo flower, also known as lady's smock.)

Along the riverside we got swooped at by swallows, housemartins, goldfinches and met some dog walkers, there was a lone canada goose in a field and we had quite a kerfuffle with some sheep on the track (looked like badger faced and blue faced leicesters) and a mum cow and calf, finally managing to get past them and some peace and quiet.

There was some road walking, stopping for tea and cake and a scone at the Everley Countryhouse Cafe, followed by a bit more road walking, turning off the busy road up lane to Wrench Green. Climbing steadily upwards through the village into the forest and the clouds. We walked along misty forest roads and tracks, past some works where they are drilling for orange and through a tree nursery. We decided not to invest in a 15kg box of beef from Broadhead Farm today.

More forestry tracks in the mist, some quite muddy and one containing massive bouncy poodle. We stopped for sandwiches on a big log. There were lots of mountatinbikers. Later it turned a bit wetter and windier as we went past the viewpoint for Blakeley Topping, which was obscured by clouds, but a bit further on we did see a deer. Ot at least a deer's bottom.

The walk leads down Old Wife Lane and around the Hole of Horcum (mostly filled with clag) then up on t'moors. The path over the moors follows an iron age dike - it was a little wet but clear so there was no straying from the path in the mist. We didn't hear any wolves howling, just the tooting of the North Yorks moors railway. At the end of the day, there were lots of lambs and a bunny and we left the moors path down Limpsey Lane into Levisham and the Horseshoe Inn.