Day 12 - Gt Broughton to Glaisdale GPS 187 miles

The Penultimate day. We now have the first of two long twenty mile days to finish our Coast to Coast. It seems a long time since we arrived in St. Bees but now we've broken the back of the journey - we'll get to Robin Hoods Bay if we have to do it on our knees.

On returning to Clay Bank Top we met Andy and Janine, we first had a steep climb up to the top but we knew this was the only really steep climb today. At the top we could see back towards some of yesterdays walk.

Today the weather forcast was good so it was no waterproofs needed. We again are walking the moors we hadn't been walking for much more than half an hour before walking along  wide, drivable, sandy track  and seeing numbered grouse butts.

  These act as hides for those with the guns when shooting the grouse. We walk along a disused railway for a lot of miles and navigation is easy, before arriving at the Lion Inn on Blackey Ridge sat isolated in the hills, it originally served the workers of the iron mines but now is a mecca for coast to coast walkers.

We met a group of day trippers here who all put in our donation tin.

A welcome pint was consumed here after a long hot trek. 

There are a lot of standing stones on this day in fact on all the days you walk through the North York Moors. They vary in size and function. Some are boundry markers , some indicate paths or routes and others are just there. After walking across more moorland we arrive at a large stone with a smaller one perched on top. The smaller one is circular and has a rough primative face carved into it. The top is painted white but how long that's been so I don't know. This stone is 'Fat Betty'

'Tradition' - where do people get these 'traditions'? - states that passers by should take some of the food that had been left there and leave something different in it's place.

From here it is a long trek across moors.

We approached Great Fryup Dale and as we joined the path we could see the North Sea.

      The North Sea our aim for the last 12 Days

It was hard to believe we were approaching the end of our challenge. Getting to the village it is a strange arrangement. Most of the village apart from the pub and the raiway station is built high up the valley. Then you seem to leave the village along the road and it  is a good 10- 15 minutes before you come to a few more houses, then the pub. then the station and on to Beggers Bridge.  Where our B&B was.

Today has been a tough walk with the sun beating down and long trails across open moors, but we walked with Andy and Jannine and this made the long sections much more acceptable.

Kirsty and Jane have coped well today and it seems funny we don't know how we will feel tomorrow when we finish. this has been an experiance of a life time and possibly the best thing we have ever done  for so many different things.