10/04/18 - Day 2 - Inn Way to North Yorkshire Moors - From Hutton Le Hole

Start - Hutton-le-Hole
Finish - Levisham
Distance -  13 Miles
Key Features - A brewery, a muddy forest and a heritage railway
Geocaches - 1
Pubs - 4 Attempted, 2 Successfully
Previous Stage - Day 1



In addition to this being a week of hiking and beer drinking, it's also a week of the Full English Breakfasts.

You may have noticed that I am walking this solo - so to keep myself entertained, I've been posting daily updates of the FEB on Facebook for comments, approval and to determine the overall winner.

Just one FEB Photo on the blog

You would not believe the amount of vitriol for ramekins or the love for a good poached egg.  The winner was day 5 at Rosedale Abbey.   Orange juice positioned in a flute on right hand side, hash browns, small tomatoes and a perfect egg.   Gloopy, thick beans meant a photo finish.

Today presents the worst of the weather.   It's hammering it down on wake up but by the time I have finished the above and spent 20 minutes waterproofing myself and my rucksack, it has stopped.

It leaves behind a ghastly muddy reminder and some thick mist which stays for 3 days.

After setting off and getting a hint of moorland, I arrive at Lastingham at about 10am.   There is a cracking pub (CAMRA 2018 Good Beer Guide) here which opens at 11am.  So advice for future Inn Wayers - have a lie in.

Lastingham's rather large Church

Pretty Looking Blacksmiths Arms

Some forgettable agricultural walking brings me to Cropton at 11:30am and one of the beer surprises of the week.   The New Inn is both open and a brewery tap.  Like the Blacksmiths Arms, it's also in the 2018 Good Beer Guide.  By the time I have removed mud splattered hard shells, gaiters and boots its midday and the first of the brewery tours punters begin arriving.   It's full by the time I leave, two pints of Yorkshire Classic to the good.

A Brewery - And its Open!

Back out and on for some forgettable walking through a muddy, stony forest and picking up a long straight Peat Road that offers little joy in the mist.

Scarth Wood - Before it gets into a quagmire

Newton-on-Rawcliffe comes next.  It's a diversion to hit the village and see if the pub is open.  It's a Tuesday, its 3pm.  I am feeling lucky.

Of course its closed.   This is kind of heart breaking, as it was tough mud to get there and get back on the route - all up some very steep paths.  Descent, no easier than ascent in these conditions.

White Swan, Newton on Rawcliffe

So you don't make the same mistake

It's just on to Levisham Station where spirits are restored.  If you're going to arrive at a heritage steam railway station, you might as well do it when the train is arriving.

I time things to perfection.

Train's a coming

There's also a hardcore multi cache - where the clues for the co-ordinates are taken from information at the station.   I plot into the GPS and its a long way from the station, all uphill but fortunately, where I am going.

Path for the Geocaching Treasure - No Views

And that's today's walking over.  I arrive into Levisham Village and have a long chat with a local dog walker.  Well, I say chat, its more me ranting about closed pubs and him laughing his head off.

My room for the night is the Horseshoe Inn - perfectly positioned at the top of the village green and I bet it's stunning in summer.

Entertainment for the Evening

With my only friend

Disappointment that my single room has no En-suite is tempered by the fact that I have the bathroom facilities to myself.   Baths make sense when you've completed a long walk in mud and mist.

Donning my best bib and tucker (I have a collared shirt in that blue bag, don't you know), I head down at tea time.

As per last night, the food is excellent, the beers (Yorkshire Moors and Black Sheep in addition to Timothy Taylor Golden Best) are superb but the furniture is mainly rock hard dining chairs.

But fear not, for next to the stairs on the way to the rooms is a wonderful chesterfield which I commandeer before a group of elderly ramblers have the same idea.

They take the hard pews and through inadvertent eavesdropping, I learn how gentlemen make love.  It's all about the elbows and knees apparently but I didn't hang around for the "how".

I selflessly surrendered my couch and went to watch Cunk on Britain. 

This is a comedy on BBC2.