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The final day of the c2c.

Unlike the camino where I didn’t want the walk to end, I was looking forward to finishing the c2c… If only to sleep in and not have to carry a heavy pack all day and to let my bee sting ankle rest, it was still swollen and I still had the two blisters, 10 days after it happened.

This last stage started off with a steep ascent and then one of the highlights for me of the entire c2c was the walk through Little Beck Wood, “a stunning 65 acres of woodland filled with oak trees, deer, badgers, foxes and bird life” as well as a 20m waterfall and the hermitage – a cave with the year 1790 engraved above the entrance.

A cave with the year 1790 engraved above the entrance

I guess Wainwright was a fan of Robin Hood because the c2c walk he devised took me past Robin Hood’s chair (Day 1, Ennerdale Water), his grave (Day 6 near Oddendale) and into Robin Hood’s Bay, the final destination of the walk.

The last 5km of the walk were along the cliffs on the coast, very similar to day 1 upon leaving St Bees. We had a lovely view looking down on Robin Hood’s Bay from the cliffs and arrived around 3:30pm.

We went straight down to the beach through the old town and as custom required, dipped our boots into the North Sea and I deposited the pebble I’d picked up at the beach in St Bees into the sea at Robin Hood’s Bay.

The pebble I carried from St Bees

We made it!

We then got straight into a taxi and went to Whitby to a famous fish and chip shop called Magpie café. Everyone Dave and I had met along the c2c raved about this chippy so we decided it was probably worth the taxi fare (only 5 miles away) to go and check it out! It was worth it. We ate cod and chips overlooking Whitby Abbey, then took a taxi straight back to Robin Hood’s Bay and the three of us celebrated finishing the c2c in Wainwright’s Bar with a few beers after signing the c2c guest book. We bumped into everyone else we’d met along the way (12 other walkers) and it was lovely to see everyone had made it from one coast to the other.

Whitby Abbey

Fellow c2c walkers

Signing the c2c book in Wainwright’s Bar, Robin Hood’s Bay

Robin Hood’s Bay

Day 14, Grosmont to Robin Hood’s Bay

It was a challenging but enjoyable 333 km walk and we were blessed with the weather. I started out alone, then met Dave and was joined by Howard. I had two great weeks from coast to coast with terrific company and many fabulous memories.

c2c complete…