C2C Day 11: Osmotherly to Blakey Ridge

Previous: C2C Day 10 – Catterick Bridge to Osmotherly

What a day!

I think today was my favorite day of the entire hike! Nice slope, beautiful views, a fantastic oasis and a perfect ending point. Plus, we had been hiking consistently enough that another day of hiking wouldn’t be daunting at all. To sum up the day, it was almost continuous up and down until the last 5 miles or so. Then the walk became easier, but the weather got worse. It was another day with more mileage.

We started early because we were alone for breakfast. Given our experiences in Osmotherly, we were happy to get out of town and back into the hills. It’s a good climb out of town, but steady, so it wasn’t too difficult. More importantly, the weather was improving, although it was still cold. The views were great!

Looking down the valley as we left Osmotherly.

There were some nice stretches of forest early in the day.

stately stones

By mid-morning we were already hungry. Our last few meals hadn’t been much to talk about and we had already climbed some decent hills. I knew we would pass by Lordstones CafeHowever, I didn’t want to get my hopes up because many places we had passed were closed despite posted hours indicating they would be open.

Luckily Lordstones was open! We had one of the best meals of the entire trip. I guess technically they were our eleven. It was nice and warm inside, the staff was friendly, the food was delicious and we were getting to the point where we were constantly hungry. Plus, it was the perfect antidote to Osmotherly. It totally reset us.

triple threat

Thank goodness we restarted, because the next part of the road is not easy. It goes up and down three (?) times. And we were totally enjoying it. The path was actually a little busy because this section overlaps the Cleveland Way and apparently a lot of people walk on the Cleveland Way. Including an 85 year old woman who was miles ahead of the rest of her group…with a complete package. How impressive!

You will not pass!

most glorious slabs

This provides a good view of the ups and downs.

Looking towards Cringle Moor from Wainstones

A snake and a dog

The last leg of the day is along an old railway line, which, although a bit boring, was in some ways a welcome change. A guy and his dog passed us; We had also seen it the day before. He was running on and off, and then we found out he was doing the C2C in about 6 days.

Bird of the day: red grouse

At one point, I looked down and saw a snake about 6 feet in front of me. We live in snake country, so I wasn’t alarmed. But instead of slithering, the snake coiled itself as if to attack. And sure enough, I looked it up later and discovered that it was a adder. This one definitely hadn’t gotten the memo that adders aren’t aggressive!

To make matters worse, we were hit by a severe storm that included hail, wind, and rain. It came on so suddenly that we didn’t have a chance to put on waterproof pants, just waterproof jackets. It was unpleasant! The storm lasted about 15 minutes and then the sun came out again. We were half soaked. And cold.

Storm #2 about to hit

the lion

As we approached the Lion Inn we could see another storm coming from the other side of the moor. We weren’t going to arrive on time. And sure enough, we were hit again by exactly the same type of storm. The Lion Inn, which we were already excited to get to, sounded better and better.

What a welcome sign!

When we walk in, who should be sitting there but Tom, aka One Tom/Union Jack Tom? We hadn’t seen it in quite some time, and had even started asking other people if they had seen it. After settling into our nice room, we settled in by the fire and had a beer with Tom, and caught up on his walk. They set it up for camping in the pub courtyard.

The Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge It is another quintessential English pub. I had booked it in October 2025 as one of the first places I booked. Low ceilings, good beer on tap, a roaring fire and, surprisingly, they serve a great burger. I hadn’t had a hamburger the entire trip, even though all the pubs served one. Tonight I decided I wanted one and it was SO good.

Tom joined us for dinner, during which conversation we discovered that he had completed the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race 20 times. It is 125 miles long with 77 transports. Tom was a consummate adventurer! But he was also a cold adventurer. His gear wasn’t enough for the weather, so my new Australian friend and I got him a warm duvet for the night.

Next: C2C Day 12 – Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge

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