C2C Day 13: Egton Bridge to Goathland

Previous: C2C Day 12 – Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge

Keeping it local

We had originally planned to stay at Robin Hood’s Bay for two nights after finishing the C2C. But after thinking about it more, we decided that the goal of this trip was to walk around England. Therefore, it would make much more sense to stay somewhere with pleasant walks, where we could continue to enjoy a taste of the beautiful English countryside. It’s not that RHB doesn’t like walking, but once we’re done, would we really be that interested in going for a walk? So we came up with the plan to stay at Egton Bridge for two nights.

Not a bad way to spend a day walking around this countryside!

It turns out that the Horseshoe Hotel in Egton Bridge was not the best place to spend two nights. But it would be enough. At least they had good beer and a decent cook. I read about Mallyan Spout, a waterfall near Goathland, and devised a route mostly along public trails to take us there and back. CalTopo, one of my favorite GPS apps, is great for such a project.

The peak

A new word I learned on this trip was “peak” for what I would call “waterfall.” Mallyan Spout is located on the outskirts of Goathland, so we were able to visit a picturesque waterfall, visit a quaint village (which, we learned, is famous in Harry Potter circles) and visit a quaint pub. It seemed like the perfect ride!

We weren’t on busy trails today, that’s for sure!

It was fun to get out of C2C and find our own route. Some roads barely existed, but there was almost always some type of sign indicating that yes, what we were actually on was a public road. From time to time we had to briefly take a highway to connect the paths, but the surrounding roads had little traffic. At one point we were basically walking through someone’s backyard, right near their house, but we were definitely on a public path. The whole public trail concept is amazing!

Aside from a few short-lived wrong turns, we managed quite well. The only real problem came when we started crossing a field with a couple dozen sheep. It’s no big deal, right? We had done it about a hundred times over the last two weeks. Then one of the sheep walked towards us, somewhat menacingly. I suddenly realized that we were in a sheep field and that they didn’t seem happy that we were there. The lead ram was gaining speed and was walking faster towards us. And not in a friendly way. None of us wanted to be rammed. So we turned back and took the long way.

Bird of the day: The Garden Warbler, which has one of the most classic songs of any bird and was obviously a big fan of the riparian woodlands here.

Artistic benches along the old railway line

We finally reached an old railway line, and it was obviously becoming more touristy. And it was well signposted. So it was easy to find the Spout. It was a good destination.

Mallyan’s Peak

The creek into which the Spout flows: notice the peat-colored water

I saw some of these minted trees over the last 2 weeks – they are fascinating and strange

goat land

We then headed uphill towards Goathland, which seems to be right where the forest meets the moor. While most towns seemed to be hidden in a valley, Goathland is not. We had a light lunch at a cafe along with a pint of the aptly named Mallyan Spout. We then walked through the village and ended up at the Inn on the Moor. The town was quite busy. It was obviously a great tourist destination. And it is not surprising.

Finally, it was time to return to Egton Bridge. We learned from our mistakes on the way there and took a more direct route back, avoiding all the attacks. Before doing so, we stopped at the town’s public bathrooms. Wow, those were some of the nicest bathrooms ever!

Back at Egton Bridge, it was time to prepare for our final day at the C2C. We were both feeling a mix of emotions: a certain level of amazement at being about to make this trip, both the hiking part and the logistical part; some level of sadness because it would soon end; and a certain level of excitement because we were close to completing it.

Return to Egton Bridge

A note about reservations

We booked everything for ourselves: accommodation, meals, transportation and luggage transfer. It is definitely possible to hire a company to do all of this for you. Although I estimate we spent at least a third, maybe even half, less doing it on our own. However, it’s certainly a lot to handle when you do it on your own. So if you decide to do it this way, prepare a spreadsheet.

Travel companies seem to block many accommodations well in advance, so in some of the small towns it can be difficult to find a place to stay. We booked everything more than 6 months in advance and some places were limited even then. Although obviously we entered the Lion Inn in Blakey Ridge, one of the most difficult to access. I noticed that some places opened closer to our trip, presumably as people finalized their plans and travel companies released some of their locked accommodations.

Next: C2C Day 14 – Egton Bridge to Robin Hood’s Bay

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