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Having dropped Glenda off by St Abbs harbour, I parked up the hill. Glenda then discovered that the path to St Abbs Head climbed straight up the hill to where I was parked.
Well, exercise is good for her! Putting off the rest of the climb, we headed to the visitor centre. Outside there was a memorial to the three fishermen of the town who lost their lives in the great storm of 1881 (see earlier post). Miniature bronze statues of their wives and children looking out to sea… Very moving.
Then back to Craster, once known as Crawcestre. The name derived from “craw” (crow) and “cestre” (olde English for earthworks). At the end of the 15th century the then Lord of the Manor changed the spelling to Craster which I’m guessing was how Crawcestre was pronounced. The full name of the village was apparently listed as Craster-Seahouses but Craster-Seahouses Kippers would be a bit of a mouthful (so to speak!), so the name was contracted to Craster. A master-stroke of marketing by Craster Kippers!
A late afternoon walk South from from Craster harbour…
along the rockier coastline.
After that, we had the compulsory visit to Thrunton Woods – or what’s left of them after the clearance following the destruction caused a couple of years ago by Storm Arwen.
…and Glenda had nostalgic thoughts while looking over the field where her horse used to have its Summer holidays 50 – 60 years ago!
Later that day we met Angela and Bruce at Foxton Golf Course (on our non-membership ticket, of course) for tea and a fabulous Indian meal at Lal Khazana in Shilbottle.
It’s now Sunday. The day we start moving South. But first a five mile walk from the campsite to Embleton beach.
Don’t you just hate these crowded beaches! And looking the other way we get our last view of Dunstanburgh Castle.
Then down the A1 round the back of Newcastle to Wiske Moor, near Northallerton. By sunset we were fully established on our new site.
Having been camped right on the Coast to Coast cycle route on our first night, we now find ourselves immediately adjacent to the Coast to Coast walking path. This runs through Danby Wiske on the way to Robin Hoods Bay.
We have lots of old university (geography) friends in this area. Or perhaps I should say long-standing friends! We had a great lunch at a “French” restaurant (Rustique Bistro) in Richmond with Lesley followed by a walk along the briskly flowing River Swale.
It was great to catch up on the gossip with Sarah and Ian…
And just to prove we do eat in the caravan occasionally… we entertained Wynne one evening.
Tea and cakes at Betty’s in Northallerton was an essential stop. As were a couple of visits to caravan dealers for some pre-show research. Walks around the reservoir at Osmotherly and another visit to Richmond and it was time to leave. We had chosen to travel to Alderley Edge on a Sunday to avoid the HGVs on the motorway. This worked brilliantly, but on the M62 over the Pennines we found ourselves at the very front of a rolling road block!
Apparently there had been a report of sheep on the road – well, to be fair there are great stretches where there are almost no fences to prevent stock wandering onto the tarmac. Our “conductor” gradually reduced our collective speed all the way to a stand-still over a distance of several miles. And, guess what, there were two less sheep on the road than there had been seats on the walk to St Abbs Head! Still, better safe than sorry.
The journey continues!