Blakey Ridge to Glaisdale - August 26, 2013

 Today we were finally blessed with a full day of sunshine. It even felt a bit hot in the early afternoon.  Andrew, our host from the Church House Farm drove us back up to the top of the moor near the Lion Pub to start.  We walked across the top of Glaisdale Rigg Moor on paved and gravel roads with the bright lavender heather in the foreground and beautiful views of the green valleys such as Great Fryup Dale in the distance.

Our first landmark was Fat Betty, a strange white stone monument across the road.  We decided not to wade through the bog   to give her an offering of food as some hikers do. We hope that no bad luck ensues.

We were passed all day by bicyclists on a triathlon of biking, kayaking, and swimming for the Monday Bank Holiday today -a little scary as they came up quickly from behind, often not warning us before they swept by two feet away.

We now understand the glory of the heather in full bloom and full sunshine. Our nine mile walk to Glaisdale went by quickly in such beautiful surroundings.

We overshot our B&B destination at about 1:00 pm, because it was off the standard path, and Joe misunderstood the written directions. That turned out to be a lucky accident because we ended up at the Arncliffe Arms Pub, the only place in town to get lunch.  Sitting outside at a picnic table were Barry and Nick, along with Mary from Missouri, waiting for the rest of her group. We shared a pint and a Coke with B & N as the rest arrived, probably our last encounter with them all, since they walked on to Egton Bridge for the evening and will finish tomorrow.

After two soups for lunch we convinced our host  from the Laneside B&B to pick us up at the pub and save a two mile uphill backtrack to our accomodation.  The Laneside is a lovely modern farmhouse with a fabulous, large garden full of vegetables, flowers, and butterflies.  Toni spent quality time with our hostess discussing gardening.

We'll be returning to the Arncliffe Arms for dinner tonight with another new group of walkers. Only two days to go!  I'm not sure how we'll feel about the end of the adventure...