25^th May 2014

Al was a retired English teacher who'd climbed to everest base camp for his 60th, a present from his wife brenda. They bought me a pint as we chatted about adventures and my wooden spoon. They then invited me back to their home to have a shower while al cooked up some chicken,beans and chips. While I enjoyed the meal brenda took my clothes and kindly washed them for me.

While I had been soaking myself in the shower they had contacted their friends peter and Joyce to see if it would be possible for me to stay in their summerhouse, a small shed like structure that had a couch and chairs inside. A sort of improvised shelter if you like. Al took me round and I settled in by laying out on the floor with the two bar electric heater warming me up. A luxurious habitat for an adventurer used to sleeping in the wild.

The following morning I woke around 7:30 am to be greeted by four chickens roaming free in peters back garden. I gathered myself up and head indoors to sit with peter who kindly made me porridge with homemade raspberry jam followed by bacon, eggs and beans. Peter was very much into living the good life with free range eggs from his chickens and fresh vegetables from his allotment. He'd also started smoking his own meats in a smoker he'd made himself. While I was there I used their scales to weigh myself. I climbed on and read the display hoping that at the very least I was still 72kg. To my horror it read 67kg. That couldn't be right so I reset the scales and did it again. 67kg was what the scales were insisting I weighed. This had to be wrong, it meant I'd lost 11kg since I left Southampton. I weighed myself one more time thinking heavy thoughts a planning to take the average of all three results. 67kg. Well it doesn't take a mathematical genius to work out the average of these three results, I was 67kg and that was that.

My tent had dried out fully in their conservatory so I packed it away and got taken back to al and brendas. Brenda made meca second round of bacon, eggs and toast before I headed off on my way to Scarborough over the cliffs, first visiting the Filey rnli and having a chat and a coffee with them.

Feeling refreshed and well fed I climbed the steps to the clifftop for some mind blowing views of the harbour below and the increasingly challenging landscape I was about to cross. I hiked along the cliffs looking at the impressive cliff faces and wonderous bays below. At times I had to put my bag down and simply stop to take it all in.

Scarborough was eventually visible in the distance and I had to descend into a small ravine before clambering back up. As I descended to the bottom I met an elderly gentleman who was sat catching his breathe. His grandson was with him. I said hello and started to chat, it turned out that even with his bad legs he'd tried to climb a cliff to retrieve his grandsons kite which had gotten away from him and although still flying had got hooked up on a bush some 150 feet up. I said I'd have a go at getting the kite back so I put my bag down and made the ascent to the cord that had got hooked up. I retrieved the kite and continued the climb to the top of the cliff. I waited for the young lad to walk up the path and join me at the top so I could give him his kite back. I then retrieved my bag and set off on my way back along the Cleveland way and into some woods. The sun was starting to go down by now so I found a secluded spot and went to setup camp. I cleared a space large enough to put the tent up and started making camp. Then I realised I'd lost two pegs. Where I wasn't sure, still I'd managed to make a spoon so decided to make some pegs. It didn't take long before I was at home in the woods, comfortable and content. I boiled some water and tried one of the new freeze dried meals joanne had sent me. It was delicious, the meat had properly hydrated but the portion was only 600 calories. My biggest enemy!

26^th May 2014

Camping in amongst the trees is where I feel most at home so finding this little spot sheltered by a tree just outside Scarborough was perfect. the following morning I woke feeling quite refreshed and looking forward to the glorouos sunny day ahead of me. I had breakfast, packed up and sat down on my pack with the suns rays penetrating through the canopy above me. I took a good look round and spotted a strange little camouflaged bag nestled in the tree. I went over to investigate further. The bag contained a large square plastic container. I pulled out the container on the lid was a large orange sticker stating it was a geocache box. In England geocaching has become extremely popular and I'd just found one completely by mistake. I opened the box and had a look inside. It contained several items including a pen and notepad. Now it is customary for geocachers to take an item from the box and leave an item in its place. They then enter their details into the notepad and go find the next one. Seeing as I wasn't a geocacher I decided to just leave an item and leave a note in the notepad about the trek. But what could I leave? Well it had to be a spoon I'd been given, somehow it seemed appropriate and now I had two spoons anyway. I put the small teaspoon I had been given just after I'd lost mine closed the box put it into its bag and set the whole package back in its rightful place in the tree.

I had another quick look round and to my surprise I spotted one of the missing pegs glinting in the sun. I couldn't believe it I thought I'd lost it on the cliffs above thormwick caves two days before. I went over and picked it up. It must have dropped out of the peg bag when I was clearing space for the tent that night. Well if there was one then the other must be close. I dug into the undergrowth and sure enough found the second. Happy days  i had a complete set again. I put them in the side pockets of the backpack and headed off to Scarborough.

I climbed up the steps to the road above and followed it along to the first junction that led back to the sea. The weather changed quite rapidly and before I knew what was happening I grabbed my jacket put it on and dashed towards a tree for shelter. It was hammering down. I then mentally plotted short dashes from one tree to the next until I saw a concrete structure that would give me complete cover. Standing under the structure was a young lad also taking shelter from the wrath of nature. We started chatting and I explained that I was seeking a cafe for a hot drink, refuge from the rain and a charge on the phone. He suggested his uncles cafe not far from where we were. He gave me directions so I headed off in search of it. I followed the road along and took the second junction then the next right and followed the road along. I eventually came across a cafe but it wasn't the one he'd described. It was a cafe though so I popped in.

Inside lupins cafe I was greeted and allowed to charge my phone, I was soaking wet and getting a chill so welcomed the coffee and ordered a bacon and brie baguette. It was a lovely cafe with lovely staff who chatted away about the challenge and folk legends of snakes and fossil remains. I also started chatting with one of their regulars who was particularly interested in lightweight camping. Well before I left, nice and dry, I was given some scones and a tub of chilli to reheat later.

I then headed into the shopping centre of Scarborough to see if I could find a camping store. I needed to get some more gas and wasn't sure how long my canister would last. I found a store, when I went in I realised that I was a walking advertisement for them as most of my kit had come from one of their stores in Bournemouth. My backpack, hydration bladder, sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner and airmatress all came from them and were their own brand. I jokingly said to one of the assistance about it and they suggested I simply stood in one of the shop windows. Anyway I found the gas I needed and luckily for me they had 20% off and buy one get one free. I now had more gas than I knew what to do with. I somehow fitted the two large canisters in to my backpack and set off looking for a cafe with free wifi so I could catch up with my blogs and cache the next few days of the trek onto my phone. I then headed back to the coast and passed the harbour when I saw a sign to the castle. It was pointing up a very steep hill. Well I'd come this far I figured I may as well climb the hill to get a closer look at the castle afterall I'd seen it miles away leading up to the town. As I climbed up I thought to myself "I bet it'll be closed" sure enough once I'd got to the top they closed the gates lol. Typical! Oh well I took a picture then descended back to the bottom and headed for the north bay the other side of the castle. Thats where I became acquainted with Freddie gilroy.

To be continued. ..

28^th May 2014

Watching the sun setting to my left and presumably in the west over Whitby was a rather confusing moment for me as I gazed out to sea. I was currently heading north and all I could see to the north was lots of water. Now its possible that time and space was altered in some strange and bizarre way or maybe the sun had simply decided to set in the north for a change just to spice things up a little. It didn't really matter I climbed into my tent had a brew and dropped off into a slumber looking forward to meeting Darren King a follower of the challenge from the very beginning.

As the sun rose the rain came down. Once again I was without the protection of a leafy canopy, the tent was wet and knew I would have to pick a moment between showers to pack it away into by backpack before heading into Whitby to grab a coffee and a breakfast. The rain eased off so I seized the opportunity, quickly packed up and headed down the famous 199 steps that the black dog from bram stokers novel had climbed to reach the abbey overlooking tge town. I counted the steps on my wat down just to make sure and sure enough there were exactly 199. Was this coincidence or was it intensional?

At the bottom of the steps you find yourself in a quaint narrow cobbled street leading to the swinging bridge that crossed the river and into the towns main streets. I'd just crossed the bridge when I heard "hello mr short!" I turned to be greeted by a walking advertisement for bear grylls merchandise. It was Darren who'd travelled down from Middlesbrough to spend the day hiking the coastal path with me. We went to the local weatherpoons pub for a 1400 calorie mega breakfast and some coffee and waited for victor to join us. Darren was a lovely chap who loved the outdoors and possessed plenty of knowledge about the North Yorkshire coast and enjoyed spending time trekking all over the uk. He'd also applied to go on bear grylls latest survival show "the island" personally I think he would have been perfect, an enjoyable character with knowledge and experience. When victor arrived he gave me the backup battery and we all set off for the royal hotel where bram stoker wrote dracula and Darren, acting as our guide filled us with information about the town and its history. It was then time to make tracks and say fairwell to victor who was staying in Whitby for the rest of the day and heading back to Edinburgh later that day.

Darren and I then headed off on our adventure. ..

28^th May 2014

Leaving Whitby with Darren King and heading along the clifftop path chatting about his experiences was great especially as I talking about the trek was getting a little tedious although when we met other walkers heading towards Darren and they asked if we'd walked far he always proudly announced that I was walking the coast and quite humbly added that he'd joined me for the day. Moments like that are lovely, I don't think about it much as I consider myself privileged to be able to take the time out to see the British coast but to capture the imagination of others and hopefully inspire them makes any hardships and suffering worth it.

As we continued along our trek Darren let me know about what was to come and filled me full of stories about the adventures he'd been on and how is bosses also enjoyed impromptu adventures. We headed along the cliffs then down into ravines, one of which had a lovely set of steps until they suddenly stopped. I was in my element clambering down rocks and slate over a stream and across a waterfall. As we did Darren told of how he'd brought his mum down and had to rescue her when she slipped at which point he slipped and I had visions of having to catch him by the scruff of the neck as he passed me by. Luckily he balanced and recomposed himself before continuing Down. He'd been saying about how there was a cafe on the beach that was a shed but the last time he'd passed it they had dismantled it and his last memories were of the cafe resembling a pile of wood. Thankfully they'd now built a purpose built modern looking cafe so we stopped for a coffee and caramel slice.

I'm hoping Darren will let me know the name of the bay we stopped at as I simply can't remember.

So after our brief stop we continued on our way Staithes where the path to the top was insanely steep. Arriving at staithes ultimately darren and I parted company. Darren taking the bus home and me stopping for a bite to eat before heading up what could possibly be the highest point along this section of the Yorkshire Coast. It was up, all the way to the top!

As the light faded and the cliff edge was very close to the path I decided to bed down. I found a reasonably level piece of track and hoping for a dry day made camp and climbed into my sleeping bag.