Day 11 Richmond to Danby Wiske
Friday 31 May 2024, 12 miles
We left Richmond via the Noted Pie Shop (definitely worth a quick stop to pick up something for lunch) and with a view of the Castle as we crossed the river.
The terrain for the next few days was to be quite different as it was flat, well almost flat; this really feels like a transition between the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. We were following footpaths rather than hill tracks and often alongside watercourses so after all the rain we had previously we thought it might be quite nice, which it was except for the rain and C2C walkers’ feet which had churned the footpaths into a bit of a slog in the mud. I think that being close to the river does not help. Everything here seems to be working against the walker: the clay soil, the drainage, the narrow spaces between fields and hedges along with the volume of traffic on the footpaths. It was a plowter through the mud, once again.
The footpath out of Richmond cuts back down to the River Swale and then contours round slightly above the river before joining it again where the path cuts under the A1(M) motorway, our second motorway crossing of the walk. It then crosses the river at the appropriately named Catterick Bridge then follows the north bank to Bolton on Swale where we found there was a small church with an honesty box café – an ideal spot for a rest and some lunch. From there we crossed then crossing farmland towards Danby Whiske, our stop for this evening.
This is definitely the flattest part of the C2C with a minimum rise each day. The problem was not the volume of climbing like in the Lake District but since it was flat there was no option to head for anything visible on the skyline. It was down to a bit of micro navigation to make sure and stick to the trail.
Danby Wiske is a very small village but there are several B&Bs there. We were staying at Ashfield House. Dinner was at the White Swan, the only pub in the village, it is really important to book dinner as there is no other option and the place was full of Coast-to-Coasters. Food was good and our B&B really comfy.
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