I'd thought long and hard about how to end this blog.......how to cover the last day of our epic adventure. Somehow, an attempt at an amusing start to the entry, just didn't see quite right. Somehow, I needed to get over the massive sense of achievement that Steve, Tina and I felt, the sheer elation at having made it and.......the relief at being able to remove our boots for one last time! But what about a title? What could possibly convey all those feelings in one pithy phrase?

I thought about using possible song titles such as 'These boots are made for walking' by Nancy Sinatra, or 'Walk of life' by Dire Straits or even 'Take a walk on the wild side' by Lou Reed, but none seemed to fit. Then, I went on to movies. Movies such as 'A long walk to Freedom', 'The Longest Day' or one that got very close, namely 'Deliverance'....bearing in mind that, somehow we had been, miraculously, delivered to the end. But no, nothing seemed to hit the spot. But then it came to me. There was an obvious title. The title to show what I really want to do when this is all over and that is.............to thank so many people. So, there it is, the title is 'A Big Thank you', but, enough of that, let's talk about the walk first and get to the thanks later.



Today's leg needed some careful planning and......backwards planning at that! There were two key elements to today; firstly, we had to get to Robin Hoods Bay.....failure was not an option. Secondly, we had to make sure that we were there to catch the Packhorse bus, by 4pm latest! So with these factors in mind, what time did we need to leave? The walk was 15.5 miles today and with tired legs and feet, we decided to leave as early as practically possible today. We wanted to aim for 7am, but the earliest that Chris Geall (the B&B owner) could do our cooked brekkie for, would be 7. However, with the kitchen being available to us to use, he was very happy for us to do our own thing and help ourselves to toast, cereal, fruit, etc. 

 
So, 7am was our target start time and we very nearly made it! We were out the door, with our final group photo taken and off up the road by 7.30. Bearing in mind our tight time schedule and the fact that her knee was still giving her some trouble, Jane decided to take the Packhorse bus one last time. 

 

Surprise, surprise the first couple of miles were steeply uphill (and south east), but the view back down the hill from Sleights Moor was lovely. We then turned east and headed to the pretty little village of Littlebeck. On the way, we got our first decent view of the North Sea and Whitby Abbey........but, this would turn out to be the last view of the sea we had for some miles and some hours!!

 

Littlebeck is on the edge of Littlebeck Wood and has a ford (where Steve decided to do a bit of spear-fishing!!), an old mill and a woodcarver's cottage. But there was no time for lingering.....we had a bus to catch! So, it was into the wood and very pretty it was too, although just a little bit muddy! Our target was the Falling Foss tea garden to grab coffee and cake and also a sandwich for later. But first, we reached the Hermitage, a folly, carved out of a large rock in the 1700s. Originally, the folly had two chairs on top and legend has it that you sat in one chair to make a wish and then the other, to make the wish come true!




 



We reached Falling Foss shortly before 10........a 20 metre waterfall deep in the wood. Trouble is, the tea garden didn't open until 10.30, but.........we were in luck. Jack Newman, the owner was outside and said, don't worry, come in......and what a lovely place it was. We stayed for half an hour and then were back on our way. The track through the wood seemed to go on for ever and was very muddy, but eventually, out we came and then headed up a road to Sneaton Low Moor. And, whilst walking up the road, we came across a very rare sight.......a herd of Belted Galloway cows, of which there are said to be only 10,000 in the world! And.......they seemed friendly for a change!

 

The guide book said that Sneaton Low Moor was 'slightly boggy'. Well talk about an understatement.....the moor was awash with water and although we only had a few hundred yards to cross the moor, it took ages as we worked our way around the wettest areas. The trouble was, after a very short section on a road, we were due to cross Graystone Hills Moor, which the book described in various ways ranging from 'boggy' through 'very boggy' to 'extremely boggy'. So, when we reached the road, Tina suggested that we bypass the next moor and follow a detour along a couple of roads.



And what a good idea it was too. We were able pick up our pace and before too long passed through the villages of Low and High Hawsker, where we saw our first signpost for Robin Hoods Bay......only 3 1/2 miles!! We followed the road and soon reached another sign....we were down to only 2 1/2 miles and it was only 1.30. But then that sadistic streak of Alfred Wainwright kicked in again! Instead of following the road into RHB, Wainwright took us down to the coastal path.....no real problem here, at least it would be prettier. About a mile on from that last signpost, we reached the cliffs and saw the North Sea in all it's glory, AND.........we saw the next signpost, 'Robin Hoods Bay......3 miles'!!! How could this be? Well Wainwright had led us north towards the coastal path and further away from RHB!  
 


















It was like a knife through the heart, but we had no choice but to follow the path. But, it was a spectacular walk along the cliff edge, with stunning views and beautiful flowers......still no real idea what most of them were Tina, but they were beautiful nevertheless! The coastal path went on and on and on, but after a final, minor run-in with a large herd of cows (thankfully, behind a fence), we got our first view of Robin Hoods Bay itself. And, as if on cue, the heavens opened!! AND, we still had to walk a long way down the hill to the water's edge.


 














We started trudging down the hill in the pouring rain, well in time for our bus, but feeling a bit bedraggled and sorry for ourselves. And then, what was happening; this mad woman came charging across the road towards me.........mad she was, but I knew her!! It was Gill Wedgbury! She and Pete had told a bunch of porkies when they said they were going home on Saturday........they had stayed on to meet us and.......with a bottle of champagne as well! A lovely surprise.

So, we went down the hill together and.......then we were there! The end of the trail and 202 miles done; we dipped our feet in the sea and had our picture taken against the C2C sign...........and it was over! A strange feeling really. Had we actually done that, had we walked over 200 miles, had we walked from one side of the country to the other? Well we had and we were elated, but not for long 'cos we still had that bus to catch! A quick visit to a shop to buy a certificate recording our achievement, then it was back up the hill, a fond farewell to Pete and Gill and then on the bus back to Kirkby Stephen. 

















A couple of hours on the bus back to the Packhorse car park and then back into Kirkby Stephen to our B&B, Fletcher House and a warm welcome from Gillian and Steve Bamford; another lovely place. We crashed out for an hour, then it was back to the Black Bull for a relaxing and delicious celebratory dinner. A final terrific Full English in the morning, a quick whip around the shops of Kirkby Stephen and then we said our farewells to Jane (who was catching a later train), dropped Tina at the station (more sad farewells) and then Steve and I were off to Manchester. And that was it....'Paul Kilby's Coast to Coast Specracular 2014, was over!




This has been the hardest thing that I have ever done, but I had an absolute blast. The scenery was truly magnificent, the route was very challenging and the camaraderie was terrific. But as I said earlier, none of this was possible without the help of a large number of people, so here come the 'thank you's':

* to Henry Stedman, the author of 'Coast to Coast Path', a totally invaluable book, both from the point of view of the route itself, and info on places, accommodation and eateries;
* to all the B&B hosts and hostesses. We stayed in some fantastic places, in some stunning locations and with great hospitality throughout;
* to Packhorse, who transported us all to St. Bees and from Robin Hoods Bay, who looked after Jane on a few legs in the second week and who got our luggage to all our accommodation efficiently and without hitch;
* to Jane, who stepped in to join us on the second week and still walked 35 miles, despite a dodgy knee and a baptism of fire on her first day;
* to Victoria and Sarah-Jane who we met on the route to Clay Bank Top, who we shared a lovely evening with at the Buck Inn and who very kindly donated £20 to Little Hearts Matter;
* to the lovely couple on the Packhorse bus back to Kirkby Stephen who also gave £10 to Little Hearts Matter as they got off the bus;
* to Pete for joining us on the Blakey Ridge leg and to Pete and Gill for joining us for dinner at the Lion Inn and for surprising us all at Robin Hoods Bay. You are such good friends;
* to Tim, Jim & Marie for being such great compadres on the first week. We were very sad to see you go and would have loved to have had you join us to the end of the trail. We had so much fun during that first week and I will treasure those memories always;
* to Jim, for taking it easy on Steve on the middle Saturday evening, after the disaster of that day's football results for the blue half of Bristol and for buying us all a cream tea at the Kennedy's Chocolate Factory;
* to Tim for the letting us use the Gizmo, which definitely saved our bacon over Nine Standards and for keeping in touch with supportive texts and Skype calls during week two;
* to Marie, for her comments on my blog during week two and for all the lovely postcards waiting for us at the B&B's that week, giving us a smile and support at the end of each day;
* to Sue, Ann, Lily and Karl for supporting their other halves and the rest of us throughout;
* to cousin Alan Jones for suggesting the 'Beardwatch' challenge and to all the Ferndown mob for the loads of support over the last couple of weeks;
* to Kaz for always being the first person to read, like and comment on my blog entries each day;
* to all my Facebook friends for the masses of 'likes' and messages of support;
* to ALL the wonderful, kind and generous people who have donated to my Just Giving page since I started and have helped me raise over £4000, a sum beyond my wildest dreams, a sum that will make a big difference to Little Hearts Matter and to the families and children affected by congenital heart defects;
* to my lovely wife Mandy and to Emma & Mark and Vicky & Jake for their amazing support over the last 6 months or so.....I really couldn't have done it without you all;

 and last, my no means least:

 * to Steve and Tina, my fellow coast to coasters all the way from the start to the very end. An absolutely fantastic achievement 'guys' (sorry Tina), something we have long wanted to do and.......have now done it! 

Tina, we have met on and off at a number of family 'do's' over the years, but it was great to spend some serious quality (is that the right word?) time with you over the last couple of weeks and to have some real fun. I really enjoyed your company and am so pleased that we were able to do this together. I don't think I have ever met someone who has done so many things and knows so many things....I was in awe, especially in the White Swan, when you and the landlord had this detailed conversation about Longsword and Rapper dancing! As for the flowers........thanks so much for trying so hard with me! Thanks also for putting up with the 'boys' humour.
 
Stevie, Stevie, Stevie. You were amazing! After all you went through after we got back from Norway, a double heart by-pass no less, your achievement on this trek is absolutely mega! I don't think I have laughed so much for a long time (or ever!), whether it was Norman Wisdom, On the Buses or Pete and Dud or the multitude of other funny moments. You were a great roomie, although I will never know what you are doing when you are banging about in the bathroom! As for your fashion sense matey, all I can say is, it was an inspiration to us all..........and probably the wider world via Marie's blog! You're a great mate Steve and I am so, so pleased to have done this walk with you. Thanks mate.

I said 'last but not least', but there is, in fact, someone else I want to thank and that's Fi, James and the lovely Lucia, the inspiration behind this walk. If ever there was a moment when I might be flagging, I only had to give my LHM badge a little rub and think of little Lucia and It drove me on.
 
If I have forgotten to thank anyone, please forgive me, it certainly wasn't intentional.

So that's it. Back to reality and all the things that have been storing up for me over the last couple of weeks. But a reality that will always be sweetened by knowing one major thing.....................I HAVE DONE WAINWRIGHT'S COAST TO COAST CHALLENGE!!

Brilliant!!!