Coast to Coast: Solo Hiking Across the Country - Day 14 (4K)

The Coast to Coast is the most popular long-distance hiking route in Britain. It starts at St B's in Cumbria and it finishes at the other side of the country at Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire. I hiked the Coast to Coast in May of 2023. On my own, I camped some nights and I stayed at B&Bs or hostels on other nights. Join me on this incredible journey as I navigate some of the toughest hiking that the UK has to offer with a 17kg backpack, exploring some of the most beautiful places in the country. On this journey, I'm very open about the realities of solo hiking, such a monumental route, and struggling with loneliness and fatigue as I push my mental and physical limits. With that said, please sit back, relax and enjoy watching. Okay, so let me catch you up on what's happened. So I got to the Lion Inn yesterday at about 3.30pm and sat down and I thought I had charge in my power bank or at least enough to charge my phone fully and it was completely flat and I had two power banks and they were both dead. My GoPro was like I think 20% and my phone was on like 10% so I was just like right, I need to think about this. So I spoke to the man behind the bar, a man called Callum, he was super helpful and he was really lovely and he said it's about a four hour give or take walk to Glazedale. So you know, I'll probably be getting there around sunset time if I'd waited for my power bank to charge a little bit. So that's an hour's charge in my power bank. If that lasted me into Glazedale, then it wouldn't last me overnight and I didn't know where I was staying in Glazedale. He went, well we do camping here for £3, you're welcome to charge your things for as long as you need and I can sort you a lift into Glazedale for tomorrow. And I was like, oh my god, are you kidding? I was just, I could not believe. I just honestly, just so helpful and kind. So I was like, that would be absolutely amazing. So I was charging my things and I told Cameron, I was texting him and I was like, I can get a lift into Glazedale I think for like £20 or something. So he said, so Cameron was like, I'll pay for it. So he sent for the money. Oh god. Honestly, just everything kind of worked out. Yeah. Part of me is like, well, the walk from the line into Glazedale, but you know what? This is fine. Like I'm really happy with the decision and how it worked out. So now I'm in Glazedale, just walking to Robin Hood's Bay. So we'll see what time we get there. I think I said to myself that I'll predict between three and four. So that should be the time that Cameron arrives. So hopefully that'll work out. And yeah, so it was a really lovely night. Camped in my tent. There were loads of sheep around. There were three other campers, a guy in a bivvy. That girl I was on about the other day in the was at, in Danby Whisk. I've got to mention, she was at Lordstones as well, which was funny because she said she was going to camp in the North York Moors as well and ended up at Lordstones like me. But I didn't see her until the morning. I could see her leaving it. I was like, hang on, does she stay here? I still haven't spoken to her. She's quite anti-social, which is fair enough. But yeah, she was there last night camping with, I think her friend or boyfriend, and they had a little Swiss flag. So I'm assuming they're from Switzerland. A bunch of us in the field just chilling and camping and loads of sheep as well. And then about five in the morning, myself and I'm assuming everyone else was woken up by the loudest sheep ever. It was just going like for about at least an hour straight. You know, it's fine animals. It's not like people are doing it, are they? So that was quite funny. Yeah. So the lift, the lift that was arranged was a lovely couple. I didn't get the names, but they usually do like school runs in the area. They have like taxi plates and license plates and everything. And it was a lovely middle-aged couple. And yeah, just had a nice chat with them and drove me into Blaysdale, picked me up from the line in at nine. And yeah, so here I am now. That's the, that's the catch up. I had a little bit of food yesterday. I had brie and cranberry, which was amazing, with some salad and chips and, and I think I had, I had a couple of pints. Oh, and that Callum also got me a pint, which was so lovely. So yeah, just acts of, you know, kindness and generosity. Just, it's just made my, my life, this, this journey so much better and easier. I'm just stopping at this like farm shop cafe for a wee and a coffee and like a cake or something. It's fine. I'm not, I'm not like particular or snobby about it. It's just like, door's bloody loud. It's a nice place though, other than the toilet. I came across a little stop off at the side of the path, the Horseshoe Hotel Farm Shop. I sat down for about 20 minutes and had some coffee and pecan and maple pie, taking in the serene surroundings on my final leg of the journey. It's a bridge that I'm just passing through. Lovely little place. Cute village. Just had to backtrack like a minute down that round because I missed the turn in. Very quick, coast to coast. Don't know how I'll walk past that. This is very fancy. Egerton Estate. Wow. Oh look, another honesty box. That's so sweet. So if you've not got cash, you can transfer. Oh my god, flapjack, cans of tango, lemonade, Pringles, water, that is so sweet. Very tempted to get a can to be honest. You know what, I might. I think I will. I've only got a two pound coin, so I'm getting two. Here's the cans of water, one pound each, but plenty of water. I'll get two of them. So I've just come from Grosmont. Really steep hill. Passed a lovely couple hiking and chatted with them for a while and asked about the route. They've just come down from the bit that I'm going up and they said it's just up and up and up for a while until it flattens out, so I'll be excited. Colourful houses down there, it's like Balamorma or something. That's cute. Oh my god, I've come so far in the last like what, however long it's been since I left Grosmont, like 20 minutes. If that, to be honest, and I'm not bragging here because you can hear how, you know, out of breath I am, but oh my god, I'm just- I paced up that hill. I was like on it. My calves right now are absolutely rock solid. Also, I've just seen- there's a deer farm there, that couple that I spoke to before were saying I've passed a deer farm. Oh my god. I'll get a proper picture of them or video that shows them a bit better. The first view of the sea, of the North Sea. Oh my god, I've literally just seen it. Hang on. Oh my god. Okay, so over there I think is Whitby. I'm still heading in this direction, but oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. That is just- I don't even have the words. I'm actually gonna cry. Bloody hell. What do we need to start with? Oh, you guys are gorgeous. Hey, sorry. Oh my goodness. So tiny. I just want to pick you up and give you a hug. Okay, I think it's flat from now on until it goes down, but oh my god. What a track. But I did it and I didn't even complain. Kind of. I was just like, oh, bloody hell. Oh wow, look at all this brown. I'm so glad no one's around right now because I'm getting so excited to see, you know, my destination, to get there, to see Cameron. I can't believe I'm seeing Cameron and oh god, I don't know where I'm well soon. I keep making like, excited giddy noises. I keep going like, to myself and going like, and I keep like, flapping, you know, like when you're like, when your arms just go like, yeah, like that. I just keep, I don't know. Oh, I'm losing it. I'm so close. I'm feeling, I'm feeling like, really awesome right now. Oh my god, I'm just, I'm so excited. I'm just, I'm so excited. You haven't guessed yet. Also, I think just before we finish, and I've still got a couple miles to go, but just talk about the route a little bit. The ups and downs, you know, like, the good and the bad. So, the bad being anxiety, homesickness, a lot of physical strain. So, I think in regards to that, I think my worst, we'll start with my worst day and then we'll go to my best days. So, my worst night was in Richmond, in that hotel room, because I was just inconsolable. I was, I honestly felt like I was at breaking point, mentally, not physically. Like, physically I was fine, you know, I was, feet were a bit sore, not blistered, just the muscles, you know, it's fine though. But mentally, I was just, I was not there the whole day prior. I just wasn't and, you know, the walk was lonely that, that day and I enjoyed my pizza and I enjoyed my wine. I didn't drink that whole bottle, by the way. I've got, I put it in an empty plastic bottle that's still in my bag that I've not drunk that I might have at the end and, yeah, I enjoyed that. I enjoyed watching, like, you know, TV, Simpsons, Goggleparks, Modern Family. You know, it wasn't, like, a bad night until, you know, later on when I was ready to go to bed and it was all just, like, I was just, you know, when you can't turn your brain off and it just won't be... Basically, it's never quiet up there for me. It's never quiet and it's always about multiple trains of thoughts and everything, so a lot of them, you know, do go quite bad and, uh, while a lot of them are funny, silly thoughts, you know, like, funny and giddy and whatever, I've also got a lot of, like, I've spoke about, I have spoke about this, so sorry if you're hearing about it, but, you know, the anxiety and everything and all that stuff and there's a lot of that, so not right now, you know, just in the moments when I'm feeling down and it, and you just can't, it's hard to get yourself out of that, uh, out of that state of mind. I mean, I think the best thing for me is watching, watching something enjoyable, speaking to a loved one or being with a loved one, like, perfect, because then I'm not really, I never really feel like that around people that I love, it's just usually when, usually when I'm on my own. Oh my god, there's more chicks! Look! I don't know if you can see them because they're brown and camouflaged well, which is, you know, good for them. So yeah, just thinking about that night in Richmond and I was, like I said, inconsolable. I haven't cried that hard. I don't remember the last time I cried that hard, to be honest, but I was, you know when you're just full-on just sobbing and you just can't stop? And then, like I said, uh, the day after when I was talking about it, I went to the bathroom after, you know, after Cameron helped me feel better and I was feeling a little better, still a bit down, but, you know, went to the bathroom to brush my teeth before going to bed and looked in the mirror and my eyes were bloodshot, like I couldn't see any, you know, like the whites of your eyes, couldn't see any white. They were totally red and I've never seen my eyes so bloodshot after crying, like, so, you know, that's how hard I was crying and that's how much I was really struggling and there were other nights that I was feeling like that, but that was the worst of it, you know, there was a night in Paterdale when I- sorry, this is really sad, I'll get to the happy bits in a minute, so there's a night in Paterdale, I cried myself, I cried myself to sleep. I know it sounds, oh god, I'm making myself not sad, but I feel bad for myself, is that, is that normal? And I actually woke myself up crying from a dream. I woke myself up crying, kind of crying, like, in my dream I was crying and I woke myself up going so I was just like, oh, no one heard that, that was weird, and that morning I had a bit of a cry too, so I've just set off and it's a little late because I didn't set an alarm, it's almost 11 and I set off like 5-10 minutes ago and I didn't set an alarm because I had a bit of a bad night last night, I was just upset and just really homesick. I'll feel better throughout the day, but I'm just really homesick, I'm just really missing Camry. I just feel so stupid for crying about it because it's such a beautiful place and last night was one of the most beautiful camps, like, places that I've ever been to, so that was in Paterdale and I think, I don't know if there was another from then in Richmond, I think I did have a cry in another day but I don't remember which, yeah, I don't remember which one, but I think it was just before Richmond, I think Richmond was the last night that I was like, that bad, I think I just had to let it all out and I did and, yeah, so, yeah, my least favourite part of the trip was the day getting to Richmond and the day leaving Richmond, until the evening because the day leaving Richmond, as I got into Danby Whisk, was an awesome night where I met those people and we had like, you know, a meal together, there were six of us, there was me, Marie, Marie's another solo female hiker doing the coast, they were all doing the coast to coast and there was a Dutch couple, Connie and, oh, I've forgotten his name, Bert, Bert, Connie and Bert, sorry, they were the Dutch couple, they were lovely too, and two men doing the coast to coast who were cousins, Stephen and Peter, or Stephen, Peter, I don't know which one he prefers, so we were all just chatting and chilling and that was an awesome night, so that was exactly what I needed after Richmond, honestly, so, the good, like, you know, the ups, we've done the downs, we'll, you know, do the happy stuff now, sorry, so the happy stuff is all the rest of it, to be honest, obviously, that night I was just on about in Danby Whisk and the Swan, because another, a lovely Australian woman, I don't remember her name, she bought me a whiskey as well and that was really sweet, because I said I was camping and she was like, oh, well, you'll need this to warm you up tonight, she was so sweet, obviously, when my mum came to see me, oh my god, that was so nice, I so needed that, she picked me up, we went to Ravenstonedale, we stayed at this really gorgeous B&B, kind of country house, I think it was, and had some amazing food, hang on, let me just check where I'm going, yeah, we had some amazing food, we went for a lovely walk, oh my god, it was so nice, you know, the area, because it was on like a nature reserve, so we saw loads of wonderful things and she got this really funny video of a chicken running, I'll put it on screen, so yeah, that was really funny and then there was like loads of sheep in the road then, it sounded like the sheep went buggy, what was that? You guys are cute, but kind of funny looking, but still cute, if they wanted, oh god, it's a good thing they're all like scared of you, isn't it, imagine if sheep were like really hostile, they could absolutely bite you if they wanted to, so yeah, that night that I saw my mum, that was a really awesome night, high point, the first, oh my god, you okay, did you hear what I just said, if you really wanted to, you could, no, okay, good, the first night was a really good one, with Tracy and David, I found them on Airbnb, it was like 30 quid for the room, made me tea and got me some wine and then made me breakfast in the morning, we were chilling in the back garden all night, it was a gorgeous sunny warm evening, we were overlooking the countryside from the back garden, it was lovely, amazing and then just, I kind of meet, you know, like meeting people along the way, getting to Black Sail Hut, that was cool, because I was the first one there, unless someone got there ridiculously early and left, but about 15-20 minutes after I got there, everyone, all the hikers turned up, but I was there for ages and the last to leave, so I mean, that's just kind of the same all the time, isn't it, for me, not necessarily being the first one there, but the last to leave, so, because I was there for about, honestly, an hour and 45 minutes in the Black Sail Hut, I was just chilling, I was like, you know what, I'm looking forward to this place, need a break before the ascent, need a coffee, some snacks to plan my route and that's where I met Pete, who's raising money for Macmillan and the Not Forgotten, oh and Grasmere, I can't talk about the best, the best part of anything without talking about Grasmere, my favourite place on earth, and that was amazing, so I got into Grasmere in the evening after one of the toughest days at Lining Crag and Calf Crag, Gibson Knot, Helm Crag, that was tough, that was the most, that was the most physically challenging day, definitely, wasn't my worst day though, when the morning started out with that weirdo at Borrowdale, but, oh my god, oh, by the way, I don't know if I mentioned, he got kicked off, because when I met up with Pete briefly, I asked and he said, yeah, the guy, someone had reported him to the guy in the, the owner, the guy who came, came out and kicked him off the site and I was like, yes, justice, man, honestly, if you don't know what I'm on about, it's in one of the videos that I've done, because I know I'm going to be doing day-by-day videos and then a full video, anyway, uh, yeah, so that was in Borrowdale, but that was that morning, but as soon as I got into Grasmere, everything just lifted, I, uh, called my grandpa, spoke to him and, uh, went, got into the, uh, country house that I booked myself in and had the most amazing goat's cheese salad of my life, whatever they did to them walnuts, oh my god, they were, like, glazed and something and roasted and I have roasted walnuts all the time, because my favourite, like, snack, so that dish was made for me and goat's cheese is my favourite cheese and it's a salad and I love salad, so, and that goat's cheese, they kind of, like, glaze that and something and it was so good and I had, um, spicy chips as well, which were nice, and some wine, so, yeah, staying in that hotel was lovely as well, not hotel, country house, technically, it was gorgeous, very cute, so that was definitely a really awesome night, a tough day, a really tough day, but just an awesome night, honestly, oh, getting into Keld, right, okay, so, that was really, really lovely, so, the, I'd started off that day, my mum had dropped me off, oh, yeah, that was the other time I had a cry that I was on about, it was, uh, my mum dropped me off and I was fine and then, maybe about half an hour later, Cameron was saying to me, he was like, look, there's no shame in just, you know, he said, no one's gonna, Cameron said, Cameron said, if you need to come home, then you can, like, you know, you've done, you've done enough and everyone's really proud and I'm just like, oh my god, I can't not cry, this is so hard, every time I talk about it, every time I talk about going home because I really want to, I really want to, but I shouldn't because even though, because even though it's what I really want to do, I know that I just won't be, I'll be really disappointed with myself if I do that, so, you know, I've got a week left, halfway at the end of today, been out for a week exactly today, so, so I'm gonna carry on and hopefully it will get, well, even if it doesn't get easier, at least as long as it doesn't get any harder because this is just about manageable, just couldn't, couldn't keep the emotions together and just had to because I was like, it just hit me that, you know, I was on my own again and I'm fine being on my own but I think after you're on your own for such a long time and it's like, I'm not, I'm not anti-social but I'm not like insanely social, if you know what I mean, like, I need company every now and then but I can be on my own and I'm happy being on my own at times, so that's good, like, that's the thing, if you're gonna solo hike, you need to be able to enjoy your own company, that's really important, that's a good tip and I can enjoy my own company but like I said, rambling again, sorry, um, yeah, so that whole day through the Dales, I was like, oh, come on, but it was fine, you know, my spirit, after the cry, my spirits were up and I was happy, I was content, I was enjoying the walk and I was like, the and that's when I got into the start of Swaledale area, that was beautiful, that was just spectacular, exactly what I needed after the Dales, just had to road walk on that busy road for about 15 minutes, that wasn't fun, anyway, I was talking about the Keld Lodge, so getting to the Keld Lodge and not knowing where to stop because I was like, I'm just gonna wing it every night, which, you know, worked for some most nights, really, but it worked for all of them, didn't it, because I was fine and I always got a place to stay, so I was gonna camp but got a pint in the Keld Lodge, even though it said residents only, but I saw the Australian couple and they were like, oh, you can sit with us, so I was like, okay, so I did, uh, blended in and they said if I'm not sort of camping, like, see how much a room is, so I did, with breakfast, 55 quid, I think it was, 15, 55, something like that and I was like, oh my god, yeah, so yeah, I did and then that was an awesome night, so I chilled out my room a bit, got, like, ready, cleaned up and then had food and I had food with that Australian couple as well, so that was really nice, I had, uh, I think I had a, what did I have, a goat, another goat's cheese salad or something, I don't remember, and a sticky toffee sponge with custard, that was, uh, lovely and, uh, then, you know, went up to the room and everything, then came back down and me, the Australian couple and an American couple played this dice game called Far Call, so that was a lot of fun, had a really good conversation with them and there was another British couple there as well, who we had a conversation with, I'm so sorry I didn't get any of these couple's names, but I am gonna do, like, a special thanks to everyone at the end, so, you know, I'll put whose names I remember and if I didn't get your name, I'll put where I know you from, so you'll know it's you if you ever find this, I, and I do apologise to everyone's name who I either didn't get or can't remember, I met a lot of people, um, which, and they've all been amazing, so, yeah, and then, honestly, that whole stretch from, like, the Keld Lodge, you know, because in the morning I had a really lovely breakfast, I think I had, like, eggs on toast with mushroom and tomato and orange juice and coffee, it was gorgeous, and that place was just gorgeous as well, so I've got an absolute bargain there, the whole stretch from Keld to Grinton was just spectacular, you know, Swaledale, I'm so glad I didn't do the high route, I'm so glad, because that low route, just in the valley and, uh, going to, like, stopping off in Gunnerside, which is such a gorgeous, bright green and colourful village, um, yeah, that whole day, massive high point, loved it, so, yeah, and also, like, you know, Grinton Lodge, um, was nice as well, that YHA, really lovely YHA camps there, so, yeah, had a really, had a lot of really amazing times, to be honest, and I'm just looking back on them all now, and speaking of, like, you know, the best times on the trail, it's not happened yet, but I imagine that reaching Robin Hood's Bay and the sea, and obviously seeing Cameron for the first time in two weeks will be just, I'm just so excited for it, that's going to be such a high point, I know it's going to be, and the drive back and everything, so really looking forward to that very soon. The path is actually across there, so I'm kind of walking adjacent to it, just over there somewhere, but it joins it just down here. Oh, please forget me nots, did you know that, you know, when you look at them there, some have the yellow centres and some have the white centres, the white ones are the ones that have already been pollinated and the nectar's been taken out, so the yellow signifies that there's nectar in there. The bees, pretty cool. Our nature's just, you know, like that. Forget me nots are just very bee considerate, aren't they? Yeah, you can see some white centres and some yellow. On I went, hiking the last few miles, from coast to coast. At this point, Cameron was nearby, so we arranged a meeting place just outside of Robin Hood's Bay. Together, we walked the last mile to the coast, but not before stopping for some chips as I was starving. And of course, I made it all the way to the end of the coast to coast, from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, with my little passenger pebble that I transported along with myself across the country. I was so proud for completing this emotionally and physically challenging feat, and I know it's tradition for some to head to the Bay Hotel for a pint, but it was much too loud and busy at the time and I didn't want to overstimulate myself, so I opted for the much more relaxed vibe in the Smothers Wine Bar, to sit with a glass of wine and reflect on the journey over the past two weeks. And of course, thank you guys so much for following me along on this journey.