Walk 104

North Landing to Scarborough 23miles

The day was very cold and damp, feeling more like November than May!  The first part of the walk today was along the cliff tops and the east wind was bracing to say the least!  At Bempton cliffs the birdwatchers were out in force, not surprising really as the Gannets were in the process of nest building, and the Puffins were busily fishing.  I stopped for a while to watch the Puffins fly in and out of the cliffs, this is the first time I have seen them in the wild which is another first for me this week! I continued to walk along the cliff tops and at Speeton I found a very precarious path down to the beach, the next 4 miles were along the sandy beach all the way to Filey where I stopped for a cuppa and a piece of cake!  After Filey I picked up the cliff top path to Filey Brigg, I started to walk to the end of the Brigg but turned back due to the narrow path and my lack of head for heights! I picked up the Cleveland Way at Filey Brigg and this path will eventually lead me all the way along the coast to Saltburn where it heads inland.  The final part of today's walk took in Cayton bay and then on into Scarborough. The first pic is of Bempton cliffs, 2nd pic is Filey Brigg

Walk 103

Hornsea To North Landing (Flamborough) 18.5 Miles

Today started off dull and cold, it then turned wet and cold!  The walk today was very straightforward, and I decided to have an early start (7.30am) so as to catch the tide on its way out.  I hopped onto the beach and walked the 12 miles to Bridlington in one continuous straight line, I really love this type of walking as its easy on the eye and very easy on your feet. So 4hrs later I walked on through the seaside town of Bridlington, with all its bucket and spade shops and amusement arcades, there nothing quite like this scene in any other country in the world and I love it !!!  After Brid I climbed up onto the cliff tops and 2 miles along the path I came across a steep valley with steps!!! I thought I must be in the wrong county!!!! :), shortly after it was onto South Landing and yet another valley, what a treat for me...2 in one day!! a few more miles along the path and I took a pic of Flamborough Lighthouse, it was then onto North Landing and a bus back to Brid for my Bed&Breakfast for the night.

Walk 102

Withernsea to Hornsea 19miles

Withersea Lighthouse

Coastal Erosion

Today was the best day of the week weather wise, and you can see this by the 2 pics I have posted, both taken in Sunny Withernsea.  Someone described to me Withernsea as "a council estate by the sea!" and they were not wrong!! I have never seen so many "Hoodies" in such a small area!!!! 

So, onto the walk....I hopped onto the beach with the intention of walking most of the way to Hornsea, but due to the on rushing tide I had to abandon this idea at Monkwith. I was in a bit of a panic because of the tide, but fortunately I managed to find a spot to scramble up the cliff before I was caught out!  The only reason I could climb up the cliff was due to the coastal erosion in this area and my  pic highlights this problem!!!

 The rest of today's walk was along roads through the villages of Hilston, Garton, Aldborough and Mapleton and then finally Hornsea.  Hornsea is a nice little town and 100% better than Withernsea

Withernsea Seafront

Walk 101

Kilnsea to Withernsea 18miles

The Westmere Farm B&B I stopped in last night is the best accommodation so far on my travels. The hosts Sue and Andrew could not do enough for their guests, right down to the packed lunch I was given just before I left!!!!  The first part of today's walk was the 7 miles to the end of Spurn Point and back, things were going well and I managed to take a pic of the lighthouse, which looks a bit tatty at the mo but I have been reliably informed that it is to be renovated soon.  The weather soon turned and as I rounded the point the rain was lashing down complete with a fierce wind!!! however as I trudged along the beach I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, and there in the long grass was a small Deer I couldn't belive how far onto Spurn
Point it was, it must have been lost!!!  I guess in the weather it was thinking the same about me!!!!  I walked on back into Kilnsea and then picked up the road to Easington, I had no choice today than to roadwalk all the way to Withernsea as the tide was very high, and this was born out on my second pic taken from Holmpton looking back towards Kilnsea.

Walk100

Hull (Heddon) to Kilnsea  23 Miles

Its May, its cold, its wet and windy so I must be on the East Coast again!  A treat for me this week was that I was able to catch a flight to Leeds in order to get to my start point in Hull, mind you it did take another 2 buses and a train to get to this point!!!  By the time I reach Heddon the weather is much better, so I hop onto the road for a mile and then pick up a path along an estuary which takes me down to Paull where I took a pic of the lighthouse which is now someones home!  The one thing that struck me about Paull was that even though it is only a small village it has a lot of pubs, there must be 1 for every 10 people that live there!! :) All of today's walk was along the north bank of the Humber, passing through Skeffling, Easington and finally onto Kilnsea.  I did have a couple of problems today, the first was with the route being closed a mile before Hawkins Point, but fortunately the foreman let me walk on as there wasn't anyone working today. Just after Hawkins Point there is an interesting monument marking the point of 0 degrees latitude, so I took a pic to mark the occasion of passing through it !!  The second problem was just before Skeffling where I thought I could cross at a sluice but I was mistaken and so had a lengthy detour upstream and then through high high wheat fields, nettles and long grass in order to get back on track. Today I heard my first Cuckoo of the spring and I also saw a short eared owl but I couldn't get my camera out quick enough to take a photo !! :(

Walk 99

Bosherton to Angle 15miles

Today was a quick march to Angle where I had to catch the only bus on a Monday in order to get my train home! The day didn't start too well though as I managed to get lost on the Castlemartin estate, I decided to follow a route marked by sign posts but not on the map....big mistake you could of found me that morning quite easily by listening out for a loud voice uttering various expletives in a farmers field!!! Anyhow I managed to find my way back onto the correct route which is basically the road around the Castlemartin Artillery range and on through Castlemartin itself. The route then took me onto the beach at Freshwater West which is where they filmed various Doctor Who and Harry Potter scenes !(see pic) Shortly after Freshwater West I caught up with an interesting young woman who is running 39 marathons in 42 days for charity, which is the whole of the Welsh coast(including Offas Dyke). We had a good chat and I donated to the £25,000 she is trying to raise....here is the link please donate yourself www.dragonrun1027.wordpress.com/....... many thanks. The rest of the walk to Angle took in the sights and sounds of the various Oil refineries at Milford Haven.

Walk 98

Tenby to Bosherton 18miles

A clear crisp 1st April morning greeted me first thing, and the first order of the day was the 2 mile walk across the beach at Tenby which was lovely!!! Once around the headland I could see exactly where I had to walk to today and that can be a very daunting sight at the start of a days walk!!! The first bay you reach after Tenby is Lydstep Bay which sounds very nice but is in fact a caravan site butted up against a shingle beach....Yuch!!! I then had a small detour around the barracks at Manorbier before dropping down onto the lovely bay at Manorbier Beach (see pic). Next up was Swanlake bay and then Freshwater East (see pics), the fantastic scenery was coming thick and fast and so were the people!!! for 2 days I had hardly seen a soul out walking but today....you couldn't swing a cat without hitting someone!! The terrain was a little bit up and down, but a whole lot easier than yesterday. Finally I made it tho the military ranges at Castlemartin, and to my horror( where despite there being warning signs every 20 yds telling you not to stray from the path due to the possibility of unexploded debris) dog walkers were letting their dogs run freely in and out of the danger areas!!! I was waiting for the "bang" and bits of flying dog :(