Day 12: Clay Bank Top to Blakey Ridge

Me & Wolfgang

Day 12: Clay Bank Top to Blakey Ridge
Start Time: 8:50 AM
Finish Time: 12:20 PM
Total Milage: 9 Miles
Bed & Breakfast: The Buck Inn

Woke up this morning feeling good. Today was only going to be a 9 mile walk.  This in itself is testimony to how we have changed.  If I told Gabriel back in Hong Kong on a Saturday morning we were off on a 9 mile hike he would have given me all kinds of grief.  Now 9 miles was going to be an easy day!

The Buck Inn

Had a great meal the night before with a couple pints of good ale.  Wolfgang may be “Australian” but his knowledge and appreciation of good beer was definitely “German”. 

The Shepherds

Wolfgang’s wife drove us along with “The Shepherds” (John & Cathy) back to Clay Bank Top.  We started out together but as Gabriel’s blister started acting up we said our goodbyes to “The Shepherds” who were heading farther today so as they would be able to finish the walk the next day.  John sent be his audio blog of an encounter he had that we would have experienced if we had joined them in the longer day.  Apparently up on the moor a hiker approached them from the opposite direction.  At first he though the man was wearing pink which is a little strange while out hiking on the moors.  However as the man got closer he realized other that hiking boots and a rucksack, the man was stark naked.  Apparently they passed each other with John saying “Good afternoon” and the man replying the same back.  He waited until the man was about 50 yards away and although he admits he doesn’t usually take pictures of naked men, he needed this for proof to which I wholeheartedly agree.  You can get his audio account here!  I hope he doesn’t mind me reusing his pic but I can’t resist.

The Naked Hiker

We reached the Lion Inn about 12:20 in the afternoon.  Usually this would be a problem at a bed and breakfast as they would be no where near ready to receive you at that hour but being an inn, and a 500 year old inn at that, they handed us our room keys and we were inn.