Day 2: Sutton Bank to Osmotherley

Cleveland Way Navigation: [Start of Trip] - [Previous Day] - [Next Day] - [End of Trip]

Yesterday's walk from Sutton Bank to Kilburn was not, strictly speaking, part of the Cleveland Way. So we didn't feel bad about taking a taxi back up the hill to Sutton Bank and getting a fresh start to the day rather than starting off with a steep climb. I was smiling all day at the thought. (Of course, little did we know that by the end of the week, we would resign ourselves to the inevitable steep ascents after breakfast and lunch each day.)

We spotted several rowan trees:

Later in the walk, we saw trees with sloe berries - which look like a cross between blueberries (color) and olives (shape and size). A couple was collecting these berries to try making sloe gin.

Sarah checks the map:

We had many magnificent views of the valley farmlands. I liked seeing the shadows of clouds on the field (reminds me of chasing clouds across the soccer field with Annie, Tina and Emily back in elementary school):

You're never entirely far from civilization on the walk though. Here they were doing some trail improvement work:

Every time I see the perfect cylindrical bales of hay, I think of Magritte. This scene struck me as surreal:

The Cleveland Way is marked with the National Trail symbol, the acorn. I liked the Kintyre Way logo better, it's more distinctive.

The stone walls were not made with mortar:
Sarah and Bill get far ahead of me every time I stop to take pictures!!!

Sheep grazing among the heather:
Another panorama fades into fog:
I love the descents, so I got down way ahead of Bill and Sarah and was able to take pictures of them as they picked their way down the path:
Today, I developed the Cleveland Way Theorem: If the signs are ambiguous (or missing) at a crossroads, follow the path that is laid with paving stones. They don't bother doing that for other trails. In this case, we followed the paving stones down to the reservoir:

A color picture of a black-and-white world? Not sure how this happened, unless maybe I was trying to take a picture of a rainbow:

At the reservoir we were advised that COLD WATER KILLS:

Just past the reservoir, we saw a field full of grouse:

Also a few lone pheasants wandering about. But we weren't hungry.

I liked this garden as we approached the outskirts of Osmotherly:

A forest - why is it so otherworldly??
To gain access to Osmotherly proper, the Way takes you into a narrow semi-private passageway between some houses whose owners are clearly proud of their flowers.

We did not buy anything at the Walking Shop in Osmotherly, but it was good to know that we could if we had to:
We dined at the Three Tuns; it was delicious. We lingered for drinks afterward with some other folks, Kay and Mac, who were also walking the Cleveland Way.

We also smiled to ourselves at the Germans who decided to stay at the Three Tuns but got there an hour before the innkeeper arrived. Bill had quite a one-sided rivalry with the Germans - they were going the same trail, in the same direction, and were carrying all their gear with them - so we had to beat them each day.

We stayed at the Queen Catherine Hotel, which was enjoyable.

Cleveland Way Navigation: [Start of Trip] - [Previous Day] - [Next Day] - [End of Trip]