Day 11 Danby Wiske to Osmotherley 10 miles
We had breakfast with a couple who had stayed in the same B&B as us in Richmond, Michelle and Richard. They were fellow Coast to Coasters but were travelling light, they looked fit, had caught us up and would leave us behind today. Today will be the shortest day of the whole walk so we are not in any hurry to leave, finally getting on the road about 9.45am. It was another dry day with the sun breaking through the rolling clouds just occasionally.
Danby Wiske is the lowest point of the whole walk, just 110ft above sea level and there is a bit of a haul up and out of the village that got our lungs fired up for the day. After a mile or two of road/lane walking the trail heads back into the fields at Oak Tree Hill.
We are very much in agricultural country now, the sheep have long been left behind and we are in the land of cows, crops and tractors. At the railway crossing by Wray House we stop and have a bite to eat. There are no cafes on this short section so we sit in the field munching on our snicker bars, the cows watching us with interest from a distance and the crows cawing away in the trees above. Before Ingleby Cross is reached the A19 dual carriageway has to be crossed. This is probably the busiest road that has to be crossed on the walk that has no bridge or tunnel for pedestrians. After a week and a bit away from the traffic the noise and speed of the cars is noticeable and we make sure the road is well clear before we race across. Having got across the road in one piece it’s only a short walk to the village of Ingleby Cross. Our B&B is in the village and we are here early so we sit on the bench by the war memorial for a while.
There are hundreds of war memorials across our land, erected to the memory of local people who gave their lives fighting in the two World Wars. I am drawn however to some words on this particular one that I don’t think I have seen on any others. They say “Who remember also with grateful hearts those who returned home in safety”. A war memorial that not only honours the dead but is also thankful to the living. By 2.30pm we are in our B&B and I even find the time for ‘forty winks’ before we go out to dinner.
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