Light Rain, Grouse Butts and the Ubiquitous Scone

Day 17: Blakey Ridge to Egton Bridge (12.1 miles, mostly flat track combining roads, moor paths and a lovely walk through the East Arncliffe Woods)

Rainy Walk Through Arncliffe Wood

I suppose, if you are walking England Coast-to-Coast, that there are some things that will become so commonplace as to seem ever-present.  Today what the natives tell us is the "normal" weather for the region appeared.  So, after 15 mostly dry days, a light rain drove us to don our rain pants for the first time (not counting our pre-C2C days in Scotland).  Never a soaker, the rain nonetheless slightly suppressed Cliff's picture taking about thirty minutes before we reached today's B&B, The Old Mill in Egton Bridge.  Funny, how little the rain phases us now.

And while a couple of weeks ago we were asking why the heck anyone cared about the tail feathers of a prairie chicken, today we can distinguish the butt of a grouse from a grouse butt.  We know now -- and can adroitly identify for others -- the shooting hides or blinds (grouse butts) where shooters lay in wait for the red grouse

Grouse on the moor

living in the moors to be driven in their direction (mainly by dogs, but sometimes by people on the shoot for the express purpose of flushing the grouse).  Grouse butts, short and squat stone (the really old) or wood frame structures are a common sight throughout the moors.  Sometimes they are numbered and on a rainy and windy day like today, they apparently are prime property for the sheep roaming the moors.

And if one just has walked through a rainy, windy moor (watching the grouse, spotting the grouse butts and baa'ing with the sheep), chances are very good that the first village stop will be the local tea house for a pot of tea

C2C Fuel Stop

and a scone.  The soft, doughy goodness of a scone (slathered with butter of course) is hard to beat as an accompaniment to tea.  It may be a good thing our last day of walking is tomorrow as these treats are becoming a bit of a habit - perfectly fine when one walks 5-8 hours a day. Like ale and cider for sports drinks, these little indulgences are coming to an end at the end of the road.

And tomorrow is the end of the road.  The weather forecast is fair for our final 16 miles. Already the lot of us who have been walking together for days are lamenting the loss of the simple life of the C2C: early alarm, breakfast, boots, walk, shower, pub, sleep and repeat.