Post 212: 6 November 2017, The COT COMBO WALK, Langdale End to Scalby.
I awoke at 6.00am to a distinct chill in the air. After breakfast I went to load the car with my walking gear and found the first hard frost of the winter had arrived.
Feeling happy with myself for escaping the Black Death, Norovirus or whatever it was that had made my son in law, two grandsons, mother and wife sick, on Sunday I had popped down to the village newsagent to get a newspaper only to find that the newsagent had the sickness. I mentioned this to Sid the Yorkshireman who had escaped to Cumbria to avoid catching anything. Despite this he returned to Yorkshire and when I went to pick him up he had his anti-bacterial hand gel ready at the door. Clearly he had been on a Fred Olsen cruise, who give excellent training on how to avoid Norovirus!
So arriving at Langdale End at about 8.30am we found the car park covered in iced pools. We made a steep ascent on The North of England Way towards Broxa and looked back to fine views.
We descended towards Hackness and got the first glimpse of the attractive Church of St Peter, which is thought to be the oldest church in Scarborough Deanery. Much of the church is 12th Century. There is an outstanding font, with a tall oak cover carved in 1480. Of particular interest are the carved stalls with misericords.
We decided it was an ideal stop for our banana and coffee break, except Sid the Yorkshireman had run out of bananas. We found a bench, only to discover Paw Patrol had already been there.
Not only cats were attracted to the bench area. Spiders were too.
We left the church to pass a walled garden.
Then Hackness Hall
Despite the sun, in the valley bottom the frost persisted.
We soon got our first view of Scarborough in far distance, the end of the COT COMBO WALK.
We were surprised to find the National Union of Miners still had buildings in the vicinity of Scalby.
We went into the grounds of the Church of St Lawrence and on leaving came across a memorial to a very brave lady Jane Harrison.
After lunch in Scalby, we then followed a sea cut on The Tabular Hills Walk to Mowthorpe Farm. Fooding used to be a serious problem in the Vale of Pickering as the River Derwent flowed from the Moors into the meadows below. In wet weather the River Derwent had to carry as much as 50 times more water than during the dry periods. Sir George Cayley organised the building of a cutting between 1800 and 1810, the work being done by hand. The Sea Cut takes surplus water from the Derwent across to Scalby Beck which flows into the North Sea and so reduces the flooding on the Vale. An amazing structure.
On the opposite side of the cut we saw a deer and at the bridge we saw a heron take off.
There was about a mile of road walking before we ascended steeply into the forests. At this point I checked my fitbit to see what my pulse rate was. However, there was no reading so I said I must be dead. At which point Carol offered the kiss of life. However, I had to point point out I could be the carrier of the Black Death or whatever the bug was and that wouldn’t be a good idea. Eventually the reading appeared and my pulse had gone from 58 resting to 109 – a big ascent.
A descent along Moor Road followed.
Here Sid the Yorkshireman, also known as Kia King and formerly known as Skoda King, thought about replacing his current car at a bargain price.
But in the end this one wouldn’t start for some reason.
There were some very big trees in this area.
There was one final ascent and descent back to the car.
We had missed a viewpoint (looking over a fence/wall) at Broxa so drove back to see it. A fine end to a great days walking.
Miles Walked 14
Steps 31,000
Calories burnt 3,300
We saw no other walkers all day!
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