C2C day 10 – Reeth to Richmond
The sun shone brightly after some early morning rain, illuminating a lovely view from our bedroom window over Reeth and the Swale valley. Reeth was very picturesque in the sun, so we dawdled around the village green taking pictures. Eventually we headed off crossing Arkle Beck and walked beside the Swale.
'Cambridge House garden'
'Reeth in the sun'
'Mary walks beside the Swale'
While planning the C2C, reading about Marrick Priory outside Reeth sparked Graham's memory of an historical novel read decades ago. Graham dug out H.F.M. Prescott's 'The man on a donkey' and re-read it before the walk. It told a tale of the life of the nuns at Marrick priory, their walks up the nun's steps to Marske and Richmond for supplies, and the dissolution of the Priory under Cromwell and Henry VIII. The day's walk took Graham back centuries as we walked the same route the nuns had taken. Mary had grown up in England and in Australia missed the long and rich history of buildings and places she had been accustomed to. As well as being a walk through the English landscape, the C2C is also a walk through English history.
'Marrick Priory'
Just before the priory we met a farmer repairing a dry stone wall. He seemed happy to stop for a chat. He regarded maintaining the walls in good repair as just another part of good farming practice. We passed Marrick Priory then walked up the nun's steps through a wood, arriving hot and sticky at the top. It was warm and humid in the wood.
Crossing fields between Marrick and Marske, we met a C2C couple coming out of Nun Cote Nook farm. They recommended Elaine's Kitchen at the farm, so we detoured to the al fresco dining table for an early ploughman's lunch (Graham) and apple pie and ice cream (Mary).
We could see the path from Nun Cote Nook clearly imprinted by many C2C feet in the grassy fields for the next few miles. We stopped at Marske to have a look inside the unusually crenelated St Edmunds church. Near Reeth the day before, Graham had stepped awkwardly off a stile, straining an Achilles tendon. By the time we reached Marske it was becoming painful, so the break at the church was accompanied by a dose of painkillers.
We left Marske along worn grassy paths over the fields towards a white cairn below Applegarth Scar. The views over the Swale from the path under the Scar were impressive. Volunteers along this section of the path were repairing stiles and gates. We stopped for a chat, and told them how appreciative we were of the work they were doing.
'The well-worn path to Applegarth Scar'
'Sunny Swaledale'
After treading a muddy path through Whitecliffe wood, we followed a road down into Richmond with spectacular views over the town and castle. We dallied in the market square, surrounded by traffic, shops and what seemed like teeming crowds of people. The bustle of a town contrasted sharply with the tranquillity of our journey.
'First views of Richmond'
'Bustling Richmond market square'
We strolled down to the River View B&B at about 4.30, showered and were given tea and cakes on a terrace at the back of the house looking out over the Swale – delightful. In our room the low, sloping attic ceilings took some getting used to. We were reminded of a sign over a low door seen earlier during the walk – 'Bang your head here'.
'Delightful afternoon tea overlooking the Swale, River View B&B'
We walked back up to the Black Lion pub near the market square for drinks and met up with several of our C2C 'group'. We opted for a change from pub fare for dinner and went next door to a French restaurant where we had smoked mackerel rillettes and breaded brie followed by pork shank in cider and steak in pepper sauce. Some dishes were great and the others were good. It rained heavily while we were in the pub and restaurant, but had almost stopped by the time we headed back to the B&B.