SAMARITAN WAY DAY 2

Sunday 31/01/2010. Very cold overnight but I slept and rested well enough but was glad to get moving and get the blood circulating with a good tramp in morning sun up onto the moorland plateau. Today the weather started of wonderful and only improved as the day wore on. Sunshine clear sky little wind and not a soul on the moors, sometimes it all comes together to make a perfect day and this is such.. My route covers a couple of miles before dropping down to traverse Little Fryup Dale to it's head where I made a stiff climb - I'm sure I was off-route here but couldn't see a better alternative, up onto the plateau to the north of Trough House, I passed the House then down into Rosedale and on to the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge, a pint of shandy didn't half go down well, it's Sunday lunch-time and despite the isolation of the Inn it was full to brimming with families taking the easy way to the Traditional English Sunday Lunch. I should have liked to join them, but mine is a harsher road to travel! From The Lion it was a brief walk down the road to Farndale Junction then along the trackbed of the old Middlesbrough/Rosedale mineral railway which in it's day delivered ironston to the blast furnesses of dirty industrial Teesside, but now it's main use is recreational. It was only on this section with the conveniently placed pub and parking, that I encountered other walkers on the 18 miles of today's route, so most folks seem to be keeping close to civilisation if they venture out at all, strange the conditions are perfect here, or maybe the moors are just so much quieter than so many other places, but after the buzz of the Lake District, this is no complaint. On then into quiet Westerdale where I had a bit of unscheduled fun crossing the river near New House then uphill to spend the night near the mouth of the dale. My picture is of Trough House.