At the end of the Coast to Coast

It’s slightly odd walking the Coast to Coast. You feel like you’re in some sort of bubble, isolated from the normal world. You walk across a quiet part of the country, staying in small villages with friendly pubs and B&Bs. The few people you see are all walkers, and because there’s so many people walking the route and so few places to stay, you see the same people day after day.

Then you get to the end, marching down to the sea at Robin Hood’s Bay. Suddenly there’s people everywhere. Happy tourists looking at craft shops; small children excitedly carrying buckets and spades; dogs wagging their tails happily whilst their owners eat fish and chips.

What these people think of the people walking down the main street with rucksacks is anyone’s guess.

Everything seems rather surreal as you approach the sea. Your journey is over. You’ve done it. It’s time to celebrate.

And then you spot the finish; the plaque on the wall that marks the end. It’s only a small plaque. Not much really. But there’s no feeling of disappointed because, frankly, the building that the plaque is attached to more than makes up for it. You quickly rush off to wet your boots, then you head inside. For the end of the Coast to Coast is the Bay Hotel pub. And who cares about monuments, signs and plaques when you can have a pint?