Day 17 -- Danby Wiske to Osmotherley, 10 miles

Nature provided another pleasant day for walking in the countryside. At a railway overpass, I came upon Geoff and Dave, who said they were former railroad men, watching the signals down the line in anticipation of an oncoming train. I had met both of them previously. They are completing their final stage of the Coast to Coast, Richmond to Robin Hood’s Bay.

I quickly launched into a discussion of trains, drawing upon my extensive knowledge of railways acquired in the 1950s when my Lionel locomotive chugged around the Christmas tree. I must have impressed them, because they let me walk with them a good part of the morning.

After we stopped along the trail for a morning coffee break, Andrew came along, and I joined him for a short walk to Ingleby Cross, where he and I reached the pub just in time for another break. As we prepared to leave the pub, Normand and Marie-Helene arrived, so Andrew and I extended our break. The four of us were ready to leave, when Leo, Lynn and Charlotte arrived. Having already had enough breaks for the day, I decided to move on with Andrew, Normand and Marie-Helene. We continued on as Geoff and Dave arrived at the pub for their second break. I’m beginning to understand why walking is so popular in Britain, and it has very little to do with actual walking.

The Mt. Grace Priory is one of those heritage sites that dates back many centuries – this one to the year 1400. When not actually breaking, the British people visit these sites to remember how people once built large stone buildings between their work breaks.

Despite all my breaks, I finally arrived at my destination. It was too late in the day for another break, so I joined Geoff and Dave for happy hour, after which we went to dinner and developed solutions for all the world’s problems. I don’t remember all the solutions, but I think some of them involved locomotives and Christmas trees.