Breakfast was served at 8am sharp for all the guests so even though I was ready earlier I loitered in the common room waiting for our hosts to invite us to sit. Heather was gone, having left at 7:30. I am not sure either the Australians or I would catch up to her again. Because we all sat down to breakfast at the same time it was a slow process but since the day in front of me was relatively short, somewhere in the neighborhood of ten miles, I was not impatient. Weather forecast was a bit like yesterday— clouds, with some sun, and rain likely later in the afternoon. I suspect I have become accustomed (or resigned) to the weather variations here because it did not even give me pause that at some point along the way I might be in some precipitation. Because of the organization (or lack thereof) of breakfast I did not get on the road until 8:45am or so. Again I was one of the first to set out and had the road to myself. It was easy to pick up the route, all I had to do was go out of the hotel and turn right along the road.

Picture of the path through the very high bean field.

Like yesterday, today was mainly flat and mainly fields, pastures and lanes. My destination was Ingleby Cross which I expected to hit around lunch time. Shortly down the lane from the hotel I turned into the first field. I immediately felt like I was in the middle of a Stephen King novel. The path, barely discernible, went straight thorough the middle of a field of what looked like beans. The plants were chest and shoulder high on me and as I was walking I kept expecting something to swim out of the greenery and grab my legs and take me under. In addition, the footing was tricky as it was really muddy and I could not see the ground. It was a little surreal and I was really amused; I felt like I was swimming. But I plowed through it (literally!). After that I was generally walking along the sides of the fields and never again through the center of an active area. I passed corn, more beans, another plant I could not identify, more sheep, cows, and horses. I also spent a lot of time on the lanes, luckily with not too many cars.

I tired to take a selfie with the camera to show a sense of scale of the plants. They are surrounding me in this photo- not in the distance.

It was Saturday and like last weekend, it seemed that the cyclists were out in force. When walking down the lanes I did not have to worry about autos but two wheeled vehicles were tearing by frequently. Overall, though, I had the countryside to myself and it was very peaceful. Most of the time there was no indication of another human anywhere. I could not see any buildings nor hear any man made noises. The English countryside is an amazing environment- it creates the impression that you are alone, isolated, and remote but yet civilization is just around the next hedge. Couple that with the fact, because of the incredible numbers of public paths and rights of way all over the country, it is hard to believe that anyone who lives here can resist being out and about.

I stopped to take a picture of this corn field, captivated by the color and textures.

I was just outside of my destination, about 1/2 mile or so, when I ran into civilization again. I reached the motorway that I had to cross.  It lies directly on the Coast to Coast route. Beside the motorway on the west side, the side I approached from, was a gas station and a small cafe. Being hungry I decided to see what the cafe had to offer. Walking in I got the immediate impression of a British version of a truck stop and greasy spoon. So I did what anyone would do when confronted with such a place, I ordered “chips with cheese” and snacked. It was actually quite busy with many ordering breakfast. (After being here for nearly two weeks I still do not get “beans on toast” for breakfast, or for any meal, really.)

The British version of a truck stop!

Finishing my snack I stood by the motorway looking for my chance to dart across to the other side. Eventually it came and I went. It looked like it might start raining so I stopped at a bus stop, where there was a bench, and put on my rain jacket and poncho, then walked towards Ingleby Cross. Having the afternoon free, now that I had more or less reached my destination, I decided to go and check out the Mount Grace Priory, an old Carthusian monastery founded in the early 1400s. The order was founded in the 1000’s as an ascetic group of monks, living a life of prayer and contemplation in cells with no engagement with the outside world. At Mount Grace one of the cells had been restored and it was possible to see how the monks lived. In addition, this order and, in particular, this priory was famous in its time for its running water and indoor plumbing. Being curious about the way of life of an ascetic monk I headed towards the Priory. It was only about a 40 minute walk but the downside was that I had to walk along another motorway, which was really uncomfortable. But I persevered and finally got there, intact.

Crossing the motorway, easily the most dangerous part of the trip!

The priory had been bought a few hundred years ago by a family who had renovated and lived in the main house (where the abbot had lived) and so I looked around the house before heading out to the priory grounds. The church is a ruin now, but with clear demarcation of where the different parts of it stood. They had a nice diagram showing the layout of the whole compound, which was quite large, actually. I wandered over to see the cell that had been restored to get an idea of what kind of place a monk was more or less voluntarily imprisoned in for his life. Well, I do not know if the cells at this priory are typical cells but to my mind it was quite a luxurious set up. There were three rooms on a ground floor, and one large room on the second floor. In addition each cell had a large garden out back. And, of course, the running water latrine. These guys may not have interacted with anyone but the lived a cushy life compared to many in their time!

If you pay attention you can find splashes of color everywhere.

After absorbing everything I could at the priory I started looking at my maps to see if there was an alternate route, via the ever present footpaths, to get back up to Ingleby Cross and my B&B for the night. My topo map was quite useful for this and verifying some data with the nice young lady who was selling tickets I took off for the hills and a little exploring. Luckily my map was good and I soon found myself connecting up with the Coast to Coast going west back towards Ingleby Cross. This evening’s accommodation was easy to find- right off the route. I have not yet checked the weather for tomorrow but I am keeping my fingers crossed because it will be a long day, nearly a 20 miler- with lots of up and down. One of the more challenging days of the hike, I believe.

The ruins of the priory church.