Day 9 Richmond to Ingleby Cross

An unashamed quote from Wainwright ‘If you are fond of placid rural scenery and have an interest in farming you might enjoy this section of the walk; but if your preference is for high ground and rough hills you will find it tedious.  This crossing from Swaledale to the Cleveland hills is the only section of the route that lies wholly over low ground  There is no escape…’

AW can find nothing good about this stretch.  The only reason I think he must have put it all as one section, is to get the torture over all in one go!  23 miles is a long walk, but at least it is all on the flat and due to the opening up of footpaths, there is little road walking, which, I understand, was not the case at the time when AW wrote the first editon of his book.

It wasn’t all bad

Richmond was bright with early autumn sunshine, with fine views of the castle.

The walk began with a pleasant stroll along the Swale.

Ok, so it does get a bit flat and arable,

but there is a bit of dairy to alleviate the brown.

You may find the odd bridge,

and babbling brook.

Signs vary from formal,

to informal.

And some farmers do have a distinct

sense of humour.

There are two major road to negotiate, the A1 you go under, but the A19 take your life in your hands as there is no one over  bar dodging the traffic.  It is so close to Ingleby ad the end I wasn’t sure I would be able to run fast enough, thankfully I am here to tell the tale, and tomorrow is another day, which, according to AW, will be much better!