Our Grand Tour of Europe

Photos of the highlights of our week in Edinburgh (13 photos) are posted here.

We spent this week in a stone cottage just across the Forth of Firth from the historic city of Edinburgh. This gave us the experience of being in the country but also very near a big city. We were a bit laid back… resting up for our upcoming walk across England. For a change of pace, we tried something new—Charley and I each had our own day with Kelly, giving the other a “day off.” So Kelly spent four days in Edinburgh and got to know the city very well. The highlight of our week was definitely the Military Tattoo on Friday night, a fabulous musical performance featuring massed corps of pipes and drums on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.

August 7 - 13

In 2002, when Kelly was eight, we did a 55-mile circular walk in the Cotswolds region of England. We really enjoyed this different approach to travel and the opportunity to intensely experience a beautiful area of England. We also enjoyed the physical challenges of this type of vacation. The following year we did a 50+ mile walk in the Alsace region of France, along the Vosges Mountains and the Route du Vin.

When we began to plan our Grand Tour of Europe, Charley and I decided we wanted to include one or two long distance walks… ideally the types of walks we would not be able to do on a typical vacation from work. We read about the190-mile Coast-to-Coast walk across England and decided this would be a great way to conclude our summer in Great Britain. We didn’t tell Kelly for some time that she would be walking 190 miles across England!

The Coast-to-Coast walk was developed by Alfred Wainwright in the early 1970s. Wainwright was a noted walker, guidebook writer and artist who lived in the Lake District of England. He designed a route across northern England that began at St. Bees on the Irish Sea and ended at Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. A pure linear route across England between these two points would be about 125 miles. Wainwright’s route was 190 miles… planned to incorporate unique and sometimes challenging environments, not always the shortest route. He also designed his walk in segments that allowed for overnight stays in or near specified towns or small villages. About two-thirds of the route is through national parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. The Coast-to-Coast walk isn’t an official path like some other well-known walks in England like the Pennine Way or the Cleveland Way. The Coast-to-Coast Walk takes advantage of existing footpaths, bridleways, tracks and roads that have public right-of-way. It’s estimated that approximately 7000 to 8000 people a year complete the Coast-to-Coast Walk.

We haven’t been a very physically active family… although we live near the mountains, I’m sorry to say we rarely go hiking. We’re not very interested in camping out in a tent. But we have enjoyed these walks—and especially the Coast-to-Coast walk. None of our walks have been easy, and all of them have included the unexpected. We’ve liked the feeling of purpose and of accomplishment. And we enjoyed the ultimate in slow travel… walking through another country in places that most tourists never go. Charley and I were especially proud of Kelly for doing the C2C walk… such an achievement for an eleven year old! And not bad for a 48 and a 59 year old either!

August 14 - 20

We were much more confident on the second week of the walk… we settled into a comfortable routine and really began to enjoy the experience—even Kelly! I liked the sense of purpose and accomplishment associated with each day, especially in good weather! We were seeing beautiful scenery and experiencing aspects of English history in a very unique way. We all enjoyed the interaction with other walkers.

In Week Two we transitioned from the Lake District to the Yorkshire Dales and began to make our way towards the North York Moors.

August 20 - 26, 2004

This week represented a major transition in our trip… the completion of the 190-mile Coast-to-Coast walk across England and also the end of our summer in the United Kingdom. We were in England and Scotland a total of 74 days and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. The Coast-to-Coast walk was definitely the grand finale… and much more difficult than we envisioned when we planned our trip. The difficulty wasn’t so much the distance, but the need to press on every day regardless of weather. The conditions during and after rain were especially challenging. Despite eating enormous pub meals every night, we all ended the walk in much better physical shape. We enjoyed the physical challenge, the opportunity to intensely experience several beautiful areas of England, and the people we met along the way. The Coast-to-Coast walk is definitely one of the highlights of Our Grand Tour… I know it’s something I’ll always remember!

We finished the walk in Robin Hood’s Bay late Tuesday afternoon and had a fun evening with other walkers celebrating in the hotel pub. The next day we took a train to Kingston-on-Hull, a large city in northern England, and boarded an overnight ferry to Zeebrugge, Belgium. We enjoyed spending the night on the ferry, a new experience for Kelly. We concluded our week with two days in the beautiful town of Bruges, Belgium, where we stayed in a very special B&B.

Saturday, August 20 - Osmotherly to Clay Bank Top (11 miles)

This turned out to be one of the very best days of our Coast-to-Coast walk…. great weather and amazing scenery as we crossed the Cleveland Hills. We all hiked well in terrain that would have been very difficult for us earlier in the walk. Kelly had an especially great walk today.

Kelly turned on the Olympics while we were getting ready. The British sports channel is focusing on sports where Britain is expected to do well, so we watched sculling and yachting this morning… probably not the sports Americans are watching at home! Last night we had watched some equestrian events. Unless there are Americans competing, we are rooting for Great Britain.

We had a good breakfast at the Vane House and chatted with the Group of Eight. We still haven’t quite figured out how they are all connected, or which of the Two Men is Melanie’s “partner” Chris. I told Geoffrey and Bill that the use of the English term “partner” is quite different than in the USA. In the USA (at least where we live), “partner” could mean business partner or gay partner. In Britain—in conversation and in the press—“partner” normally seems to mean a steady boyfriend or girlfriend. It isn’t quite clear to me if this is always a “live-in” partner. I actually think that for adults, I like the term “partner” better than “boyfriend” or “girlfriend.”

We got two packed lunches from Mr. Abbot (shocked to find they were five pounds each, although they did include a box of juice) and stopped at the post office/shop to get some candy for Kelly. We then hiked back up the main street of Osmotherly to the forest road… back the way we had come into the village yesterday. Osmotherly is actually about a mile off the route of the Coast-to-Coast walk, but definitely a much more interesting village than Ingleby Cross, the official stopping point for yesterday’s segment. The Cleveland Way and the Coast-to-Coast walk intersect outside of Osmotherly, and our entire walk today was on a stretch of the Cleveland Way. The Cleveland Way is a very popular long-distance walk… 108 miles. Unlike the Coast-to-Coast walk, it’s an official National Trail and is signposted the entire way.

When we reached the top of Beacon Hill, we also intersected with another famous walk—the Lyke Wake Walk. We had learned of this walk from our C2C friend Bill, who has done it several times. The Lyke Wake Walk is a 40 mile walk that must be done in 24 hours…. it supposedly replicates a walk that was done hundreds of years ago when corpses were carried as quickly as possible over the mountains for burial. The symbol for the Lyke Wake Walk is a little coffin, and Bill said that when you completed the walk in the allotted time, you get a little pin with the coffin emblem. His best time for completing the 40 miles was 19 hours—I can’t imagine! I read in my North York Moors guidebook that some years ago as many as 20,000 people a year did the Lyke Wake Walk. This resulted in the trail becoming seriously eroded, and large group walks were discouraged. Today perhaps 3,000 people a year do the Lyke Wake Walk, and this section of the C2C walk is very nicely maintained as a result… with big wide paths, paved in stone in some places. We didn’t see any Lyke Wake walkers… Bill said they start at Beacon Hill at midnight, which probably explains why we didn’t see them when we passed there at 10 am.

The views from Beacon Hill were fabulous—we ran into some local walkers on a circular hike, and one of the men pointed out to us where we’d be walking today… across the moors, up and down over several peaks in front of us. Our walk today wasn’t long but included five different hill climbs and a total elevation of 2700 feet… up then down, up then down…

This section of the walk was almost totally through the moors… treeless plains covered with a low scrub, most often heather. We are fortunate to be walking when the heather is in full bloom… today the moors were simply covered with the beautiful purple plants. As always, sheep were grazing here and there, seemingly miles away from any farm. Because of the lack of trees and the clear day, we could see for miles and miles. Geoffrey passed us early in the day and pointed out the distinctive peak of Roseberry Topping in the distance and nearby Easby Hill with the monument that recognizes the famous explorer born in this region, Captain James Cook. We could also see the industrial mass of Middlesbrough, the most populated area we’ve seen on the walk. Ahead of us we had a clear view of the peaks we’d cross later in the day. Bill was walking on the road again today, but Geoffrey hadn’t walked here before and wanted to see the scenery on the moors.

It was a beautiful Saturday in August, and we saw quite a few day-walkers out enjoying the countryside. We talked with one retired couple who told us they had hiked the Appalachian Trail a few years ago. The woman had also done the C2C. From Beacon Hill we crossed Scarth Wood Moor, then walked through woods at the base of the moors for about a mile. We saw Paul and Sue at a phone booth when we crossed an intersection—but where was Tammy? In the next section of woods we had to read the directions carefully to make sure we were on the right path. We stopped to sit on a bench at a viewpoint and the Two Men came by, immediately heading off on the wrong path. Charley asked them, “Are you sure you want to go that way?” and we showed them the map and they went off in the right direction. They told us they often just follow their instinct and end up going the wrong way!

Not much later, we met an elderly lady coming on to the path from a nearby village, walking with an elderly dog that could barely move. Kelly stopped to pet the dog, and Charley (who has a soft spot for older ladies) initiated a conversation with the lady. We ended up talking with her for maybe fifteen minutes… learned about the dog, her hip operation, and the walking trips she had made as a girl with her father in the Lake District. As we were saying goodbye to her, Geoffrey, the Two Men, and Paul and Sue all appeared from down another path. They had all taken a wrong turn back in the woods. Paul and Sue said Tammy was taking a day off—she had problems with her feet, and when she took the band-aids off, one of her toes had “exploded.” She was catching a ride with the Sherpa Van and will hopefully continue the walk tomorrow. We let them all pass us… it was a beautiful day and we wanted to enjoy it. After we came out of the woods, we climbed onto Live Moor and began what our guidebook described as “the start of a long and unbroken march over the crest of the celebrated Cleveland skyline.” We stopped to eat lunch at the cairn at the top of Live Moor and said hello as the women from the Group of Eight pass us… we watched them go down Live Moor and then head up Carlton Moor. We ended up walking among them much of the day and enjoyed the interaction. There is a gliding club at the top of Carlton Moor… we would have liked to see some gliders, but didn’t see any today.

August 28 - September 3

We have arrived in France… our home for the next 7-1/2 months. After the comfortable environment of our summer in England, we stepped into a more dramatically different culture and the challenges of operating in a different language. We enjoyed our first week in Paris, despite the problems we encountered related to our long-stay visas. We especially enjoyed our day-trip to Giverny… and the fact that we have another whole week to experience this wonderful city of light.

Saturday, August 28

Our beds in Bruges were so comfortable, and it was really hard to get up this morning. But we were excited about heading to Paris—and our seven-and-a-half months in France—and we needed to re-pack our bags for the train trip. Kelly’s turquoise bag is enormously heavy with all of her books. We went ahead and carried the bags downstairs when we went down to breakfast—Charley was sweating when he sat down to eat after maneuvering the three big bags down the two twisty flights of steps. Benno and Frieda served another bountiful breakfast… they are such nice people. Charley had the eggs today, and even Kelly ate a good breakfast for a change. We shared our table with two women from California, perhaps a bit younger than me. I was sorry we just had the one meal to share with them, as we had a lot to talk about. One of the women works for Nestle and is on a temporary assignment in Switzerland. Now that’s the kind of assignment I need! She gets to fly home every six weeks or they pay for someone come to see her. She said she’s had a hard time getting family members to come, so this one friend has been able to come several times. Nestle has just told her that her assignment’s ending, so now she’s trying to do a lot of traveling that she wishes she’d done before. They were very interested in hearing about our trip… especially my dropping out of the corporate world to do this. I liked them both a lot.

We hated to say goodbye to Benno and Frieda… they are great hosts and this is really the best place we’ve stayed since our trip began. Benno wrote on our bill, “You are lovely people,” and I would say the same about them! I think the price was also very reasonable for our enormous two-story suite… we paid 115 euro per night, including the breakfast. When I corresponded with Benno by e-mail to inquire about availability, he suggested that we could take one of their double rooms, which would be big enough to include a cot for Kelly… it would have been somewhat cheaper. We peeked in one of their other rooms and it was very very nice, but nothing like our giant suite. I’m glad I paid the extra amount for the loft room—we deserved a reward after our walk across England. We really liked being able to spread out after sharing small rooms for 19 nights.