Today is another single rest day, this time in Hessle. This section of the walk consists of single rest days after two or four days because that works better for the itinerary.
We have booked breakfast for a lazy 8:30 timing but nearly miss it as we sleep in initial twenty past eight! After breakfast, it’s time for the usual washing and sock restoration routine and we call home for an update from Tom. This seems to take us most of the morning and we set off into Hessle town centre for lunch quite late.
We walk for just over a mile down a wide residential street lined in part by Victorian wedding cake houses and enter the pretty town centre. Hessle closes on Sunday afternoons, even Boots, and we struggle to find anywhere for food. Eventually, Costa coffee provide us with sandwiches to take away only: it’s too late to eat in. We sit on a bench in the churchyard and eat our lunch, including the obligatory artisanal crisps. Give me Walkers any day. Then it’s back up the hill again to the Premier Inn.
Both of us have been noticing just how much we have been eating over the last few days. We were worried that we might put on weight but it turns out that a mile’s walking burns around 100 calories, so we’re probably just playing catch-up. We do some more route and accommodation planning then settle down to watch the world athletics championships. How can anyone throw anything more than 90 metres?
Yvonne has driven up to meet us again and we have a long chat, exchange some stuff and have tea and dinner together. She has driven roughly along our walking route and, like us, has been surprised by the beauty of the Lincolnshire wolds.
She is concerned about the Scottish part of our trip, in particular the Southern Uplands. So are we and this section is now only two weeks away. Unwaymarked walking is much more difficult in Scotland because footpaths are not on the Ordnance Survey maps. This is because Scotland has the right to roam enshrined in law, so everywhere is a right of way. It would be useful if the paths were marked though. For now, however, we just need to think about Yorkshire and, having received the maps, plan our routes for the next few days.