Walking 274,000 Steps in 5 days! The Cleveland Way

We Did it! What an experience!
Here is a collage of photos from our adventure! please read the full description if you're interested in hearing about our experience!
I knew that the Cleveland Way was going to be a spectacular and beautiful walk as we’ve done a lot of it in sections over the years, with many of the locations being favourites of ours and our families.
That said, there were parts we’d never walked before, and we enjoyed exploring, such as finding High Paradise farm, which was an oasis and the turning point for my feet. 4 blisters had started to appear 7 miles in as coming down from Sutton bank, 2 on each of the pads on the soles just where it becomes my big toes and the 2 to the side of them.
Worse still I’d forgotten the new walking poles that my Son & Daughter had bought me for Fathers Day as I’d left them at home, though that was solved by a quick call to my Wife.
I continued to walk through the pain, and we completed nearly 26 miles on the first day, meeting Sarah and Hannah at the B&B for dinner.
Day 2 my feet were sore, though I was determined to walk through this. We were raising money for a good cause after all and the Men & Women of the RNLI go through worse. So with Compeed blister plasters on my feet, we set off. Day 2 was going to be the hardest day with the most climbs. Ended up being 7 ascents totalling 949m (so roughly equivalent to 2 of 3 Yorkshire's biggest peaks).
The last climb to the top of Captain Cook's monument took every ounce of strength and determination. I even got down to doing the counting strategy, so just counting how many steps and when I couldn’t count coherently anymore, I just kept counting in 10s and when I couldn’t take a stride, I just shuffled.
We got to the B&B at 10pm that evening in Great Ayton and I was shaking with pain, adrenalin and god only knows what. Dom made me eat and then I just fell asleep.
Waking the next morning, the sheets were covered in blood from my feet and I showered, removed the old Compeed, reapplied and started again.
We didn’t reach Runswick Bay on day 3 as it was 21:30 when we got to Staithes nearly 25 miles covered and the B&B stopped allowing people in at 22:00! The plan was to get a taxi, the problem being it is so rural that there were no taxis!?! Thankfully a lady who owned Dottie's tearoom was just locking up, overheard our plight and offered us a lift. Talk about a stroke of luck.
Day 4 the challenge was on to catch up on the 2.6 miles we’d missed on day 3, though thankfully the terrain was not as hilly (still hilly though mainly 50-100m ascents/descents). So walking with short breaks. Ruby got too tired by the time we got to Robin hoods bay, where Renee (Andy’s wife) came and picked her up. Then we pressed on for the last 3 miles to Ravenscar!
Dom went to the pub like the tortoise and the hare type story, while Andy and I pressed on. We finished walking at 22:15 as it started to get dark, completing 28 miles. And headed back to Andy’s for the night. If you were wondering, the hare did catch up, even after a pint. Though Andy didn't let him live that one down 😉
The final day was going to be the easiest, which from a walking perspective it probably was. For my feet though, it was hard. I’d started the morning cleaning up the pool of blood that was on the floor from where my feet were hanging over the edge of the bed. The sights were fabulous, and we rediscovered some lovely coves that I’d forgotten about, though after Cayton Bay, my feet had developed blisters on the back and under the heels, and I was practically hobbling the final 3 miles on the 2 sticks like some weird Jim Henson four legged puppet.
It was at this point though, that I realised what the problem was; I’d used the new walking socks Hannah and Dom got me for Christmas and hadn’t worn in yet! What a rookie error!
We completed the final day covering 24 miles and celebrated with Renee, Sarah and Hannah at the end, along with being reunited with Ruby, who was looking better after a rest.
We smashed the £1009 target for the RNLI.
Though now my feet are in tatters. I have a blister 6cm x 4cm on the pad on my left foot and 5cm x 3cm on my right, which I cannot put pressure on as it is agony. They are looking better than yesterday.
I am so pleased and elated that we did it and so grateful so many of you chose to help support the RNLI with us.
We've had lots of lovely messages throughout our adventure and are so pleased you enjoyed the daily updates.
As with all things in life, at the end of one goal, you need to set another. At the end of our walk was a sign to the Wolds Way, we also met a couple walking the coast-to-coast on our journey, plus there are so many amazing places to explore. Who knows where our feet will take us next!
If you do still wish to contribute to the RNLI, the JustGiving page will remain open until November www.justgiving...
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