Day 14 - TGO Challenge 2015 - North Water Bridge to Nether Woodston

 

Date: Thursday 21 May

Route: as planned

Distance: 17 km (Cum: 327)

Ascent: 300 metres (Cum: 11100)

Time taken: 4.5 hrs including 0.7 hrs breaks - (Cum: 109.4 hours including 22.2 hours breaks)

Weather: drizzly

Click on the link below (Day 14) for details of our planned route:

http://www.topwalks.com/tgoc2015.html

It rained overnight and continued drizzly, but not unpleasantly so, all day. Waterproofs came on and off and we eventually gave up with them.

Leaving the campsite at 8.20, we headed across the busy main road and over the narrow bridge across the River North Esk.

Soon we were on quiet country lanes and tracks in pleasant farming countryside. We were following Rob Slade and his three cohorts, with Barbara and Ellie close behind us. They were the only Challengers we saw before reaching the sea today, despite there having been loads at the campsite.

A partridge ran ahead of us for a while, pheasants replaced the previously ubiquitous grouse, and hedgerow plants like red campion, bluebells and comfrey lined the verges.

We joined Rob's team briefly, and we chatted to Barbara and Ellie for a while during a vergeside interlude before walking with them up to the turn to Tangleha, their finishing point.

Whilst we were sitting on the verge a car drew to a halt beside us. After a brief explanation of what we were doing we were invited back to the man's 'tower', a distinctive building on our road into Montrose. I wonder what he would have said if we'd turned up!

Anyway, we didn't. Sue and I headed on past a friendly local man to the beach at Nether Woodston, where a helpful couple took the picture featured in the previous entry, and we took the selfie which is the bottom of the self explanatory photos for today.

Sadly the café at St Cyrus was closed, so we caught the bus to Montrose for a sandwich in Greggs before signing in at Challenge Control. This year's goodies are StrideOut foot oil, an aquapac drysack, Nikwax garment cleaner and proofer, a white Hanwag t-shirt and the usual fridge stickers kindly donated by Mark Storey.

Thanks go to all the sponsors, especially Hanwag and The Great Outdoors magazine.

I'm ending this entry from the luxury of the Links Hotel (it's the first time we've not used the campsite) at around 5pm, before adjourning to what is guaranteed to be a most sociable evening next door at the Park Hotel before we travel home tomorrow in first class luxury.

Another great Challenge event. Thanks and congratulations go to all those involved in the organising of the TGO Challenge and its peripheral activities. 

There's a slideshow for the day (34 images) - here. Click on the first image, then click 'slideshow'.