Day 5 North York Moors to Newcastle 66 miles

Woke up twice this morning once at 4am and then again at 8.30am I decided to get up on the second occasion but it was very hard to get back to sleep following the first. The cold was bitter and there was a layer of water in the inside of the tent. However the view that met me when I woke more than made up for it. The low mist covering the moors made them look stunning.

I set off at 8.30am more to warm up than anything else taking it slowly through the winding roads that rose and fell frequently. Once off the moors I started off up the A19 but switched to quieter roads quickly the lorries getting decidedly close today. It was a good choice and I soon found myself in Hartlepool, where I had lunch on the dock.

I then took the coastal road to Peterlee before rejoining the A19 hoping for a quieter ride further north. I was in luck and I made good time up to Newcastle getting in mid afternoon. I had a lovely dinner with the O'Dohertys and then went out for a few drinks with Gavin.

Day 4 Hull to North York Moors 56 miles

I was extremely tired when I left Hull and wanted to give up at this point, all my muscles aching. By Beverley I was refocused and picked up a couple of layers as I'd been warned that it was going to be cold in the hills.

From here I carried on passing through Wetwang where I stopped for lunch before heading on to Malton and up to Helmsley. Two Jack Russell puppies with their head out of a van window amusing me greatly. The rain held until I arrived in the last town before the Moors and just as I walked into the shop to pick up provisions, the heavens opened solidly for a half hour. With the best wished of a local, I head off, checking with a the blue spectacles wearing postie, that I was going in the right direction, as I left the town. I didn't get too wet as I cycled up onto the Moors and after 3-4 miles of steep climbing I found a field to pitch in deciding the risk of a farmer with a gun as apposed to a car taking me out on the side of the road, was the lesser of two evils. Fortunately neither occurred but I was nervous until it got dark.