North York Moors........... stepping back in time

While the main focus of our Easter trip south to the East Riding was for Steve to get his football fix and catch up with family, we also decided to make the most of the glorious weather by venturing to the North York Moors.

Route for the day was staring at Grosmont. It wasn't deliberate, but we timed it perfectly to get a steam train on the North York Moors Railway back down the line to Goathland, aka Aidensfield in the TV drama Hearbeat.

We filled up on nostalgia (and cream tea) before heading back down the Railway Trail back to Grosmont. Needless to say we couldn't go past Beck Hole without stopping in at the wonderfully quaint Birch Hall Inn for a pint with a pork pie and pickle chaser for Steve. It was great to see and hear the various trains as we made our way back to Grosmont in glorious sunshine.

Next stop Whitby for fish and chips - we were making the most of being in the area. We parked up at the Abbey which would ensure we had to work off some of the calories we consumed by going up the 199 steps!! It was a glorious evening with a beautiful sunset over the harbour and Abbey. Suffice to say, we definitely made the most of the day.

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Salomon Mission GTX Boot

I've had these on a few times now and so far they are just what I've been after to get me through the winter for most of my days out. Salomon describe them as being perfect for "light hiking" - take that whatever way you want ;-) They come in at 1210g for the pair and feel fairly easy on the feet. They've handled saturated grassy stuff without me applying the famous arse plant (so far!!). They even seemed to be OK on rocky stuff too. Where I have been really impressed with them is how they handled the snow on Na Gruagaichan. It was hard enough that we were kicking steps. This was easy enough for Steve in his Scarpa SL's and Iain in his La Sportiva Nepals. Initially I followed their steps then decided to give it a go myself. I occasionally had to kick a couple of times on some of the really hard stuff, probably more down to my poor technique than the boot, but they managed well on the cover we had for the ascent. As my balance is rubbish I decided to apply

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Mullach Clach a'Bhlair

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Blethering Blonde

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