Finish Line*

C2C – Day 17, plus 2: Wednesday 20 April – Back Home

Wayside wonder – primroses by the path above the North Sea cliffs

Settling back into home life, I would like to share some of Rob’s photos of his arrival at the North Sea on Cattersty Sands east of Middlesbrough – a full day before I got to Robin Hood’s Bay!

At Cattersty Sands – Rob, supported by his welcome party of friends Derek and Nikki, daughter Lauren, wife Christa, and friends Carol and Tim

Boots off – almost at the North Sea . . .

. . . and finally at the end of the C2C walk! Just one task remaining . . .

. . . to cast that pebble from St Bees in Cumbria into the North Sea!

Of course I love a spreadsheet, so I can’t resist sharing the facts and figures of our C2C walk:

What a great adventure our C2C walk has been. Looking back we have travelled many miles, climbed many hills, and taken in some of the best scenery that the wonderful countryside of northern England has to offer. The route itself has been spectacular, but it is the friendship, the camaraderie and the experiences that will really remain with us forever. We met so many great people along the way: family and friends, fellow walkers, accommodation hosts and strangers alike, whilst from afar we both had so much great support from family and friends, and from the team at Parkinson’s UK. Our thanks also to everyone who has followed Rob’s Facebook posts and my Blog, and for all of the kind and generous contributions to Parkinson’s UK. Thank you, everyone, for making our walk so unique and memorable!

I will sign off here from my C2C Blog. It has been a pleasure to share our experiences with everyone, and my thanks to you all for following our journey.

As ever, and usually with an outdoorsy theme, I will continue to post on Instagram @nickletjog

The Wain Stones at Hasty Bank, from Day 14 of our C2C Walk. We never did find out whether this outcrop is named after Alfred Wainwright who inspired the C2C – there is always so much more to discover, and so many, many more marvellous places to visit . . .

*Finish Line seems an appropriate song-title heading to conclude the story of our C2C walk. The melody was composed by Elton John and the song has a gospel flavour; it was included on Elton’s 2021 ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ album, that includes collaborations with some other artists. Thus, duetting with Elton, Finish Line also features Stevie Wonder on vocals, piano, and harmonica.

The lyrics of Finish Line are all about surviving tough times with the help of old friends. According to Elton: “Stevie and I go way back, almost 50 years of friendship but we’ve never done a duet. Originally, Stevie was just going to do the acoustic piano and the harmonica solo on this track but when we put the Kanye West choir on, Stevie decided to put his vocals on too. It sounds simply incredible. Stevie sounds like he’s 19 again. It was a special experience making this record with Stevie and I’m very grateful.”

So the song is really an ode to long-lasting friendship, and it is certainly well worth a listen!

Leave a comment Cancel reply