I am a little behind with my blog posts and as such please except my apologies. The Trans Penine Express is the venue for today's missive. At the moment we are just a few minutes in to our journey from Scarborough to Cardiff on what is a relatively quiet train. We had the forethought to book this leg in advance so we have comfortable seats with a table for Dale to rest his head / sleep / snore. Yesterday early saw us get up after a night of several pints in Whitby with our new friend Jerry. Not the Jerry who lectured us the day before but Jerry who regularly reminded us that he was 82 and does not regret turning down the offer of appointment with the Royal Bank of Canada in 56.

Jerry was happy to have worked in Leeds up until the early 80's and happier still to have retired in Whitby straight after. Jerry went on to explain to us that his doctor once gave him a piece of advice that he has lived by since. It's ok to go out for a few pints but you must then take 48 hours off to let the liver and kidneys purge and heal. Clearly this system works for Jerry, he's 82!

From that local pub we hopped in a cab and soon after found ourselves in Goathland. Goathland otherwise known as Aidensfield. The village used as the backdrop for the British TV Police Drama "Heartbeat".The Aidensfield Arms was our destination for dinner (lamb burgers) and some good conversation with our charming Hungarian server. A walk down to the Goathland Railway station found us on the set Harry Potter and its Hogwarts train station. Really cool, really cool indeed. After a further look around we hopped a cab back to our hotel in Upper Hawsker. The York House hotel and holiday caravan park didn't look much from the outside but books shouldn't be judged by their cover's they say.

A good nights sleep and we were standing at the top of the hill looking down into Robin Hood's Bay and the end of the C2C. We did as you are supposed to and threw our stones (Basil and Gary) into the North Sea completing their journey from the beach at St. Bees and the Irish Sea.A few photo ops later and the best bacon sandwich of the trip so far and we toasted the end. One last requirement was to convince the landlady of the coffee shop a couple of doors up from Wainwrights bar to accept our hiking boots as potential planters for her front step as we had seen in several places along the way.

Now back on the bus to Scarborough and the luxury Premier Inn. We checked in and wandered the sea front. Scarborough is an old Victorian seaside resort that is still in pretty good condition. Dale found a street vendor that sold his childhood favourite snack. Cockles with black pepper and malt vinegar was a walk down memory lane and as good as he remembered.Back to the PI for a nap and with recharged batteries Dale suggested another Indian dinner. I googled the nearest and highest rated and we soon set off on foot. Less than 10' out of the PI front door and we peered into the hotel restaurant windows and saw a buffet. We rethought the Indian Dinner and went in to ask the greeter what was on offer. He replied that tonight was curry night. All you can eat with 6 different dishes and all the extras was 6.99. Result as they say!So it's the next day.

We were up early again to prepare for the journey to Cardiff. I seem to have a touch of the Delhi belly but I'm sure it will pass. Tomorrow morning will take us to the Prince of Wales pub on Mary Street in Cardiff. It is Canada's home pub for the weekend. Looking forward to connecting with some guys from Victoria and of course we kick off against Ireland at Millennium Stadium at 14:30.

Cheerio!

Mark