Weathermen and Whitby

Well the weathermen in England are about as accurate as those in the US.  Woke up this morning to overcast sky but none of the wind and precipitation we were warned to expect.  We got a sleep in as well, welcome after the early mornings of some of the long days and welcome for me because I wandered down to the town common last night and watched 8 year-old lambs behave like soccer hooligans.  They were so cute, running around playing tag with each other and periodically stopping-by crashing into each other and then shoving one another for dominance. Tried to take some photos but I think the locals thought I was crazy and the lambs were not sure what to make of my flash in the dusk light.
Back to today, the weather staff did get the cold temps correct so I was finally able to pull out my long john top which kept me comfortable as we climbed up a small hill, into a valley and then out again.  So much for climbing being done!  We found a well preserved Roman road which ran from York to the coast built now just under two thousand years ago.  It is a pretty cool thing to come across in the middle of fields filled with sheep and think that legionnaires used it.
We did a bit of fell running (did I tell you our guide holds at least one fell running world record?). He also finished the Bob Graham race which is something like 72 miles and 42 mountain tops in 24 hours!  Guess I should stop complaining about the hills.
We saw a steam train coming along the tracks and ran the trail to try to catch it.  We could not quite do so. We finished near a military early warning system left over from the cold war.  It was supposed to give Europe a three minute warning on the start of world war three.  Rather strange building in the middle of nowhere in the Yorkshire moors.
Upon our lunchtime return some of us decided to ride into Whitby for a look around.
Whitby is on the coast, north of where we will finish tomorrow and is known as a major fishing port and market.  It also is where Captain Cook trained as a young sailor and where Dracula came ashore in literature. Back in the 700's it had a huge monastery, now in ruins and that monastery which had both nuns and monks was run by a woman!  Pretty amazing as back then this would have been a major communication point for points to the east.  I visited the abbey remains and walked among the shops in town, stopping for a Yorkshire tea, and a scone with clotted creme for a snack.
Back at the hotel, I walked into town to photograph some Heartbeat things as judging from the number of tourists passing through, the connection is a big deal.  On the way back, a year old lamb caused a traffic jam.  She decided that the middle of the road was a great potty stop and no number of cars would budge her until she was done.  It was really funny to watch as she took quite a while.  When finished she slowly walked to the side, making it clear who was in control.
I have mixed feelings about tomorrow. Excited to finish what I started but a bit sad to see the physical test end.  It has been a test a times-for the legs and the feet but I'm proud of myself for doing it and grateful for all my readers and your notes here and on FB.  Cannot wait to post pictures to show you details!