Blakey Ridge to Grosmont (Part 2)

(Continued from Part I. Also, complete pics for Part 2 can be found at end of Part I)

Gorse gave us some challenges in other ways. There is a common game bird here, a grouse, that we caught glimpses of lifting briefly up out of the heather and flapping back down. Flip the “r” and the “o” with those two words and we had a fun tongue twister on our hands.  And since both plant and bird kept us company over many miles, the words “grouse” and “gorse” were frequently transposed in conversation.  Add some dyslexia in addition to general loopiness after so many miles, and it was easy to mix both up with that forsaken little hamlet, Gorst, WA, most famous for accidents and Bremerton Shipyard rush hour traffic.  “Look, a Gorst!” “Wow, that Grouse smells good!” “I think I heard a Gorse!”  And so forth. Had a lovely mid-hike stop at the Farm Stand coffee, snacks and gifts adjacent to a BnB in the middle of nowhere.  It was so wonderful to stop for lunch since we missed the pack lunch today and get my obligatory Flat White coffee. Sat on the picnic tables in the sun and watched a couple try to train a happy but unruly puppy while they were eating lunch in front of him. Grosmont presented as another one street town with a twist. Originally home to lead miners, now Grosmont was home to a happy place for steam train enthusiasts with the most idyllic, quaint little train station and a continual parade of old wooden steamers headed to two destinations within an hour away. There was clear pride in all aspects of the station- whitewashed ticket office, wait rooms, loos, and a gift shop with baby blue and bright orange trim for accent.  The buildings all retained their original character and conductors still dressed the part.  A giant clock over the crossing bars completed the look. We heard from someone that some of the Harry Potter filming was done here and it wasn’t hard to see why.  We stayed at the Gallery B and B, next door to an art gallery with the same owner but it closed about 10 minutes after we arrived so I couldn’t give it an explore.  Turns out the only restaurant in town, the local pub, was closed every Tuesday, the night we arrived. No worries for us, though, we had one of our freeze dried meals we’ve carried with us as we walked in case we needed a hot something on the trail.