Wk 29 28th April to 4th May

Monday 28th April – day 184

After last nights thunder, we woke to …………rain! Can there be much more up there! It cleared up quickly though, so determined not too waste today, we set off for Flamborough Head.
As we arrived it starts to rain hard again so we sheltered in the local café, and as it is lunch time have bacon baguettes, just the thing before a coastal walk with all its ups and downs!!
It was still raining when we set out, but after 20 mins the wind had blown the clouds over and we walked the rest of the route in warm sunshine! We took the walk in three stages, from the lighthouse to North landing, from North to South Landing via Flamborough village, and finally back along the coastline to the lighthouse. Apart from the road walking it was a joy to be out there. Along the first stretch we were treated to some spectacular displays from the birdlife, not that we could identify them as someone had forgotten to bring the binoculars ……again! But as we progressed along the path we came across a number of serious bird enthusiasts with large binoculars and very focused expressions! They were very helpful in identifying the birds that we had been gazing unintelligently at as Guillemots, Razorbills and Cormorants (but we knew these) At one point they were a bit distracted and huddled together looking intently into the sea. They had been on the look out for a King Eider, only rarely seen further south than Scotland, and they were so pleased that they had spotted it that one kind gent who had come up from Boston for the privilege, let us have a peek at this golden headed rarity through his binoculars. Feeling very privileged we carried on round stopping regularly hoping for more excited sightings, there were not to be any, but we were accompanied for most of the walk by the delightfully tuneful Skylarks. It was about 6pm as we were rounding the last mile of headland back to the lighthouse, the early evening sun was golden on our necks and the skylarks were at their most playful, the Seagull played with the thermal and field of Rape glowed, it doesn’t get much better than this! Unfortunately the empty fridge means that we have to swap last lingering views of cliffscapes for the inside of a supermarket, YUK, and unfortunately we could only find a Tescos at Bridlington DOUBLE YUK, and paroxysms of guilt!!! Our reward was to take our makeshift supper and eat it by the harbour as light fell – and a very busy and atmospheric hub it turned out to be.

Tuesday 29th April – day 185

We had lovely weather again today for our return trip along the coast, it makes such a difference to the day, we can’t wait until there is a more permanent improvement (we are hoping there is one!!) We went first to Bridlington as it had looked so promising the other day. I think if we had seen it in the rain we would not have been so impressed, but we parked up near the beach and walked the length of the promenade, (past the funfair) and back to the harbour, and as long we stayed close to the sea, and avoided the centre it was lovely.
We moved on then to Filey, the main event of the day! Again we parked up near the beach and walked down to the Brigg, with plans to walk up to the headland, but as we got there we came across a notice that told us that the way to the top was impassable, drat, so we turned to walk back along the beach, we did have an interesting tour round Filey though as we tried to find our way out! Finally we made our homeward journey through Scarborough, and if it hadn’t been just passed tea time we should have liked to stop and explored more of this charmingly characterful holiday resort, may be we will get a chance to come back.

Wednesday 30th April – day 186

It rained ALL night last night, we are at the top of the field, and are almost floating!! It looked like it was going to cheer up though (we are either completely optimistic or our vision is getting water logged!) so we packed our picnic box and set off for Robin Hoods Bay. We parked at the top and first went for a wander down into the village. It was reminiscent of walking through Clovelly or Polperro, full of quirky corners, cobbled steps and sea views. It also is the end of the 192 mile coast to coast walk, which prompted a brief discussion about taking 2 weeks off next year to do it, oh excitement, but we may need a bigger dose of Glucosamine to get Sherpa Mint across! Well after thoughts of walking across country we had to stop for tea and cakes obviously. It was a rather surreal experience, Max Bygraves, Rose bud cups and large slices of fruit cake. Reluctantly we left this little piece of paradise (the village not the tea rooms) to walk along the Cleveland Way towards Whitby. It should have been glorious walking along the cliffs again, but
Between the Gorse (which hampered our view on occasions) and the driving wind and rain, it was not quite the pleasure it should have been. But the views did sparkle every now and again.
And as we made our way back from the coastal path up to the disused railway that took us back to Robin Hoods Bay, I was caused a wry smile as, to our right was a bank of bright yellow gorse which dominated the view, but as I dropped my gaze all around in the meadow was the haze of violet as thousands of these little flowery delights sat demurely alongside the big bright yellow, joy, I am sure there is something profound to be extracted from that!

Thursday 1st May – day 187

Today was one of those golden days, in every way, the sun shone brightly and warm all day, and for the first time we are able to walk outside without wrapping up; a perfect day for visiting Whitby (which I had really been looking forward to!) so we did, and what a lovely day we have had!! We bought a couple of little town guides and set off walking the route, and a bit more! Whitby was built (over hundreds of years) on both steep banks of the mouth of the River Esk, which makes it possible to take in panoramic views from almost wherever you stand.
We walked along west bank top path first and then down to the rather magnificent harbour mouth, (with – I was assured by Engineer Mint- some fancily engineered pier extensions) for a stroll along the pier. We needed a cup of tea before we crossed the bridge to walk the 199 steps up to the Abbey, though once across we turned right and found ourselves wandering through the back roads which in the end led pretty much to the top, so we got away with just walking down them. The east side of town seemed older and much more higgledy piggeldy, and along narrow cobbled shop lined streets, were little unpromising alleyways, but if explored found that they hid delightful little secret yards. Down Henrietta Street (picture) there was a little smokery selling – according to James Martin, and the “two fat ladies” the best kippers in Britain. But as we passed it was the smokery itself that we appreciated
We finished our tour by the other arm of the harbour and walked back along the beach a little of the way as the tide was now out. But it was fast approaching time to think about supper, and we had decided that as Whitby had won so many awards for its fish and chips it would be churlish not to sample some, so after a little preparation in the company of Sam Smiths (and one satisfied beer lover) we headed off to “Mister Chips” for our award winning supper, which indeed it was!

Friday 2nd May – day 188

What joy, another glorious day, dare we believe spring is arriving, suddenly the landscape is turning a lovely fresh green, so welcome after months of wintery grey and brown! We are returning to Helmesly today to pick up Chris’s watch that has been repaired. It is market day, so we plan to linger longer, then picnic and walk round Thornton le Dale. We had a lovely walk round the town, which was much prettier than we remembered, just shows what a bit of sunshine does for a place! We discovered not only that it was market day, but there was an antiques market as well. Unfortunately it sold mostly tat, but one stall holder (who was enjoying a day out from his shop in Malton) was selling some wonderful old pieces, including a couple of Victorian measuring jugs, which caught Chris’s eye. We have noticed a few of these pewter jugs in varying sizes, around the antique shops of Yorkshire, and his nibs had enjoyed enough lingering looks and appreciative fondling for me to understand that he would quite like to own a set! So with his birthday spends we purchased the first two from this stall, and later went to Pickering (where he had noticed more) to complete the set. That should have been all the spending we did today, but just as we were getting into the car we were almost accosted by an aging Yorkshire entrepreneur. He had noticed that we were not local so he positioned himself just inside the open door and told us of the book that he had written, which was a piece of local history, traditions and folklore. He had written it and it would cost us £10.99 to purchase. He had such a charming smile, cheeky upfront delivery, and a foot in our car that we could not refuse. He did give us his photo for free though, but only just!!
We chuckled our way back to Pickering, these Yorkshire folk sure do now how to turn a coin!
After our stop in Pickering, we drove to Thornton le Dale with thoughts of lunch. It took a while to find a quiet spot, but finally we found a spot suitable for tiffin (and a snooze!!) Once restored we made our way back into town, and walked a rather lovely circuit to Ellerburn and back then round this rather pretty town that was very reminiscent of the Cotswolds, with shallow roadside rivers and thatched roofs.

Saturday 3rd May – day 189

Well we are here at the first May bank holiday, and the weather is staying with us. We are off to walk a bit more of the coastline up by Staithes, but first we have to attend to the now pressing matter of dirty laundry!! So off first to Whitby where we had spotted a laundrette on our previous visit; and, gosh, what a difference a day makes, as they say! The town was absolutely heaving, we were glad to make a speedy exit, and leave the madding crowd behind us! Staithes was quieter fortunately, and it was lovely to potter down by the harbour and meander through the narrow steep streets. It was not quite so charming a Robin Hoods Bay, but it had its own sense of place and character, though it was sad to see so few fishing boats in the harbour, which we imagined was once buzzing. From the town the Cleveland Way carried on up the path to the cliff top, and we decided
to walk towards Runswick Bay, rather than Saltburn. We failed to pick up any speed as it was just so peaceful up there on our own (well mostly) and with air clear and warm, we sat near the cliff edge and watched a small group o Seagulls, playing in a thermal, they glided effortlessly and lazily, letting the current take them where it willed, and we (well one of us) longed to be that free and uncomplicated!
We had decided to eat out as our bank holiday treat (yes another!!) so we left the cliff path to go in search of a lovely supper spot. We had allowed plenty of time for seeking out the perfect watering hole (or so we thought) as dinner time is getting later and later now that the evenings are drawing out, and though one of us is loosing weight and trimming up nicely the late dinner hour is seriously hampering the other one (you can guess which one) So with determination we set off, and gave up at 9pm the idea of eating early! The drive to Saltburn and back to Grosmont had proved fruitless, and we were returning to cook our kippers, when we passed a hotel in Goathland, they had finished serving food and had no tables at the bar, only posh table settings in the restaurant, but something about our demeanour must have stirred the head waitress as she laid us a place in the restaurant and handed us the bar menu, and apart from the fact that we looked like a couple of waifs and strays we settled down to a magnificent dining experience – joy, and much appreciated, even if it was again too late in the evening to sleep well after it!

Sunday 4th May – day 190

We are off to see the rest of York today, just as well that we have not made any plans to walk some scenic route as it is ………… raining, oh yes it is! However we are determined that this is not going to get in the way. We had thought about going to the Jorvik Centre or the York Museum, but as they were both costly we decided to walk round the walls (where we could) instead. We got a bit lost at one stage when we had been directed off because of repairs, but after a wander round St Saviourgate we found our way back to the wall. There were not too many other people wanting to share the wall as we walked round, but we did come across a small troupe of Morris Dancers, looking for a spot for some quiet practice, or for their own private party!
Even in the rain the Minster (and the Blue Bells) looked fabulous, and whilst we were enjoying looking at it from a distance in the afternoon, we were excited about the thought of taking part in an alternative service being held in the Crypt later in the evening. We had brought a fab picnic tea which we had hoped to have sitting on the banks of the Ouse, but as it did not stop raining we were forced to perch our china plates on the dash board – Chris is getting quite expert now! We made it to the Minster in good time for the 7.30 start, but the Crypt was already full. It was lit by candle light and projected multi coloured light patterns, whilst we listened to “Ministry of Sound” chillout tracks and watched changing images on 3 cloth “screens”. Surreal, but good, the service was called an ancient, modern mass, and started in the Crypt but moved up to the main nave for the homily and a mini labyrinth of prayer stations, which I did enjoy. Then we finished back in the Crypt, and it was time for home, which we reached at 10pm.