Whitby, Staithes & Robin Hood’s Bay

Whitby is a town on Yorkshire's east coast. Whitby has a ruined abbey, a working harbour, a delightful collection of red roofed pantile cottages, narrow cobbled streets, and claims to have the country's best fish and chip shops! Talking of fish and chip shops we can recommend ‘Trenchers’. The f&c’s are excellent and the loos have to be best in the North of England.

View across the River Esk to the ruined abbey

View down towards the swing bridge

    

Whitby steam bus – vintage 1931

Bram Stoker was inspired by the church yard and abbey in Whitby to write 'Dracula'

 

199 steps up – puff puff

The ruined Benedictine Abbey

As a small child my (Stuart’s) parents brought me to Staithes for the annual family holiday. On the right I am standing outside one of the possible properties which was our B&B when we visited. Sue and I can be seen outside the Cod and Lobster pub where my parents went when they had a baby sitter for me!
Staithes has a sheltered harbour, bounded by high cliffs and two long breakwaters. A mile to the west, Boulby Cliff is the highest cliff in England. Capt. Cook was Staithes most famous resident, he worked at the grocer’s whilst living here.

       

Staithes Harbour

Staithes Beck

Captain Cook’s cottage – on the right

Outside the Cod and Lobster

      

Robin Hood’s Bay
In the 18th century, Robin Hood’s Bay was reportedly the busiest smuggling community on the Yorkshire coast. Today it is a magnet for tourists and it is also the end of the ‘Coast to Coast’ walking route from St. Bees.

  

Taking a rest – it is very hilly. We had a cinder toffee ice cream after this stop – highly recommended

View from the top

 

Oldie Photo – taken at our wedding in 1969
Jean, Paul, Neil (best man) Stuart

 You haven’t changed a bit!

 

On to Scarborough

We weren’t expecting such a high profile welcoming committee for our arrival in Scarborough. We soon realised that it was Armed Services day and that the welcome was not for us. The following week there were a few Danish Schools’ bands. Here is one of them.
We stayed at the Camping and Caravan Club Site just to the north of Scarborough. It is a huge site with lots of facilities. The bus stop was nearby so trips into Scarborough were easy.

Scarborough Harbour

Scarborough Castle – the harbour is in the foreground

     

Scarborough Harbour

   

They make ‘em BIG in Scarborough

Diving Belle A statue on the end of Vincent pier. It was built to celebrate Scarborough as the first seaside resort in Britain

 

We had made arrangements to meet up with Jean and Paul, friends from college days. It was lovely to see them and catch up on many years of news.

In their garden

BBQ preparation

 

Sue at South Sands

Lifeboat Station, South Sands

                      

Close to the caravan site was the start of ‘The Cinder Track’ bike trail on the old railway line Scarborough to Whitby.

View from the trail

Another view on another day when out cycling with Paul

Paul on his bike

 

Beach huts – they brightened up the day even if the sun didn’t

Lots more to come on Scarborough and it’s surroundings

York Minster and more

The Minster is a must see visit when in York. The construction of the Minster began about 1220 and then continued for many years. All of the work now is renovations and there are about 12 resident stone masons replacing and repairing the stonework which has been ravaged over many hundreds of years. Needless to say there are many crafts people working on other parts of the building. At the moment the East End is undergoing major restoration. The Great East Window has been removed for restoration and has been replaced by an almost life size digital photo of it. It is the largest digital photo in the world!

Outside the Quire

The Quire

     

‘Astronomical Clock’ it is an important memorial to the RAF during the Second World War

Sue in the Chapter House – this is still used for meetings and was used in the past for meetings of Parliament

  

Chapter House

Chapter House ceiling

   

York Minster – South side

National Railway Museum – this covers a huge area and takes quite some time to see it all. Many of the exhibits are of Royal trains from the past. They certainly didn’t rough it.

    

Double ended engine from Ffestiniog

Engine cross section

  

Manchester here I come!

Just checking!

    

On display were some railway posters from the past.
The first one is from where I used to live as a child. The second one will be recognised by friends who read this blog!

    

At the time of writing 22nd June the weather has been bucketing down for a couple of days and we can’t see an end to it on the forecast. Sunny France next year?

We made a visit to Beningbrough Hall and Gardens, a National Trust property. This 18th century mansion house came to the National Trust after the death of Lady Chesterfield. All the contents had been sold at auction and so the trust has furnished it with collections of period furniture, museum pieces and portraits.

We had a pot of tea (a large one) and a piece of cake at the cafe.

   

They had a play room and a dressing up area, so I was in my element. More importantly there was part of the National Portrait Gallery on display. We are not sure if they are originals or not. There wasn’t much security around.

    

Street sign in York.

Here is the explanation of the name.

Sunset taken from the caravan in York.