England 2008
The Second Six Months
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England 2008
The Second Six Months |
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2008 July to December
July 2nd to 9th
A week after returning from France we got a call to say young Ralph had fallen down stairs banging his head and had been transferred from Peterborough hospital to Cambridge. It was the middle of the night but first thing in the morning we set off in the van to be with him (one good reason to always have the van ready). First we stopped in Peterborough to collect Tracey and Amber and then set off for Addenbrooke's hospital Cambridge. Parking for a high vehicles there is not very good, we found an old car park with no height barrier but it was for contractor vans with a pass, we parked there anyway.
Ralph knew who we were but couldn't speak, he had had a bleed in the brain but it had now stopped and they were just monitoring him for any changes. If he got worse, indicating the bleeding had started again, they would have to operate. To cut this story short, we could not find anyone in authority (a doctor), to tell us what was happening that day (it would be week afterwards, only after seeing a specialist at home, would we find out his skull had actually been fractured).
We didn't get a parking ticket and drove beck to Peterborough and spent the night in the van on Tracey's drive.
July 3rd
It was a ninety mile round trip from Tracey's to the hospital so I got online to find a campsite closer to the hospital, found one and we would check it out between visiting hours. Dot also had to contact work to arrange time off. Drove to Cambridge and parked up at the park and ride at Trumpington, where a regular bus service ran to the hospital and it has bays reserved for motorhomes.
Ralph was more aware today but still not able to speak and he was very sleepy.
At dinner time we headed back to the park and ride and set off for the campsite at Comberton. The campsite was just a thirteen mile round trip from the park and ride.
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Comberton Highfield Farm Touring Park Long Road, Comberton, Cambridge CB23 7DG |
The site looked good so we arranged to book just one night at a time, one problem with the site they do not take cards, only cash or cheques.
Back at the park at ride we bought a season ticket for a few day at a good saving.
July 4th
Today Ralph was still very sleepy and on the morning had plenty of visitors so Dot and I thought we would make the most of a bad situation, we leave early before the end of visiting and get a bus into the city centre for a spot of sightseeing.
The bus ride took about 25 mins to do the 2 mile drive into the centre, very busy roads. We had never been to Cambridge and had high expectations, so we had a good look around the central parts of the city. It was very busy, there was an open day for students and families to have a look around the various universities. Also, for a change this summer, it was sunny and hot but we were continually pestered by people trying to get us to take a boat trip (the famous punts). We got sandwiches to eat and a can to drink but couldn't find anywhere to sit and eat them and walked for ages until we did find a low wall to sit on. Then we could not find a waste bin to get rid of he used packaging and empty can.
This is controversial with others I have spoken to, I was not over impressed with Cambridge. I did not think the architecture was that good and I thought it was too much a university with a city, not a city with a university. I thought the city could do with a tidy, maybe a few waste bins and that the old, abandoned, rusting, cycles, chained up all over the centre should be removed. And being continually asked if we want to take a punt trip was very annoying.
I did however enjoy a walk through a park and along the river Cam. it was less crowded there. Soon it was time to get back to the hospital and as we came out of the park there was a bus stop for the bus we needed, very handy saved us a bit of walking.
Called in at a Waitrose supermarket next to he park and ride for provisions and beer on the way back to the site that night.
July 5th
We had the morning off today, its Saturday and Ralph had plenty of visitors, so we did some sunbathing by the van.
Even though we had bought a season ticket for the hospital shuttle bus, they did not run at weekends (strange) and we had to contact security to fine somewhere to park the van. We had to park on the upper deck of a two story car park, not a very relaxing experience.
Ralph was talking better today.
On the way back to the site, we thought we would try the recommended village pub for supper but there was nowhere to park the van.
July 6th
Still no bus service and we had to park on the bottom level of the car park, there was not much headroom and it was very scary.
Ralph was feeling well enough to have a walk down to the main concourse where the shops and cafeterias are but I think it was a bit too much a bit too soon. For lunch Dot and I used the cafeteria and the food was reasonable, I also used the hospitals free internet wifi.
Called in at a Waitrose supermarket again on the way back to the van.
July 7th
Used the shuttle bus today, Ralph is improving all the time and we found out about a site that is much closer to the hospital and will be in walking distance, when a ne road is open but now only a two mile round trip to the park and ride.
Finally had super at the pub, very nice, good food and good hand pulled beer.
July 8th
Signs are that Ralph may be released to recuperate back home with us, he is walking around the hospital no problem, but they need him to start eating better and he must have 24 hour observation. He would not eat the hospital food but he had sandwiches we brought him and he had food from the burger place on the concourse.
In the end it was too late to arrange things for today so it would be tomorrow before we would set off back home.
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Cambridge Cambridge Camping and Caravan Club 19 Cabbage Moor, Cambridge CB2 5NB |
We went to check out the other campsite and if it looked ok, we would stop there for the last night. It was a very basic Camping and Caravan Club site but it would do us for one night, I suppose it would also be good for a couple of days visit to Cambridge. It had no hard standing but did have a MHSP.
July 9th
It took until lunch time to arrange everything, I went back to the park and ride for the van and drove right up to the back entrance of the hospital where Ralph and Dot were waiting.
We stopped off in Peterborough to see amber for a couple of hours before driving home.
August 16th to 20th
August 16th
Us away during school holidays, very strange, but here we are, with the twins for a few days, on a new Caravan Club site, Poolsbrook Country Park in Staveley.
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Staveley Poolsbrook Caravan Club Site Poolsbrook Country Park, Staveley S43 3LS |
We were on one of the few fully serviced pitches, I do not remember booking it but apparently I did. With it being a new site all of the facilities are very good, idiots are still speeding though, I would have thought the club would have clamped down on this. By the time we got sorted on the first day, there is only time to have a look round the site and for the girls to have a ride on their bikes and a quick go on in the play area in the Country Park.
August 17th
First thing me and the girls went out for a bike ride, we followed a trail around the outside perimeter on the site and got a bit muddy.
As it was a nice day we went for a walk around the Poolsbrook Country Park, we had no idea what was there so we just set off to walk round the lake. The girls had a play on the industrial sculptures, patted some horses and then we had to run the gauntlet though a huge gaggle of geese. It was now, at what we thought was the end of the lake, we discovered it was L shaped and it was a lot bigger, about twice the size. Anyway we just continued with our circumnavigation and eventually made it back to the playground.
While the girls were playing I had a wander up the the cafe and decided we would get something for our lunch there, I had a burger and to the others had baked potatoes with various fillings. I started to rain as we were eating and we had to make a dash back to the van.
The rain didn't last long and a soon as it stopped, the girls were wanting to get back out on their bikes, so Dot went with them and they showed her where they had been with me.
By tea time the sun was shining and we ate outside but it was nowhere near as warm as it should be in August and we soon ended up back in the van.
August 18th
Another day in the park, we took a picnic, some bread for the ducks and the girls took their bikes. We went the opposite way round the lake to yesterday.
It was good that we took a picnic as the cafe was closed, its August, school holidays, a country park and the cafe is closed???
August 19th
Our thirty-sixth wedding anniversary, the plan was to spend the day on a long walk with the girls, anything would be better that Scotland last year, where it was cold and wet. An old railway runs past the campsite (Great Central Main Line), now part of Trans-Pennine Trail, so we headed north along the trail towards the Chesterfield Canal, we knew it was going to be a long walk, so the girls took their bikes. Unfortunately the building of a new road bypass, has meant the closure of the trail until 2009 and we could not understand from the notices to where the detour was. So we came off the trail and walked through Staveley to the canal but first, we stopped for fish and chips for the girls.
We followed signs to the canal and came to the river Rother, so we turned left and followed a path in the direction the canal should be following. Eventual we came to the canal, well the end of canal or the start of the canal. The rest of the canal the way we had come was filled in, I should do more research before we set off, I would have known that the Trans-Pennine Trail was closed and that the canal didn't go as far as I thought.
So the canal walk started at Mill Green Bridge No 10 and we set off in he direction of chesterfield. Just as we reached the first lock gates, Hollingwood Lock, it started to rain and we sheltered under a road bridge over the lock.
We had already come about two miles by now and the weather was changing, so we headed away from the canal and back, by road towards Staveley. On the way we came to a large park, the sun was now shining, so the girls a some time in the playground. We also walked round the park's lake and came out of the park at the opposite end to where we went in. We used the GPS to find where we where and crossed a field to a housing estate and from there back to the Trans-Pennine Trail. This sounds, easy, leisurely, well it wasn't we had to get up a long steep grass bank with two bicycles and two five year olds, I dealt with the bikes, Dot got the twins up. At the top we did make a stop at some shops for ice creams and a rest though.
August 20th
Going home today but we had seen a canal lock and visitor centre advertised and it looked worth a visit (it wasn't that interesting, more later). So we set off towards Chesterfield on the A619, it was about 3.5 miles and I think 5 speed cameras. The signs to the Tapton Lock Visitor Centre are not that good, it looks like recent road improvements and supermarkets have messed up the entrance. Next the parking is atrocious, there is no car park just on road parking and there are several car showrooms vying for the parking space available as well. This is not good for an attraction that is widely advertised.
The Visitor Centre did have a shop, toilets and picnic tables to eat our food but as a Visitor Centre there is not much else. Although the walks along the canal are very good, so we had a walk first and then came back for our picnic lunch.
Then it was back home before the roads got too busy.
September 7th to 16th
We had a week away planed starting on the 6th of September, at three or four sites around the Whitby area, we had booked a couple of sites, as even at this time of year it was still very busy at weekends and some sites were fully booked. If fact the site we wanted to visit first was booked up, so we switched to our second choice, it didn't really mater, as we intended to move around anyway. Two days before we were due to go, the first site phoned to say they now had room available but we had already paid a deposit on the other site.
Well the weather forecast for the first few days away was horrendous, heavy rain, high winds and possible floods. On the morning of the 6th the Met office was issuing severe weather warnings for the area and on checking the net, one of the roads just outside Whitby was flooded. So reluctantly I phoned the first site and switched the booking to the next weekend.
September 7th
A day late we setoff, with the twins, to a site we had booked at Hawsker, between Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay.
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Hawsker
York House Hotel & Caravan Park |
Arrived not long after twelve, booked in and were directed to a pitch but we were informed that the previous people on the pitch hadn't left as yet but would soon be gone and to just wait. After waiting about ten mins and these people not looking like they were getting ready to leave, a caravan turned up behind us and they were also waiting for someone else to move. Now this seems to be fairly reasonable, just wait for a pitch t become available but the two of us waiting, were waiting for two of the only occupied pitches on that part of the site, the rest were all empty. We could have pitched on any of these but we had been allocated one so we waited. Eventually these two caravans started to get ready to go but seamed to be oblivious to the fact that we were waiting. When they were ready to go (after about half an hour) because of their stupidity both of them could not get out using the one way system but needed me to reverse off the road to let them pass. The ground was very, very, wet and I had to be carful to not get bogged down, this got them very angry that they had to wait for me. I informed them that, had they vacated the pitch at the allotted time, I would not be in their way and was thanked with a stream of abuse, nice people. The one good thing about it though, was that these people had gone and would not be camped near us.
Nicole and Tim arrived to collect the girls and we all went into Whitby for fish and chips. A similar thing to above happened at the chip shop, we had to wait outside for a table and when we did get in, the room was empty, go figure.
It got very misty and cold on the night but we were cosy in the van.
September 8th
Nice warm sunny day but it was practically lunch time before we set out for a walk. We walked through the village, towards the sea, we knew there was an old railway that was now a footpath along the coast, it runs towards Whitby one way and Scarborough via Robin Hood's Bay the other way. The walks are about 4.5 miles to Whitby Centre (but there is a shorter walk to Whitby) and about 3 miles to the sea at Robin Hood's Bay. The walk is actually further as the footpath is also about one mile walk from the campsite. We had no plans but as we would be camping closer to Whitby later in the week, so we set off towards Robin Hood's Bay.
The walk to the top of Robin Hood's Bay took an hour and the first thing we did was to stop at the shop there and bought all the ingredients to make a picnic. Then it was down the very steep hill to the sea front, where we would find a seat to have our picnic. We would usually have just had fish and chips here but we had that yesterday and we are trying to lose weight. We had lean roast beef sandwiches, half way trough eating Dot noticed the the meat was passed its sell by date but we ate anyway. This has happened to us quite a few times buying from country shops on a Monday, when they are getting rid of food not sold over the weekend.
We then had a walk on the beach for half an hour before heading for the pub, the Bay Hotel, who usually have a good selection of hand pulled beers. I had a pint of Deuchars IPA, Dot had a lager and lime, then we sat in the sun outside Wainwright's bar of Bay Hotel, on a warm September afternoon. Although unfortunately, we did get sat near a couple that spouted pure bull all through our first beer, so as soon as they went we had another one. We also had a very interesting conversation with a nice couple who like us had, had to endure the previous couples spouting's. This place also seemed to be the end point for the cost to coast walk (about 190 miles), made famous by Alfred Wainwright, hence the name of the bar and this steady trickle of walker was steadily filling the bar. Then the bar closed, again and again this happens in England, pubs have been allowed to stay open all day for many years now, but some still insist on closing even when there are people drinking and spending money. This also seems to happen most in Yorkshire, apparently the bar upstairs was still open but still the bit the was full of drinkers closed
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We now had to get back up the hill, we did it in stages stopping at shops along the way, we even thought we would have a drink at the pub half way up but typically for Yorkshire, it had just closed. We did however have another drink at the Grosvenor Hotel at the top of the hill, I had a pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord and Dot had another lager and lime.
The walk back to the site was uphill we knew that we had to get back up the incline, but it didn't stop climbing until we were nearly back, strange that we didn't notice this going the other way. So by the time we got back to the village we were thirsty again and stopped at the pub for another, I had a pint of Theakston's Best Bitter and Dot had her usual.
September 9th
As apposed to yesterday, today was a really bad, it was wet, windy and cold, we ended up spending the whole day in the van, what a waste.
September 10th
Total change again today, the sun was shining and it was warm, got the scooter off the back and set out for Grossmont, about 8.5 mile by the back roads or 10 mile by the quick main road route. We chose the shorter quieter way, actually used the GPS of directions, I had it in my pocket with an earpiece in my crash helmet and it worked. We arrived abut 11:00 and decided that rather than take a train ride, we would walk to the next station at Goathland, along the old, original route of the railway, just under 3 miles.
I took hundreds of photos along the way but I will try to limit the amount I show here. You may have noticed that a lot of walks we have been doing are along old railways, there are reasons for this, first you know where you are going (you do not have to guess which field to cross, etc), and secondly these walks are flat (no big hills to climb). So this walk starts with a big hill, the original route of the railway through a tunnel, is now the way into the workshops area, so the walk goes over the top. You do get some excellent views from the top, looking back towards Grossmont station.
The walk is along the origonal course of the Whitby to Pickering railway, built by George Stevenson in1836, as a horse drawn tramway. About two miles into the walk we came to site of the old Beck Hole station and I remembered that Trev had mentioned there was something interesting there. So we left the track and headed towards some houses, what we found there was a pub so obviously we had to stop for a drink. Trev was right, there was something interesting there, the Birch Hall Inn, one of the smallest pubs you will ever find.
Even though Beck Hole is in the middle of nowhere, the pub was very busy with walkers, eating and drinking on the day we where there. I got served through a small serving hatch in a very mall bar, I had a pint of Beckwatter, Beckhole's Best Bitter and Dot had her usual. We sat outside to drink but watching others eating and as it was now 13:00, I had to go back in for some sandwiches (and another beer).
Back on the trail it was about another 1.5 mile to Goathland and we were surprised to find that some of it was up a steep hill, originally on this part of the line, the carriages were winched up by a stationary engine.
Goathland was incredibly busy, with many cars and coach trips, it is famous as the set for Yorkshire Television's long running TV series Heartbeat. There was no filming today, the last time we saw them filming Heartbeat, was about 50 miles away in Masham. We joined in with the other tourists visiting the sights and doing souvenir shopping, we got birthday presents for Dot's Dad, Dot got a new rucksack (pink) and I bought some new walking shoes (not pink). Heartbeat is famous for it's 1960's Ford Anglia police car (like the one in Harry Potter), there were three of them in the village.
We thought hard and made the decision to get the steam train back to Grossmont, so we wandered down to the station, a train we due soon, so we bought a ticket. If you like steam trains this is a god place to be, as it is here that the the northbound and southbound trains cross. It was very busy but I got a good position on the station footbridge for photos.
Great but short steam train ride back to Grossmont, about ten minutes is all it took. Back at the station I checked the scooter was ok, then we walked through the world's first passenger railway tunnel to the workshops. The tunnel, on the original Whitby to Pickering railway, was built by George Stevenson between 1833 & 1835, as part of the horse drawn tramway.
Sir Nigel Gresley (the LNER Class A4 locomotive 60007 that is), was in the workshop for repairs, it had broken a suspension spring the day before.
Wanted to watch the Croatia v England match, a World Cup Qualifier but it was on Setanta (an obscure subscription satellite channel), that I do not get and none of the nearby pubs had it either, so I just had to miss this important game live and watch the highlights later.
September 11th
Today we thought we would walk the old railway trail again but this time, in the direction of Whitby although we didn't intend to do over ten miles. If Dot had come to me on the morning and said, "I know what to do today, lets go for a 10 mile walk", I would have replied "why don't you go and boil your head", but that's exactly what we did and in the end, it turned out to be a very long day indeed.
It was fine but not very warm when we set off, so we were well wrapped up, we headed to the place where we started the walk to Robin Hood's Bay but could have taken a shortcut via the road, to the old Hawsker station and joined the rail walk there. There are several rail and road bridges along the way and stopping to take photos is also a good excuse to take a rest.
The trail actually heads to the west of Whitby where there is a viaduct over the river Esk, but it is a very nice walk with a wide variety of views, some of the best of the Abbey. It day got warmer as the walk went on and even though it was September there were many flowers in bloom, also some strange looking plants that we only ever see by the side railway walks.
Once over the viaduct there is not much in the way of directions and after walking quite a lot further, we ask a passing cyclist how to get into town, luckily there was a way down from the trail into town close by. Now we hadn't intended to actually visit Whitby today but as we were there, it made sense to have a quick look around and get some lunch.
It was about 13:30 when we arrived in town and instead of the usual Whitby fish and chips, we had some food in a little cafe at he train station, it was surprisingly inexpensive and nice and popular.
We had now got our second wind and set off wandering again but first there was a steam train in the station, so I had to get some photos of that. Then we made our way along the north side of the river Esk towards the breakwater, in Whitby there is always plenty of activity on the river and I took so many photos along the way. There are many tourist boat trips and also working boats moving up and down and in and out of the river. It is not just on the river, there was a steam powered bus doing tourist trips around the sights and also the open top busses doing similar trips. Also there is also always plenty going on, on the fish quay and with so many visitors there is always the opportunity for people watching.
When we got as far as we could, the end of the pier, we set off back to find a pub, not that is is hard to find one there are plenty to go round. Picked one with hand pulled beers I had a The Rev James (by now you know what Dot had) and we had a laugh with a group of people that sat near us.
Refreshed from there we made the short walk to the swing bridge which was open to let several working boats through to go up river. As soon as the bridge was closed again we had a look in a new pub The Shambles, inside what used to be a clothes factory, it was very nice and has a nerow balcony overlooking the river. Luckily we got seated outside on the balcony in the afternoon sun and it was very pleasant indeed. The beer was one I had never seen before, Challenger IPA, the barperson said it was from a local brewery (it was from Yorkshire but not very local), anyway it was good. The views from the balcony must be among the best from any pub in Whitby and it is an excellent place for watching river life. One drawback, and this is very common now with the new smoking laws, at times it was very smoky out there. I think the law needs tweaking to stop smoking in outdoor seating areas, epically where food is served. Although I do think that, while buying cigarettes and smoking them is still legal in this country, then is should be up to each pub, club or whatever to make their own rules as to where they allow smoking (inside or out).
Next it was off to the pub on the end, the Duke of York, where we got a seat in the bay window with a great view and a nice hand pulled Spitfire, this was turning into a pub-crawl. Met the people from the first pub, and had another good laugh with them and an extra beer that we weren't going to have.
As we set off on the long walk back to the campsite, the sun was already starting to go down and the last part of the journey was in the dark with Dot worrying that we would get run over.
September 12th
Moved on to a campsite closer to Whitby, just five minuets drive away but from there only a short walk into Whitby town (down the 199 steps), not a hike like yesterday.
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Whitby
Whitby
Holiday Park
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It was a large holiday camp style site, with many statics but that also meant it had a shop, bar, clubhouse, cafe, etc. The access road was long and narrow with the occasional passing place and there is no hardstanding, only grass pitches. I did not fancy driving onto the grass but in the end the the pitch we got was relatively firm, that made us lucky as several others got bogged down.
The weather was a change from yesterday, cold and damp, anyway in the afternoon, during a break in the rain, we made our way into town. The cliff top walk is a bit scary in places (best not to look down) but it is only about half a mile to the Abbey and the 199 steps that way.
With the weather the way it was we just did some shopping and then retired to the pub, we went to the one just over the swing bridge, The Dolphin Hotel but beer there wasn't hand pulled, shame (we did hear the barman telling someone, that lots of people come in and then, because they have no hand pulled beers walk out, just shows how much custom these pubs can afford to lose). We did have a seat in the window, where we could watch the boats going up and down the river and also see the swing bridge opening and closing, there was even a seal in the river but the photos I took were blurred.
On the walk back we called into the Duke of York, and got our seat in the window, a friend of Dot's from work, came in to the pub and we spent longer it there than we initially meant to. It was a wet climb back up the steps, (in fact we walked up church lane alongside the steps, its ever so slightly easier) and back to the campsite in the rain.
September 13th
Much better day, so it was off back into Whitby in the afternoon but on the morning, we helped people on and off the soft ground.
The short walk into town was much nicer than the previous day and with the sun shining, I took far too many photos, Whitby is just one of those places where it is impossible to not take photo after photo after photo, even when you know you have the shot already.
Today we mainly stuck to the south of the river and walked to the end of the pier on that side, even though the sun was very strong the sea was fairly rough. I spent ages trying to get a good shot of the waves breaking over the pier but failed miserably. I then spent a long time doing the same with the yachts leaving the river Esk, although I did get some slightly better results.
By mid afternoon all the photography was making me thirsty but at £4.30 to £4.50 for our round it was a bit expensive. I had seen a sign pointing down a side street, for the Friendship Rowing Club bar open all welcome (or something like that, if it doesn't say that it should), so we went in. The beer was only from the keg but it was Tetley's Bitter, also we got a nice seat in a sort of patio area, in the sun, out of the breeze, with a view of the river and the round, was only £3.30. Had two than as the sun was still had another walk about on the south side of the river.
We also had beers in the Shambles and a meal in the Duke of York before the walk back to the site.
September 14th
Good weather again, and the tide was out on our walk in to town so I got some photos of an old wreck on the rocks below the cliffs, if you are looking for it, it is down the cliff, in line with the Abbey.
The day before Dot had seen an offer in one of the bakers for very cheep pie and peas so we headed there to get our lunch. We eat them sat on one of the short piers on the south side of the river, they were very good and made a change from the almost obligatory Whitby fish and chips. It also makes a change from the type of food we usually eat at home, as we tend to have mainly low fat healthy meals but when you are on holiday, you are on holiday. As we ate we were entertained by some cormorants in the river and a family creating art on the beach together, I think they were from the USA (the family not the cormorants).
Suitably fed, we set off inland along the south side of the river, I thought I might be able to get a photo of the old railway viaduct from this side. We passed many parts of Whitby we had never noticed before, things like boat repair yards and a marina with apartments adjacent to it. This development looked very underused an under occupied, one of those ideas that look good on paper but are just not really required, anyway the developer properly made money from it.
We walked under the high road bridge and then the path ended, It didn't look far to the viaduct, so I left Dot there and walked on for the photo, I didn't get a good one but did get very muddy walking shoes.
We climbed up a zigzag path to the road bridge and crossed over to the north side of the river, there are some good views of the town from up there. We walked down a steep road back to the river and headed in to town.
We eventually ended up on top of the cliffs on the on the north side of the river mouth, opposite to where we started our walk. Dot wanted to carry on walking north along the coast but I was tired and moaned a lot, until she gave in and we went back down into town. But I did take some of the photos you are supposed to get on that side, captain Cook's statue the whale bone arch, if you have been you know the stuff.
Back down at the riverside I wanted to find a cheep pub and we found one he Jolly Sailor a Sam Smith's pub and the round was £2.40, what a difference, not the smartest pub in Whitby but that's nearly half price. We sat out the back for one but it cooled down so we had another in the bar. We also had the usual couple in the Duke of York on the way back to the van but didn't get our seat in the window, that was taken by a group of Dutch hikers (not one of them in orange though).
September 15th
Moved to a site close to Robin Hood's Bay in the village of Fylingthorpe, we were worried about getting off the pitch as the ground was still very soft but there was no problem. It was only about five and a half miles to Fylingthorpe but the last part of it was down steep narrow country lanes.
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Fylingthorpe
Middlewood Farm Holiday Park
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The staff were very friendly and helpful, but we were put on a car park in the tent field, not on the hardstanding in the mains part of the site, the toilets in the tent field were a bit dated but sill usable. Takeaway food is available five days/week, from an onsite van but not Monday or Wednesday, not much use today Monday.
We got settled in and by 14:00 we were on our way into Robin Hood's Bay, just a 10 min walk via a footpath at the end of the tent field. You lave the field, cross over the old Scarborough & Whitby Railway path, and follow the path towards the coast. One problem we encountered was a very muddy patch at the very beginning to the walk, it almost put us off but with the help of some stones and some cardboard (materials lying about the edge of the field), we got over the mud and the rest of the way was relatively dry.
It was not as warm as when we were there the week before and after a walk along the beach we retired to the pub the Bay Hotel to warm up, of course the bar we used last week, Wainwright's bar, was closed. We had to use the upstairs bar instead, not as nice as downstairs but popular and warm when we were there.
Later we walked around the village, that didn't take too long and then we popped into The Dolphin for another beer a John Smith's, Finest Hour, not that good so only had the one. There was going to be live music on in the bar that night but it would be too dangerous for us to walk back along the path in the dark.
Teatime we walked up the the village pub, it was highly recommended, thought we could have a meal there but as usual in Yorkshire, it was closed.
September 16th
Home today, we left early so we could visited Sandsend and Runswick Bay on the way back, first stop was Sandsend where we parked on the bank leading down from Whitby. We had a long walk along the beach and took plenty of photos and then it was back to the van for lunch.
From there we continued along the coast to Runswick Bay and parked at the top of the bank. It is a long steep path down to the village and the beach and we were not looking forward to the slog back up. We walked along the beech and as others were doing, we stared to look for fossils. I had a word with some of the others and they had found some very good ammonites. I sorted some likely looking rocks and tried to cleave them, to see what was inside, by hitting them against other rocks but only managed to smash them, ruining the fossils. If we do it again, I will take a small hammer with me, we have one in the van.
All too soon though, we had to get back to pick up the twins and we gave ourselves plenty of time for the climb up to the van. I kept stopping to take photos on the way up, a very good excuse to rest every few steps and even then it was hard work.
October 12th to 15th
October 12th
Second visit to York this year, got set up and headed into town, it was a nice warm day and there were crowds of people drinking outside the King's.
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York Rowntree
Park, Caravan Club Site |
Josh our nephew was starting university today and Mick and Bren where down to get him settled in, we phoned them to see where they where and they were just around the corner from us. We met up and Jen was with them, they were shopping round for a power lead for Josh's computer, he had left his at home. We soon had to say goodbye as they only had parking for a short while but we walked back to the car park with them.
After our walk we did what we usually do, we went to the King's for a beer, it was still very full but we got a seat inside, it was cooling down.
October 13th
Something we hadn't done for a while was to walk the city walls and as it was nice and sunny again, that's what we decided to do. It took about two and a half hours to get all the way round but we did venture into the centre at one point to have a quick look in the shops and I got a new tripod for the camera.
From the campsite we got up onto the wall at the Victorian turret, at Baile Hill and walked towards Birchdaughter Tower (built in 1645). Here the wall does a 90° right hand turn and has the longest straight section to Tofts Tower where we pass over Victoria Bar and Micklegate Bar, before it again turns 90° right again, we are going in the clockwise direction. From this part of the wall you look over the railway station outside the walls and the modern council buildings on the inside but the best view on this part of the walk is the Minster in the distance (although you can see the minster for most of the walk).
Along this section we pass over the Railway Arches, obviously on an original feature, this part of the wall was demolished around 1839 to allow the railway into the city and two arches built over it. This is all rather sad, as the new station was opened outside the walls in 1877, and these arches now seem to be of no practical use at all, a main road also passes under two arches along this section. This section of the wall ends at North Street Postern and Tower (Barker Tower), also because of the river Ouse.
The wall walk restarts over the river, about 330 yards away at at Bootham Bar, and runs along side the Minster behind a row of shops to Robin Hood Tower where the wall takes another 90° right hand turn.
There were quite a few people doing the wall walk, the sun had made it a popular pastime today, there were even people having picnics along the way but not us. If we had brought one we could have had it in the sun, on a seat on Robin Hood Tower, but for once we hadn't bothered. So we walked on to Monk Bar where we came down from the wall for quick lunch.
We got back on the wall at Monk Bar and continued on to Lathorpe Tower, where the wall ends for a about 450 yeards. This is a section where the river Foss flows where there is no wall at all and I always assumed it had been demolished or fallen down but apparently, there was an impenetrable marsh there, so there was no need of a wall. It was a glorious day and I took lots of photos as we walked by the Foss, I wanted to explore the course of the Foss through York centre but today we were doing the wall, so that could wait for another day.
We rejoin the wall at Red Tower, which looks like a more modern building but it isn't, it is built in brick instead of stone like the rest of the wall and had been there since 1490. There are no sharp turns on this section, it gently curves round to Walmgate Bar and on to Fishergate Bar but from here though, there is a very sharp turn to Fishergate Postern and the end of the wall and walk.
As we approached the end of the wall, we heard a car horn sounding and some shouting from the road below, being inquisitive (nosy), we looked over to find Josh had just had a near miss with a car on a pedestrian crossing. Josh had right of way (the green man was lit), the car mustn't have seen the lights or was on the phone or something. Anyway we shouted down to josh and he crossed back over to meet us, after ribbing him for a while about looking before you cross the road, we directed him in the right direction for the city centre.
So we had finished the walk, what could we do next, I know, beer, and where, where else, the Kinks Arms and a nice pint (or two) of Sam Smith's bitter.
It was even a nice walk back to the van, the sun was still shining, the trees were glowing in their autumn colours and it was all reflected in the mirror smooth river Ouse, life doesn't get much better.
October 14th
Much cooler and damp today but we decided we would have a walk upstream along the river anyway, it was something we hadn't done before. We walked along the south side passed the bits we knew to Scarborough bridge (the rail bridge) and then just carried on walking until we came to the next bridge along. At the next bridge, Clifton Bridge, we crossed over the rive and as the weather was now wet, we started to head back towards the centre for cover.
Back in the centre and it had stopped raining so we walked part of the wall again but on the outside at street level this time, we did the section from Bootham Bat to Monk Bar, where we went back into the centre and eventually ended up in the pub out of the damp weather.
October 15th
Off home today but we were up early so we could make a stop at Knaresborough, for a look around and lunch (and maybe some exotic beer from the great beer shop there).
The firs thing we had to do was find somewhere to park the van, we usually park on the street but we usually go there in the car. We found a space in the car park down by the river and set off along the river towards the railway viaduct.
After a short walk we headed up into town and got some more food to go with our picnic lunch, we also bought a wigwam for a present for Will, we had seen it when we were there a couple of weeks before. No luck on the beer front though and it was very busy, it was market day.
We sat in the castle grounds, overlooking the river and viaduct for the picnic, you do not get views like this for a picnic every day. I say castle grounds as there is not much remaining of what must have been a magnificent building but it was dismantled in 1648 because of an order from Parliament. It had been on the wrong side during the civil war, now many town centre buildings are built with stone from the castle. Two ladies having their lunch next to us were jealous of me tacking photos, as they had forgot to bring their camera with them.
We walked back to the car park via the railway station, you have to walk across the rails and you can look over the viaduct, not something you get to do every day.
November 23rd to 26th
November 23rd
There was a light covering of snow on the van and roads when we got up but we decided we would go to York anyway and the forecast was for it all to melt away before lunch time.
The forecast was right and the roads were all clear, so there was no problems getting there. Got settled in had lunch and set off for the shops, it was still very cold though. I suppose the first thing we noticed was that the Yorkshire Eye had gone, now the Minster had its place back as the main attraction on the skyline.
The festive trappings were all very nice, the Christmas lights were very pretty and there was also an temporary ice rink over by the museum. But it was cold, even so we still didn't get to the pub until later than we usually do and it was heaving (full), amazingly we got a good seat near the roaring fire, perfect.
November 24th
Not quite a cold today, so decided we would leave the Christmas shopping for a day and see where the river Foss flows through the city. We made a picnic and set off for the Foss, we actually took the long way to get there vie the millennium bridge. On reaching the confluence on the Ouse and Foss, we discovered that due to work on the flood barrier sluice gates, the side of the Foss we wanted to walk along was closed off, not much of a problem we just crossed over the Blue bridge and walked down the other side.
The first thing we came across that we hadn't seen before was a canal lock and another set of sluice gates. From there we crossed over Castle Mills bridge to the other side of the Foss, there is not much access to the river along this section, so we picked it up again near the Coppergate Shopping Centre. Here the sky turned black and there was a sudden flurry of snow, luckily we were near enough to take shelter in the shops for a while until the weather improved. The bad weather soon blew over and we set off along the river again.
To get back to the side of the river we had find our way down some small alleyways but eventually got there. We had our picnic on a bench under a large willow tree, it was a bit too cold for this and we also attracted lots of hungry ducks.
After lunch we crossed back over the river via a footbridge at Rowntree Wharf (or Navigation Warehouse or Leetham's Mills), a place we had never seen before in all our visits to York. From here it was just a short stroll to part of the river we had walked on our city walls walk. With our exploitation of the Foss over we looked in the new Morrison's supermarket mainly for a warm and to use the toilets. But we actually ended up doing some sopping, getting Christmas cards and some beers.
By now it was very cold indeed and all we could do was retire to the pub but not the usual one, close by was the Brigadier Gerrard, another Sam Smith's outlet. We had used this pub many years ago and found it to be quite nice but now it was slightly rundown and had an odd clientele, that can be a problem with these cut price pubs. So we had one beer and walked back to the Kings but we had to pass trough the centre, so did a bit more shopping on the way. In the kings we had a chat with some of the locals, people who are usually in there whenever we visit. The girl behind the bar also knows our order but as I had said I might try the stout she was waiting for me to order before pouring them, so I had one for a change.
November 25th
Cold but sunny today, we had to finish some Christmas shopping but as it was fine, we walked the long way into the centre around the base of the wall, in the same direction as we had walk along the top last month. We walked as far as far as Micklegate Bar before heading into the sops, we passed another Sam Smith's pub and I had a quick look in to see what it was like but it looked like we had too many teeth to drink there. We could also got to see the some of the city gates (Bars) we had passed over on out wall walk in October.
To
be continued Soon