Sunny (& windy) Scarborough.

Just back from a week touring Scarborough and the North East Coast with Rach & Ben and Ben’s Nan & Gramps. Had a fantastic time and staying at a lovely private cottage in Cayton just outside Scarborough. The cottage was about 1/2 a mile down a private farmtrack so it was really quiet and private. It was gorgeous inside, fully equipped, mature gardens, but best of all was the Hot Tub!

It was a nice mix of chilling out and exploring. Most of the chilling took place in the hot tub, and the exploring…

First trip was out to Cayton Bay, bit of a surfers paradise apparently. Ben was eager to test the water and as proved to be the case all holiday, was first to wet a toe. A natural water babe, it wasn’t long before Ben was on his knees in the rock pools for a spot of crabbing.

Next it was on to the picturesque town of Whitby.

Where in the harbour we were welcomed by the Grand Turk. [Hornblower. It is a replica of a 22 gun frigate.

After a brief sojourn down to the end of the harbour, with it’s wonderful views of Whitby Abbey and the houses overlooking the harbour entrance, we had a trip up the windy hill for a closer look at the Abbey. You can read more on the history of Whitby Abbey here.
There’s definitely an aura to the whole place. Perched high on the cliffs overlooking the harbour entrance with a monastic history dating back to 657AD, you can only begin to imagine what’s gone on there over 1,400 years. You approach the Abbey from the east, walk on the grass through the colonnades and then admire the ruins from the west.

After seeing the Abbey and the new visitors centre, no trip to Whitby would be complete without visiting Robin Hood’s Bay, where Ben tested his sea legs on one of the local fishing boats ‘Stephanie‘. More on Robin Hood’s Bay.

Next it was on to the wonderful North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Sir Nigel Gresley A4 60007

Wonderful indeed! beautiful scenery complimented with the sights and smells of wonderful steam engines.
We boarded the train at Pickering and headed off for our first stop of Levisham. We didn’t get off the train here, instead we stayed on until the next stop of Goathland… or Aidensfield as anyone who watches Heart Beat will know it. Can’t say I do watch Heart Beat, but for those of you who do you may recognise the garage, the shop, and the Aidensfield Arms or Goathland Hotel as it’s really called. You may also recognise this teethy little monster after filling his face at the Aidensfield tea & bun shop, after which Steve totted up the number of times he had to get his wallet out in the past 24 hours. A new record according to Trish!

Even without it’s tv fame, it’s a beautiful little village on the end of a steam train journey that’s well worth a visit. On the way back to the station to pick up the next train to the end of the line Grossmont, we found the lovely little river Esk. Ben, ever the water babe was mesmerised by the little waterfall.
We caught the final train to Grossmont where Ben filled his boots (and his nappy) in the Thomas the Tank Engine shop, then we hitched a ride with a different engine, through the valley, 18 miles back to pickering. Just in time to stock up…

Very handy!

Next day we were off to Castle Howard.

Click for BIGGY.

I could write pages on our trip here, but best not, however you can find out more detail on this magnificent place here.
I loved the giant fountain in the grounds, and the ‘friends‘ shot just for good measure. The view of the castle from the end of the garden was rather spectacular too.
Water plays a big part in the grounds of the castle with a number of pools, feeding each other via waterfalls, and at the front of the castle is another series of lakes that look imminently fishable.
I’d like to know what’s in here, but I won’t be hanging round for 2,000 years to find out!
We toured the castle which was fascinating. But as it is still habbited by the Howard family, who were walking around while we were there, cameras are not allowed in the castle, understandably enough, for privacy reasons. So no pics of the lavish interior and the wealth of artwork on the walls.

After our visit to Castle Howard we drove across the North York Moors, taking very much a similar course as the steam train, up to Staithes. Another gorgeous little fishing village very similar to Robin Hoods Bay.

One thing we did notice as we crossed the moors, or didn’t notice as the case may be was the famous ‘Golf Balls’ at RAF Fylingdales early warning station. Remember these?…

Well they aren’t there any more! Instead they’ve been replaced by what, according to the train conductor, seems to have attained the name ‘The Giant Sandcastle’…

Slightly further down the coast we had a look at Runswick Bay, similar again to Staithes & Co. where Ben tried out his new, and slightly large, froggy wellies. They lasted long enough to undergo a quick paddle in the sea, but not long enough to walk back up the hill in.

It was a busy day that lead to one tired little boy. Still after he woke up from his ‘bad hair day‘ nightmare, he mustered the energy for an evening in Scarbrough on the slots and the dodgems.

Next day saw us down at the Sea Life centre.

Sea Life Centres.

A rather impressive one at that. I’ve been to them at Hunstanton, Blackpool, Great Yarmouth and Windermere, but the Scarborough one seems to have a lot more there including outdoor exhibits of penguins, otters and rescued seals. I was most impressed with the hypnotic Lion fish. I could have watched them for hours.

A great break that we all thoroughly enjoyed. After all the things he saw and did Ben seemed most enamoured with this simple pine cone he found. Small things hey! Still, it all led to one happy baby.