WHITBY PHOTO DIARY

Monday

Wicked north wind, 'Lazy wind'- cuts through not round you.

4pm tea followed by short walk to bottom of grounds, along cinder track which used to be old railway line to bridge over River Esk. Saw steam train below.

Dinner followed by interesting talk on the history of Whitby (Cook, Dracula and all that).

Tuesday

Cool and dry, good walking weather. Sun for latter part of day. Did medium walk. Beautiful views.

After dinner an open-top bus tour of Whitby. We were treated to a magnificent (stunning) sunset to the west:

Roseberry Topping
Cook's Monument

and the full moon over the Abbey ruins to the East.

Saw signs of land slippage which had demolished several houses. East Pier is also suffering from erosion and in need of replacement without which the harbour will not be protected.

Wednesday

Wall to wall sunshine. Coastal Path along the Cleveland Way from Hayburn Wyke. Abundance of wild flowers through woodland. Some fairly steep flights of steps, quite tough walking. Picnicked at the disused alum processing plant. Finished at Robin Hood Bay. After the evening quiz took very weary limbs off to bed.

Thursday

I elected for the easier walk round Horcum Bowl, a very large hollow formed when the local giant scooped up soil to throw at his wife during an argument (or, water erosion, if you prefer). Had coffee break at disused hunting lodge and watched steam trains in valley below:

Had picnic lunch at village pub where they served delicious home made lemonade. Dropped down to catch steam train to Pickering.

Visited church with wonderful wall paintings, Mott and Bailey Castle then a quick wiz round a wonderful folk museum (Beck Isle Museum?) – feeling old as full of articles I remember being used. The evening entertainment was a quiz on 'body parts'. This proved to be hilarious as democracy was in full swing when it came to marking the answers to such questions as naming a body part associated with a dance. Answers put forward were lap-dancing, belly-dancing , black bottom and hip-hop. The later was disallowed, as that is a form of music. I won’t say what the answers were for 'boy's name'!

Friday

Weather deteriorated- perfect timing for our return journey to Oxford.

Words & photos: Jenny Byrne