Sunday 6th August
The first leg of our official Summer holiday where we venture a bit further from home than our usual weekend getaways. This year it is North Yorkshire, lulled by the promised stunning scenery seen in our travel magazines and reassured by many friends and colleauges about how beautiful it all is.
Our halfway stop was an uneventful drive up the M1 set in the grounds of Poolsbrook Country Park near Staveley in Derbyshire. Its a regenerated area previously home to an active colliery – one of the area’s claims to its industrial heritage. It’s a ‘Caravan and Motorhome Club’ site (previously Caravan Club) with all its inherent rules and regulations that strip away any individuality or quirkiness that we’ve come to love on our caravan adventures; but the site is clean and wholesome, neat as a pin and there was a pleasant walk around a lake right on our doorstop.
We eventually managed to set up the TV with some decent reception, but the fridge is giving us cause for concern and we are missing the awning which we didn’t bother putting up for just one night – all the better for a quicker getaway tomorrow for the second leg of our journey.
Monday 7th August
After a night of rain pattering on the caravan roof, we woke to a watery grey morning and were able to set off quite quickly for our final destination at Whitby 110 miles away. Once more we got on the M1 and travelled further North with the sun coming out giving us hope that the weather forecasts for this week might not be as gloomy as predicted. Once we passed Pickering we descended into the North York Moors National Park. The views were stunning with the ground covered in purple heather for as far as the eye could see; the dappled sun causing the colours to sway between brown and pink – it was beautiful. As we drove down the A169 we crowned a hill and finally saw the sea with Whitby laid out in all its splendour, hugging the coastline.
We found the caravan site at the end of the Sat Nav instructions along a lonely road that ran parallel with the cliffs. Whitby Holiday Park boasts magnificent cliff top views, a short walk to Whitby and free wifi…or as we were to quickly discover – cliff top viewed behind 4 rows of other caravans, a 2 mile walk to Whitby and Wifi that’s too weak to take you to its own website! Still never mind, we were warned not to put up awnings due to the forecast of gale force winds overnight and tomorrow, so we’ve got some lively weather to look forward to..!
The fridge is a worry. Last trip we didn’t have running water, but this time we have no fridge! The Man has tried a few solutions but to no avail, so we’re in conference trying to work out what food we need to eat when, to avoid food poisoning! I’ll keep you posted.
We decided to drive into Whitby as we didn’t have a lot of time, so after parking the ice packs in the freezer with the nice man in the camp shop, we set off for a quick explore. Whitby was utterly charming, but absolutely rammed with people; car parks were full to overflowing, pavements impassable and the harbour side was packed shoulder to shoulder with crabbers!
But we got a satisfying flavour of the place and will look forward to returning later in the week for a more intensive explore. We went back to the van for a pleasant sunny evening sorting out the food rotation and prioritising our perishables.
After a lovely chilli dinner we were mesmerised by a stunning sunset beckoning through the windows and decided to take an evening walk along the coast path to Whitby Abbey. It was a lovely stroll along the cliff top straight from the caravan site, and the evening sky was enchanting against the Abbey backdrop. The sunset colours constantly changed and the Abbey silhouette was transformed at every angle. We walked all around the Abbey perched on the top of a hill overlooking a fabulous view of Whitby town on the other side. The walk certainly made a pleasant change from our usual habit of lounging on the couch after dinner, and we might make a habit of this new healthier alternative.
Tuesday 8th August
Today’s plan was to explore Saltburn and Staithes, seaside towns situated a few miles up the coast. But the day dawned dismal and grey, with an ominous sky hanging low in the sky. Nothing for it but to roll over and go back to sleep! It rained and rained, there was no let up. The promised hurricane winds had never materialised and we were regretting not putting up the awning when the weather was nice. Now we had no staging area to shed wet coats and boots and towel down the dog.
Although we enjoyed a leisurely morning reading the papers, in the end we had to venture out or risk severe cabin fever. So we packed up lunch, coats and towels and set off for Saltburn, optimistic as always. The rain never let up but we braved the front at Saltburn getting completely soaked but finding some joy in the adventure and novelty of it all. We were a couple of only a very few brave souls who had come out to defy the elements, and there was an air of Bulldog spirit and satisfaction in the whole venture.
Nothing much was open and we had to keep reminding ourselves that this was a day in the full flush of the Summer holidays, but it was more like November. In the end, for want of somewhere dry to sit with the dog and eat our packed lunch, we rented a beach hut for an hour – what a lark! It was charming and kitsch. We sat on deckchairs and made tea and coffee to have with our picnic. We felt ridiculously pleased with ourselves, and smiled benignly at all the damp walkers peering in as they passed by.
We ended the trip with a wet and blustery walk along the pier. We planned to drop into Straithes on our way home but got a phone call from the Caravan site to say that the skylight had blown off our van and the rain was getting in! So we beat a hasty retreat back to base and found the skylight had been replaced by a kindly handyman, but the inside was soaked. The rest of the day was taken up with mopping and drying and draping seat covers and carpet over our tiny heater. This was all on top of the fridge not working….its hard work on a caravan holiday!
Wednesday 9th August
Today is my 59th birthday and it was lovely from start to finish.
A lovely leisurely breakfast followed by a trip into Whitby to visit the Farmers market to get food for tonight’s birthday tea. Unfortunately I had looked up ‘Whitby Farmers market’ on the internet not realising that there was also a Whitby Farmers market in Whitby Ontario in Canada, which happened to be on Wednesdays! Whitby Farmers market UK is on tomorrow (I thought it was fairly easy to park in town…). Never mind, we had a lovely mooch around the delightfully quaint streets and bought mussels and sea bass for my birthday at one of the fishmongers around the harbour.
After popping back to base to put the fish in our broken fridge (well cushioned with ice packs), we went to Robin Hood’s bay a little further South along the coast. The struggle and frustration of trying to get parked was well worth the wonderful visit to a most exquisitely gorgeous seaside town.
The sight of the majestic bay from the top of the hill sweeping away from the town was arresting, and a tantalising backdrop as you descended the steep cobbled streets. Little fisherman’s cottages jostled for space behind gaily coloured doors and tiny gardens packed with hollyhocks and daisies. The knee bracing walk down the hill was rewarded by a huge beach strewn with rock pools and framed by rugged cliffs and roaring surf. Perfection!
After walking along the beach poking into rock pools and just sitting enjoying the view, we eventually tore ourselves away and returned to the van to prepare and eat an amazing birthday dinner; mussels in white wine and garlic followed by sea bass. Absolutely lovely.
Thursday 10th August
We woke to brilliant blue skies and glorious sunshine so decided to walk into Whitby along the Cleveland Way. This is the walk we did on the first evening when we walked to the Abbey, and this morning we were rewarded with a good daytime view of the beaches far below with the tide out and people poking about among the rock pools and what looked like a fascinating old boat wreck which was now totally exposed.
The Cleveland Way National Trail is a 109 mile (175 Km) walking route through beautiful and ever changing landscapes and scenery. It was the second National Trail in England and Wales and was officially opened on 24th May 1969. The Trail offers the best of both worlds, heather moorland and stunning coastal scenery (http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cleveland-way/information).
It was a beautiful walk past the Abbey again and then through the grave yard and down steep steps to the town. The views were wonderful and the town was bustling with the added attraction of the Farmers Market (although it wasn’t that impressive as markets go). We had another wander around town in the sunshine and then walked back along the coast path.
After a restorative cup of tea we drove into Scarborough. The sun stayed out and when we finally got parked on North Beach we enjoyed strolling along the sands (dogs allowed) until Jim peed on someone’s towel! So we beat a hasty retreat to a coffee shop and watched the world go by – overexcited kids, tired parents, sand encrusted toddlers and grannies bearing piles of towels and buckets and spades. We decided that The Dog was a lot less trouble!
We drove round to South Beach which was a different beast altogether; heaving with holiday makers, funfair music blaring out and the jarring noise of the enormous amusements arcades. We didn’t stop – just enjoyed it all from the relative peace of the car.
It was such a lovely evening that we decided to go for another after dinner walk and tackled the challenging path down onto Saltwick bay beach. The sun had set behind the cliffs so it was a bit shady and cool but it was lovely to watch the waves crashing on the beach and wander along in the ever hopeful quest to find a fossil.
Friday 11th August
It’s time to leave North Yorkshire and head back halfway home to our third leg of the journey at Riddings Wood Caravan Park near Alfreton. This was yet another style of caravan site, quite small and with neat individual pitches that looked well cared for and popular. Most of the clientele seemed to be under canvas with just a handful of touring caravans parked up around the perimeter.
We’ve got used to being without a fridge and have devised a labour intensive solution that involves the cool box, bags of ice and food rotation. We need to shop daily for our meals so once we’d pitched up we set off for Alfreton to buy tonight’s dinner. Apart from there being no obvious place to park for more than 30 minutes Alfreton wasn’t especially appealing so we settled for a convenient shop in Iceland and then relaxed back at base recovering from the three and half hour journey we’d taken to get here.
Saturday 12th August 2017
The day dawned bright and sunny so we were hopeful that our plans for visiting Matlock and doing a 5 mile walk in the afternoon would not be spoiled by rain.
Matlock is situated at the south eastern edge of the Peak District and the former spa resort Matlock Bath lies immediately south of the town. The town lies on the River Derwent, and has prospered from both the hydrotherapy industry and the cloth mills constructed on the river and its tributary Bentley Brook. The town was mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086 it was recorded as Meslach a hamlet of Mestesford, or perhaps Nestesford. In 1196 it was named Matlac (Wikipedia).
We wandered around the pleasant town enjoying a coffee sitting outside a quaint coffee shop and exploring the shops, and then went off to the car park on the A6 to start our ‘Matlock Alpine Walk’ from the ‘Country Walking’ magazine. The walk was advertised as mostly easy paths with some steep hills and 5 miles long………..4 hours and 8.2 miles later we staggered back to the car carrying an exhausted dog, and according to my i-phone, having climbed 82 floors!
We felt a great sense of achievement and had really enjoyed some of the sights we saw along the walk; Pic Tor, the war memorial, High Tor, a Roman cave and the Heights of Abraham, ending up in Matlock Bath. Lord Byron called the Derwent Valley between the two towns ‘Little Switzerland’, hence the Alpine Trail. We certainly felt like we’d done some mountain climbing by the time we’d finished!
It was a lovely bookend to our trip and were confident that all that exercise would promise aa good night’s sleep before we set off for home tomorrow.
Me, the man, our dog, and a van 