Spent last week in the lovely North Yorkshire area and it was lovely to be reminded of the beauty of the location. We did quite a bit in the week, all things considered. And despite the fact that I spent my childhood in South Yorkshire , this was an area of outstanding national beauty in which I had spent little time in my formative years.
We stopped for three nights in Dunsley Hall, which was OK (after we’d changed rooms to one that could pass muster as adequate). Stopped here for three nights and during that time we:-
- Visited Lythe, the village and church where a couple of Denise’s relatives had a little history – had the added bonus of a lovely community run shop and café and a generally friendly vibe. Then moved on to Staithes, the much vaunted and oft photographed fishing village and then to Runswick Bay. The latter was much smaller and quieter but probably had the better vista.
- Just down the road to Whitby ( a place we had both been to previously, revisiting the Abbey (not quite as magnificent as I remember it) and then on to the gorgeous Robin Hoods Bay, with its small smuggling paths and alleyways; not sure I’d want to move there if it included moving house contents, would have to buy ‘all furnishing included’!! Anyway, a delight and a joy.
- Left Dunsley Hall a day earlier than planned and checked in to the Raithwaite Estate for four nights rather than the anticipated three. In the evening took the unexpected opportunity to see a production of Ayckbourne’s ‘Private Fears in Public Places‘ a comic but moving portrait of loneliness and a fairly recent example of the playwright’s facility with words. The next full day we managed Goathland (Aidensfield in ‘Where the Heart Is’), then took the three mile walk to the wonderful Mallyan Spout waterfall, onto Becks Hole and then back to the village. We also took a detour on our return and stopped in to the pretty village of Hutton Le Hole to take in the very fine Ryedale Folk Museum. We also came across the highest pub in the North York moors (the Lion Hotel) on the way back and so settled for ale and food en-route back to the hotel
- Amongst other things, we also took a trip to Scarborough, I lost at crazy golf, walked to Whitby and then back to Sandsend, played and won 2 further games of crazy golf (honour recovered) and took great delight in searching out independent coffee houses and good local food and drink wherever we ended up.
It was refreshing to spend a week away exploring an area of the UK that was far more scenic than we remembered, although we were blessed with more than our share of fair weather; excellent to prove that if appropriately paced, I can handle a fairly full seven days without passing out!