Whitby with Jan

After three short but busy days at work, we were off again! This time, Jan was coming to stay for a few days. We had really been looking forward to seeing her. The last time we were together was when she came to stay with us in York two years ago.

She arrived by train from London yesterday, getting in to Whitby at 15.38. Mark went to pick her up. We spent the evening catching up and having a meal of lemon chicken.

After breakfast this morning, we headed off to walk into Whitby via the Abbey and the 199 steps. It was dry when we set off, but the rain soon came down, and it started blowing a gale. At one point, we were being bombarded by hailstones!! By the time we took shelter in St Mary's Church, we were all soaked, and Mark was exhausted and in a lot of pain! Fortunately, as is the way with the great British weather, the sun soon came out, and we were able to warm up as we descended the 199 steps into town.

We wandered through the Old Town and bought kippers from Fortunes for Mark and Jan to have for breakfast tomorrow. We stopped for a drink at the Black Horse Inn, one of Whitby's most famous pubs. They serve 'yapas' or Yorkshire tapas!! None of us was hungry, but we did share a pint of hot pork scratchings! I've never really liked them, but now they are about the only salty savoury snack I'm allowed to eat because they contain no carbs!!

After our pit stop, we continued our tour of the town. It was lovely to show Jan all the hidden places I've discovered in Whitby. The weather stayed kind to us, and we covered a lot of ground before going to Trenchers for an early dinner.

I didn’t take too many photos during the day as I think I've got rather too many of Whitby!! I did get some nice rooftop shots as we came down the 199 steps, though.Read more