Oct 2023 – Aug 2024

Working in Whitby

A working sojourn in the beautiful North Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby. Read more

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Working in Whitby
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- Day 170
- Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 11:45 AM
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 305 ft
- England Beamish 54.8857, -1.659854°53’9” N 1°39’35” W
More shops in 1900s Town
March 21, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 170
- Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 11:55 AM
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 305 ft
- England Beamish 54.8857, -1.659854°53’9” N 1°39’35” W
1900s Town Garage
March 21, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 170
- Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 12:15 PM
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 305 ft
- England Beamish 54.8857, -1.659854°53’9” N 1°39’35” W
Aerated water bottling 😀
March 21, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 170
- Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 12:30 PM
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 305 ft
- England Beamish 54.8857, -1.659854°53’9” N 1°39’35” W
Last photos of 1900s Town
March 21, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 170
- Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 1:30 PM
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 305 ft
- England Beamish 54.8857, -1.659854°53’9” N 1°39’35” W
1900s Pit Village
March 21, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
After stopping for lunch in 1900s Town, we hopped on a tram to visit the 1900s pit village. This is what I was most interested in seeing. There were replicas of the houses that pit owners built for their workers right next to the mines, exactly as my ancestors would have lived in.

The school was really interesting. The building came from nearby Stanley, which is where my grandad was born. I'll have to do some more research to find out if it's the actual school he attended 😀.Read more
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 170
- Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 1:45 PM
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 305 ft
- England Beamish 54.8857, -1.659854°53’9” N 1°39’35” W
More photos of the pit village
March 21, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 170
- Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 4:00 PM
- 🌬 11 °C
- Altitude: 305 ft
- England Beamish 54.8857, -1.659854°53’9” N 1°39’35” W
Back to work
March 21, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 11 °C
We finished our visit to Beamish in the pit village, promising that we will return before we leave Whitby in October. There is just so much more to see!

We headed home, and then it was back to work with the campsite fully booked in the run-up to Easter.Read more
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 180
- Sunday, March 31, 2024 at 10:00 AM
- ☁️ 8 °C
- Altitude: 135 ft
- England River Esk 54.491076, -0.62700354°29’28” N 0°37’37” W
Easter Sunday
March 31, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
After a couple of very busy weeks at work, we actually had Easter Sunday off. So, we walked into Whitby on the Cinder Track. The plan was to watch hundreds of bikes setting off on their ride out - the culmination of the Scooter Weekend in town. However, we were too late! We just caught a glimpse of the last few heading off! Never mind!!

We had lunch at the Four Seasons and then went to the Chapel on the Hill to listen to some northern soul and motown. It was a very pleasant way to spend the day.Read more
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 193
- Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 1:45 PM
- 🌬 14 °C
- Altitude: 98 ft
- England River Esk 54.485711, -0.62120154°29’9” N 0°37’16” W
Wool, Jet, and Whalebone
April 13, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
After swimming and a visit to Chapel on the Hill to listen to some jazz yesterday, today I left Mark on site and went to Whitby Museum to watch a presentation about the town's fashion through the ages. It was presented by the two ladies who make up the History Wardrobe. They told the story of Whitby through entertaining anecdotes and several interesting costume changes. It was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, and well worth the ticket price.Read more
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- Day 198
- Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 11:00 AM
- 🌬 8 °C
- Altitude: 223 ft
- England Alnwick 55.412826, -1.69984555°24’46” N 1°41’59” W
Alnwick Gardens
April 18, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 8 °C
For our days off this week, we planned a trip in Bertha to Berwick-upon-Tweed, somewhere we haven't visited before. We booked tickets to visit Alnwick Gardens and Castle on the way to break up the three-hour drive. Unfortunately, we woke up to a very wet, windy, and cold morning, but we had no choice except to go on with our plans.

Alnwick Garden was created in 2001 by the Duchess of Northumberland, owner of nearby Alnwick Castle. It is a modern garden combining sculpture, water features, and beautiful plants to delight visitors. It features the largest collection of European plants in the UK and the largest Japanese Cherry Orchard in the world. It is certainly impressive, and I'm sure on a warm, sunny day, it would have been amazing! As it was, the cherry blossoms were past their best, and we were both rather too cold in the bitter wind to enjoy our visit fully! 😀

During our visit, we had a guided tour of The Poison Garden, which was very interesting. I had no idea so many common garden plants could do us do much damage!Read more
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- Day 198
- Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 11:30 AM
- 🌬 8 °C
- Altitude: 223 ft
- England Alnwick 55.4128, -1.699855°24’46” N 1°41’59” W
Cherry blossom at Alnwick Gardens
April 18, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 8 °C
The cherry 🍒 orchard at Alnwick Garden is planted with 326 Taihaku trees, a variety of ornamental cherry that produces large bright white blossoms every spring.

The Taihaku was originally introduced to England in 1900 by plant collector Captain Collingwood Ingram from Sussex. It later died out in its native Japan, and he was instrumental in reintroducing it there. All of the Taihaku trees in the world are descended from cuttings he took in Sussex!

As I said, the weather was terrible, and many of the blossoms had gone over, but it was still worth seeing. The last photo of the orchard shows what it would have looked like if we had visited two weeks ago!Read more
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 198
- Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 1:30 PM
- 🌬 8 °C
- Altitude: 144 ft
- England Alnwick Castle 55.415461, -1.70651755°24’56” N 1°42’23” W
Alnwick Castle
April 18, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 8 °C
From the gardens, it's a short walk to Alnwick Castle where the Percy family have lived for over 700 years! The current Duke and Duchess of Northumberland moved in in the mid-1990s. Since then, they have restored much of the castle's interior (no photography allowed) and repaired or replaced significant parts of the outer walls. Built originally as an austere border fortress, Alnwick Castle is now an important part of our national heritage, but it is also a family home.

Despite the torrential rain and near gale force winds, we really enjoyed our visit! Luckily, our entrance tickets are valid for a year, so we will do our best to come back in better weather!Read more
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 198
- Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 4:00 PM
- 🌬 10 °C
- Altitude: 36 ft
- Scotland Whiteadder Water 55.752735, -2.10595955°45’10” N 2°6’21” W
Union Chain Bridge
April 18, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 10 °C
From Alnwick Castle, we drove to Chainbridge Caravan Park near Berwick-upon-Tweed, home for the next two nights. The campsite is small but absolutely delightful 😊. We quickly got set up so that we could go out and explore before it got too dark.

The campsite is named because of its proximity to Union Chain Bridge. This structure marks the border between England and Scotland, with a different country on either side of the River Tweed.

In 1820, the Union Chain Bridge became the first chain-link iron suspension bridge to open in Europe. Originally designed for horse-drawn vehicles, but now adapted for cars, it is the oldest vehicle-carrying suspension bridge in the world 🌎.

The building of the Union Chain Bridge was a significant development in the history of bridge engineering, and it remains an important structure to this day. When it opened, it had the largest clear span deck in the world. This record was broken in 1826 when the Menai Suspension Bridge was built.

The bridge was designed by Samuel Brown (1776 - 1852), an entrepreneurial naval captain and innovative self-taught engineer. He patented the revolutionary eye-bar wrought iron chains we see today. This significantly influenced the design of future suspension bridges across the globe.

The view of the bridge and river from the entrance to the campsite was stunning. Of course, we walked down to cross the bridge and step foot in Scotland!Read more
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 198
- Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 5:30 PM
- 🌬 11 °C
- Altitude: 43 ft
- Scotland Whiteadder Water 55.7527, -2.10655°45’10” N 2°6’22” W
More photos of Union Chain Bridge
April 18, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 11 °C
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 10:00 AM
- 🌬 7 °C
- Altitude: 33 ft
- England River Tweed 55.767615, -2.00512955°46’3” N 2°0’18” W
Berwick-upon-Tweed Bridges
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C
It was a much brighter morning today. It was still cold as we headed for the bus stop, but at least the sun was shining!

We caught the bus into Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre and then headed along the riverside pathway to the quay where our pre-booked boat trip would depart from.

Berwick is the northernmost town in England and has a population of just over 12,000. It is situated at the mouth of the River Tweed on the east coast 56 miles from Edinburgh. For more than 400 years, the town was central to the border wars between England and Scotland, and it changed hands several times. The last time was when Richard of Gloucester retook Berwick for England in 1482. To this day, many local people feel a close affinity to Scotland, and both the town's football and rugby clubs play in Scottish leagues 😀.

The first thing that struck us as we walked along was the number of bridges across the river, carrying traffic, pedestrians, and trains. At one point, it is possible to photograph all three main bridges in one shot!

The oldest bridge is called, unsurprisingly, the Old Bridge! It was commissioned by James VI of Scotland as he was travelling south to claim the English throne in 1603. It is a 15-span sandstone arch bridge 355 metres long and is part of the Great North Road from London to Edinburgh. It was completed in 1624, meaning that this year is its quatercentenary! The local council, though, has chosen now to do 'necessary repairs', so half of this beautiful bridge is covered in scaffolding and plastic!

The Royal Tweed Bridge is the newest bridge in town. It was built in 1925 to carry the A1 road across the Tweed. It is 110 metres wide, which, at the time of its construction, was the longest concrete span anywhere. The A1 was diverted onto a bypass around the town in the early 2000s, but the bridge is still very much used by local traffic.

The third bridge in Berwick, and probably the most impressive, is the Royal Border Bridge. It was designed by Robert Stepehson and completed in 1850. It is a 658-metre long railway viaduct with 28 arches and was opened by Queen Victoria. Today, it carries the East Coast Main Line nearly 40 metres above the River Tweed.Read more
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 10:30 AM
- 🌬 7 °C
- Altitude: 33 ft
- England River Tweed 55.7676, -2.005155°46’3” N 2°0’18” W
More photos of Berwick bridges
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 11:00 AM
- 🌬 7 °C
- Altitude: 33 ft
- England River Tweed 55.7676, -2.005155°46’3” N 2°0’18” W
Estuary boat trip
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C
Our boat trip around the estuary of the River Tweed took us a little way out into the North Sea - not too far as it was a bit choppy and none too warm! Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable way to spend an hour, and the captain provided an entertaining commentary with lots of local information. We spotted a seal and lots of birds, but, sadly, no dolphins.Read more
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 1:00 PM
- 🌬 8 °C
- Altitude: 85 ft
- England River Tweed 55.769334, -2.00315755°46’10” N 2°0’11” W
Berwick-upon-Tweed's ramparts
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 8 °C
After the boat trip, we retraced our steps into town and stopped in the first pub we came to to get warm and have a bite to eat. Suitably refreshed, we went in search of the tourist information office which was located in the town's library. The lady there was very helpful and friendly. She gave us a map and advised us to walk around the ramparts to get a good overview of the place.

A medieval town wall was first built in 1297. The huge walls and ramparts we see today were built between 1558 and 1570, during the reigns of Mary I and Elizabeth I. Their purpose was to defend the town at a time of English-Scottish conflict.Read more
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 1:45 PM
- 🌬 8 °C
- Altitude: 128 ft
- England River Tweed 55.771215, -1.9998155°46’16” N 1°59’59” W
Berwick Barracks
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 8 °C
Halfway round the walls, we spotted Berwick Barracks with the English Heritage flag flying high over the entrance. As members, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to look around.

In the early 18th century, under the threat of Stuart claims to the crown of Great Britain, large barracks were built within the town walls in an open area called Ravensdowne. Today, Ravensdowne Barracks stand as a prominent reminder of more uncertain times. They were completed in 1721 and were one of the first purpose-built barracks in the country. They were also the largest, accommodating up to 636 soldiers in the 18th century. The last regular soldiers left the barracks in 1964.

There are four blocks of buildings around a barracks square. The grand stone arched entrance is original and has the coat of arms of George I (1714 - 1727) above it.

A wash house originally stood in the centre of the square. It was the only place where the 600+ soldiers stationed here could get cold water to wash and to take back to their rooms for cooking! The square was also a place of ceremony, parade, drill, and punishment.Read more
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 2:30 PM
- 🌬 9 °C
- Altitude: 128 ft
- England River Tweed 55.7712, -1.999855°46’16” N 1°59’59” W
Berwick Museum
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 9 °C
Berwick Museum is located in the Clock Block of Berwick Barracks. The building was originally a storehouse for military supplies.

The museum has an eclectic mix of items to tell the story of Berwick's past. There are two stars of the collection - an original painting by LS Lowry, which I'll talk about in the next footprint, and the Ord Cross, a tiny but significant item with an incredible history.

The Ord Cross was found by a detectorist on the banks of the River Tweed and dates from the 7th to 10th century. It is made of gold and inscribed with the name Eadruf. He must have held a position of wealth and importance within Anglo-Saxon society to have owned such a valuable item. Because of where it was found, we presume the cross was lost by its owner as he was walking on the Anglo-Saxon highway, as the river is also known. It is most likely that Eadruf was a cleric or courtier.Read more
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 3:00 PM
- 🌬 9 °C
- Altitude: 128 ft
- England River Tweed 55.7712, -1.999855°46’16” N 1°59’59” W
LS Lowry in Berwick
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 9 °C
Berwick Museum recently acquired a painting by LS Lowry. 'Beach Scene' is believed to have been painted in 1960 and depicts the beach and sand dunes in the former fishing village of Spittal.

Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887 - 1976) is a well-known artist recognised for his paintings of industrial scenes in the northwest of England. His works depicting the northeast coast and Berwick-upon-Tweed are less well known.

Lowry was very fond of Berwick and regularly holidayed in the town from 1934 until the year before he died. He stayed at the Castle Hotel near the railway station. His first known painting of Berwick is of Marygate and is dated 1935. He painted about 30 finished pictures of the town.

There is now a Lowry trail so that visitors can follow in the artist's footsteps and take in his inspirational viewpoints.

Also attached to this footprint are some general shots of Berwick, taken as we continued our walk.Read more
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- Day 199
- Friday, April 19, 2024 at 5:30 PM
- 🌬 9 °C
- Altitude: 148 ft
- England Berwick Castle 55.773981, -2.01080655°46’26” N 2°0’39” W
A wander around Berwick
April 19, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 9 °C
After completing our walk around Berwick's ancient walls, we made our way to the bus stop to head back to the campsite. Our plan had been to get there before the honey farm next door closed. However, when the bus finally came (over half an hour late), the driver told us that he wasn't going our way! This was despite it saying on the board, and on the app, that he was! So, we had no choice but to walk up to the other end of town to the railway station to get a taxi. When we got back to the site, the honey farm was closed 😩.

We'll just have to come back this way one day! 😂Read more
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- Day 200
- Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 9:00 AM
- ☁️ 5 °C
- Altitude: 148 ft
- Scotland Paxton 55.761655, -2.11011955°45’42” N 2°6’36” W
Paxton House
April 20, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
We were up early for our pre-booked visit to Paxton House. Although it was just the other side of the river from our campsite, we decided not to risk crossing the Union Chain Bridge in Bertha. When we looked at it the other night, it seemed rather narrow. Instead, we drove along to the next road bridge and crossed there, adding about half an hour to our journey.

When we arrived, we were a little early for our guided tour, so we had a look around the museum of the Ellem Fishing Club. Founded in 1829, it is the oldest fishing club in the world. Members fish for trout in the Whiteadder river, which runs into the River Tweed just east of Paxton. It was fascinating to see all the old hand-tied flies.

Paxton House is a Palladian villa built by Patrick Home in 1758, shortly after the union between Scotland and England was established. The house is located in Scotland, just 250 metres from the border. It is a fine example of the design and craftsmanship of architect John Adam and furniture maker Thomas Chippendale. There are approximately 400 surviving pieces of Chippendale furniture in the world. Incredibly, over 100 of them are found in Paxton House, all of them especially made to fit the space and Adam's design.

Eight generations of the Home family have occupied the house. In 1988, the latest incumbent, John Home Robertson, gifted it to the nation. He and his family now live in a more modest building on the estate.

Our guide, Graham, was very knowledgeable. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos in the main house, so with this footprint 👣 are shots of the house's exterior and the grounds.Read more
TravelerI love visiting kitchens in old houses. Usually the most interesting part.
5/11/24Reply
TravelerDefinitely! One of my favourites is in Brodsworth Hall near Doncaster. We've been many times over the years, but only found out recently that my auntie's husband worked there as a boy 😊
5/11/24Reply
Traveler😯👍
5/11/24Reply
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 200
- Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 10:30 AM
- ☁️ 7 °C
- Altitude: 148 ft
- Scotland Paxton 55.7617, -2.110155°45’42” N 2°6’36” W
More photos of Paxton House and grounds
April 20, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
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Working in Whitby
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- Day 200
- Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 1:00 PM
- ☁️ 9 °C
- Altitude: 72 ft
- Scotland Paxton 55.760267, -2.10805655°45’37” N 2°6’29” W
Boat trip at Paxton House
April 20, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
After our guided tour of Paxton House, we went back to the van for a bite to eat before heading to the Boat House for a trip along the river.

Suitably kitted out in life jackets, we set off in our shallow Finnish craft with two other paying customers, two trainee boatmen, and our skipper. It was really interesting to hear the skipper teaching the newbies how to navigate the river.

The trip lasted about an hour. It was sunny, if not warm, and very pleasant. It was good to see Paxton House from a different perspective, and we spotted lots of different birds, too.

After the trip, we climbed back up the hill to the car park and headed home, calling at the supermarket on the way. Back to work tomorrow!Read more
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