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Working in Whitby
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Mark Wade

Working in Whitby

A working sojourn in the beautiful North Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby. Les mer
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  • Working in Whitby

    Chapel on the Hill

    2. mars 2024, England ⋅ 🌬 6 °C

    From the museum, we went to Chapel on the Hill for lunch and to listen to some live music. This café and music venue has been on our radar since we first came to Whitby, but we haven't had the opportunity to visit before now. It is located in a disused church. Some of the original features, like the stained glass windows, remain and the acoustics are great for live music. The food is all home-made and extremely good. Today's band were called Forever Young. They played the music of Bob Dylan. It was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.Les mer

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    The Color Purple and live music

    8. mars 2024, England ⋅ 🌬 6 °C

    We're getting used to this new work pattern and trying to make the most of our time off!

    Yesterday, we went to see The Color Purple at Whitby Pavilion. This is a new musical version of the stage production. Although it tells the same story as the original book and 1985 film, it bears little resemblance to either. We thoroughly enjoyed it though. The score was incredible!

    This morning, I walked into town to go swimming. I'm trying to get back into the habit after a few weeks of not being able to go. Afterwards, Mark caught the bus in and met me at Chapel on the Hill. We had another enjoyable lunch and listened to the Blue Bridge Band who played an eclectic mix of classics and bossa nova.    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    Gunby Hall

    14. mars 2024, England ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    So, my birthday a couple of days ago passed without any celebration, although I did get some lovely messages from friends and family. We tend not to mark birthdays, but next year might just be different when we will be in Rio for my big 60th!! 😊

    We had to go home yesterday for a blood pressure test which turned out to be completely normal - what a relief! We went to the Beck for lunch and then to the Loewen to see One Love, a biopic about Bob Marley. We were the only customers in the screening! It was a really good movie! We do appreciate having a decent restaurant and a fantastic cinema within a few hundred yards of where we live!

    This morning, I had my appointment with the diabetic nurse. She was ready to prescribe me tablets, but agreed to give me 8 weeks to reduce my blood sugar levels through lifestyle changes. I've got my work cut out!

    Afterwards, rather than drive straight back to Whitby, we decided to visit Gunby Hall, a National Trust property only 20 minutes from home. I did a craft fair there once, but we have never visited it properly.

    The hall was built by Sir William Massingberd from 1696 to 1701. It remained in his family until the death of Diana Massingberd in 1967. He built a four-square, no-nonsense brick house with few artistic flourishes. The building we see today is pretty much as he created it. Despite its rather austere appearance, the house seems to have been a happy place for most of its history. The family loved living there. Despite its remote location, the house has been the focus of consistently fascinating groups of friends and contacts throughout the years: from Dr Johnson in the eighteenth century to Rudyard Kipling in the 20th, from Charles Darwin to Josiah Wedgwood, Virginia Woolf and Edward Lear to Vaughan Williams and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the list is as long as it is various.

    The interior retains much of the original furniture. There is a real sense of it being a treasured family home. The room stewards we spoke to were all passionate about the house and its contents. We really enjoyed looking around.    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    Gunby Hall Gardens

    14. mars 2024, England ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    The gardens at Gunby Hall are beautiful and extensive. It is likely that the walls around the Walled Garden, the dovecot, and Gardens Cottage all date from the very early 1700s, the same time as the hall was built.

    This early in the year, many of the plants have yet to flower, but there was still plenty to enjoy as we walked around.

    There was also a very well stocked secondhand bookshop, which I couldn’t pass by! 😀    Les mer

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    St Peter's Church, Gunby

    14. mars 2024, England ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    Before leaving Gunby and heading back to Whitby, we visited the parish church in the grounds. It was built in 1870 in the Early English style and is the third church on the site. The ancient parish was at its most populous in 1891, with a total of just 85 parishioners.

    Today, there are less than 20 residents in the parish. Now, St Peter's is a festival church, that is to say, it hosts baptisms, weddings, and funerals but doesn't have any regular church services. Without donations from National Trust visitors, the church would not be able to remain open.

    The churchyard is full of graves of members of the Massingberd family.    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    Whitby Distillery Tour

    15. mars 2024, England ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    As part of my birthday celebrations, we booked a Whitby Distillery tour, including a gin tasting.

    Next year, the distillery is moving to amazing new premises in an English Heritage-owned property next to Whitby Abbey. For now, though, it is to be found in an inauspicious industrial unit on the outskirts of town. Despite the unpromising-looking building, the tour was interesting, informative, and very enjoyable.

    The business was started just a few short years ago by Jessica and Luke. Through trial and error and a lot of online research, they crafted their signature gin, flavouring it with distinctive local botanicals: heather foraged from the North York Moors, sugar kelp and local honey, each selected to champion one element of the North Yorkshire coastline.

    They began with very small quantities produced in the 40 sq ft utility room at Luke’s parent’s house and sold in local shops. Their reputation grew quickly and they were soon winning awards. Today, they have several different varieties of gin and a couple of rums, which are all delicious!

    The hour-long tour and tasting cost £25 which we felt was really good value, especially as we were given a full glass of gin and tonic with grapefruit and rosemary on arrival to drink while we listened to the presentation! We then got to taste the rest of their range. Superb!!    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    Our first trip away in Bertha in 2024

    18. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    After work on Monday 18th, we headed off in Bertha to Durham Grange Campsite for a three-night break. The weather forecast wasn't too good, but we were happy just to be off site.

    It was an hour and a half drive, so we were there and set up by 7pm, giving us time to prepare a meal and get our bearings before it got dark.

    It was the first time in Durham for both of us, so we were looking forward to exploring the city, and | was excited to see where Grandad Bramhald's family came from!

    We were up early on Tuesday morning to catch the bus into Durham. The site was great, with lovely clean facilities and a well-stocked tourist information office and book swap, but when it came to walking to the bus stop, we realised that the location wasn't ideal! We had to cross the slip roads coming off and going on the A1! It did feel a bit like taking our lives in our hands!

    However, we arrived unscathed and caught the bus. It was just a 10-minute ride into town. Our first stop was going to be at Crook Hall Gardens, owned by the National Trust. To get there, we walked along the river. The sun even managed to make an appearance!    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    Crook Hall Gardens, Durham

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Crook Hall is just a short walk from Durham city centre. The hall itself is Grade I listed and is considered one of the city’s most significant medieval domestic buildings. The oldest part of Crook Hall we see today was built by Peter del Croke in the first half of the 14th century. It's likely to have replaced an earlier building.

    Following the del Croke family residency, Crook Hall had a series of short-term tenants until 1372, when Alan de Billingham took ownership. The Billingham family remained connected to the hall for almost 300 years and were employed by the Bishops of Durham at various points during this time. It was Thomas Billingham who, in 1450, gave the natural spring known as Fram Well to the people of Durham as a clean water source.

    In 1667, Thomas Billingham sold Crook Hall to Christopher Mickleton, who passed it on to his son, James, a year later. James and his wife Frances made a series of changes to the hall, including a new wing and doorway.

    John Mickleton, grandson of James and Frances, sold Crook Hall in 1721. By 1736, it was in the hands of the Hopper family of Shincliffe. The Hoppers added the Georgian wing to the west end of the building, with good quality pine panelling, a fine staircase, and a stuccoed ceiling.

    Today, visitors come to see the beautiful gardens, rather than the hall itself. There are acres of interlinked gardens, each with its own character and style. We particularly enjoyed the walled garden, which is believed to be over 700 years old and was visited by William Wordsworth and John Ruskin, amongst many others. We were blessed with dry weather and the sight of lovely spring flowers as we walked around.    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    A self-guided walking tour of Durham

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We usually do a walking tour when we first arrive in a new city. On this occasion, there was nothing available to book on the days we had available. I guess it was just too early in the season. Instead, I downloaded a self-guided tour voiced by Peter, a local geography teacher. Whilst I would have preferred having a real-life guide, it was really interesting and informative.

    We started in the Market Place in front of the wooden doors to St Nicholas's church, next to the Town Hall. We then followed the 42-metre-long granite heritage timeline which is set into the paving slabs and shows different events in Durham's rich history. We paused to take a photo of a statue of Neptune, Roman god of the sea. This was erected to mark the many failed attempts to make Durham an inland port.

    The timeline ended at a statue of Charles William Vane-Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. He was a distinguished soldier, but here in Durham, he was best known as the owner of many mines and had a reputation as a brutal and ruthless tyrant. He opposed reforms to employment law and blacklisted businesses that gave credit to striking miners.

    From there, we went to Framwellgate Bridge, the oldest of Durham's three historic bridges. The original bridge was built by Ranulf Flambard (|Bishop of Durham 1099 - 1128). It was defended by a tower and gateway which were later demolished. The present bridge was built by Bishop Langley in the early 15th century and was widened from 6.2 metres to 8.6 metres 400 years later.    Les mer

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    Our walking tour continues

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    From the bridge, we walked along the river bank, admiring our first views of Durham Castle and Durham Cathedral, which, along with the city walls, make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    We then re-crossed the river and entered the old city through an arch in the walls.  We passed the Chapel of Saint Mary the Less and admired the town houses that line both sides of the cobbled streets.  One of the houses was owned by Dame Elizabeth Bowers, a pioneer of coal mining before the industrial revolution and the seven times great-grandmother of King Charles III.Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    Durham Cathedral

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    After lunch, we headed for the cathedral. It purports to be free to go in, but the way the entrance is configured and the large signs about a suggested donation, along with vocal staff positioned behind tills, make it almost impossible not to pay! Not that we mind paying to visit such a magnificent building.

    The very existence of a cathedral on this site is credited to Saint Cuthbert. He was born in North Northumberland in the 630s into a relatively wealthy family. He trained as a warrior and was educated and raised as a Christian. In his teens, he had a vision of a bishop to heaven. This moved him to become a monk. He served as a monk for 15 years before becoming the prior of Lindisfarne, Holy Island. Later, he reluctantly took on the role of bishop. When he retired, he became a hermit on Inner Farne island. He performed many miracles during his life.

    After Cuthbert's death in 687, his miracles continued. 11 years later, monks opened his tomb to rearrange his bones and relics. Rather than the skeleton they expected to see, they found Cuthbert's complete body. It showed no signs of degradation. He was lying as if sleeping. His position as a saint was confirmed.

    When the monks on Lindisfarne were chased away by invading Vikings, they fled to Durham, taking Cuthbert with them. They established the first church there - a simple wooden building. In 1093, it was replaced by the Norman cathedral we see today.    Les mer

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    Galilee Chapel, Durham Cathedral

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    All visitors to the cathedral enter through the Galilee, one of the most exquisite parts of the building. It is partly a chapel, partly a porch; a place to assemble before and after church services.

    It is Norman in style with four arcades of round arches decorated with elaborate chevrons. There are rare medieval wall paintings here dating from around the time of the Galilee's construction in the 12th century. One of them is almost certainly a depiction of Saint Cuthbert.

    The Galilee holds a special place in the hearts of people across North East England because it is the final resting place of the Venerable Bede. It is thanks to Bede's writings that we know so much about the church in England in Anglo-Saxon times and about Saint Cuthbert in particular. Known as the 'Father of English History', Bede was born in about 673 and joined the monastic community at Wearmouth, aged just seven. He transferred to the newly-founded monastery of Jarrow soon afterwards. He spent the rest of his life there. He was the most accomplished scholar of his day - historian, theologian, poet, scientist, biographer, and author of many commentaries on the bible.

    There is also a striking wooden statue of Mary by the 20th century Polish sculptor Joseph Pyrz, which identifies the Galilee as the Lady Chapel.    Les mer

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    The nave of Durham Cathedral

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Apart from the modern seating, the nave of Durham Cathedral is much as it was 900 years ago. The great round piers with their carved geometric patterns are a sculptural tour de force, possibly a Durham innovation. They lead you to the high altar and the rose window above.

    The font is worth mentioning. The marble bowl for the baptismal water dates from 1663. The magnificent font cover is of the same period, a fine example of the stunning woodwork throughout the building. It is 12 metres high, one of the tallest in the UK, and is intended to signify the link between earth and heaven in baptism.    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    More photos taken in Durham Cathedral

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    In the cathedral's south quire aisle, there is the beautiful 'Transfiguration' window. It was designed by Tom Denny and installed in 2010 in memory of Michael Ramsey, former Bishop of Durham and Archbishop of Canterbury.

    The window is opposite the entrance to the shrine of Saint Cuthbert. He is buried beneath a simple stone slab that bears his name in Latin - CVTHBERTVS. There is a colourful canopy above the grave that depicts Christ in glory.

    There is a connection to Whitby in the cathedral. The icon of Saint Hild shows an image of her surrounded by 13 scenes from her life. These include her birth, the building of the monastery at Whitby, her presence at its synod, her gifts of charity to the poor, her encouragement of Caednon as a poet, her counselling a king, her advising a number of bishops, and, ultimately, her death.    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby

    Durham Castle

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After our cathedral visit, we had planned to go back to the site and then return to Durham to visit the castle tomorrow. However, as we walked past the entrance to the castle, we saw a board saying that a tour was about to begin. So, we quickly bought our tickets and joined the group. It turned out to be a good decision - the tour was fascinating, and the sun even shone for a while 😀.

    The castle was commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1072 to defend against Scottish attacks and to exert his authority over rebellious locals. It soon became the seat of the Prince Bishops of Durham. These men were very powerful, second only to the king. They could mint their own coins, make laws, levy taxes, and recruit armies.

    The title continued with each bishop until the 1830s. The last Prince Bishop established Durham University in 1832 and gave the castle to be used as a college. This continues to the present day, making Durham Castle unique. It is a building that is almost 1000 years old and has not only survived but still thrives as a modern place of learning. It was incredible for us to discover that students today live in the ancient keep and eat their meals in the Great Hall!!    Les mer

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    The Norman Chapel, Durham Castle

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The Norman Chapel at Durham Castle is the oldest standing building in the city. It has 6 naturally iron-infused pillars that have extraordinary colours and patterns. On top of these pillars are handsomely carved stone capitals with an array of images including men stars, foliage, a stag, lions, a serpent, an ox, and a mermaid, thought to be the oldest depiction of such a creature in England, and perhaps the world. Recent research suggests that the carvings were perhaps intended to show where different people should stand during services - the ox represented the preacher, the men, the male members of the congregation, and the mermaid, the women.

    The Chapel was gradually swallowed up by other buildings over the castle's history. The entrance was blocked when the North Hall was built in the 12th century. It remained unused until 1840, when it became the site of a staircase that took the first university students to their accommodation in the keep.

    During World War II, the chapel was used as an RAF command post. In 1951, it was restored and reconstructed in memory of college staff and students who had lost their lives during the conflict.

    Today, the chapel is a vital part of the University College community, hosting regular services, concerts, art installations, and plays.    Les mer

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    The castle as a palace

    19. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The original ceremonial entrance to Durham Castle is perfectly preserved and one of the finest examples of its type in existence. Over the centuries, the 12th century arch was built around, thus protecting it from the elements. Today, visitors can see it as they walk down the Tunstall Gallery.

    The gallery was constructed during Tudor times when the Prince Bishops were at the height of their wealth and power and were transforming the castle into a lavish palace. The gallery was a grand entertainment space with huge windows, which would have been incredibly expensive in the 16th century. Today, the space is used to display items from Durham Castle Museum's collections, much as Bishop Tunstall would have done to show off to his visitors 500 years ago.

    The Tunstall Chapel is another of the bishop's additions. Built between 1543 and 1547, the seats were designed to fold upwards so that the congregation could stand during services. These seats are called 'misericords' or 'mercy seats'. They are decorated with carvings of an unexpected nature for a chapel - unicorns, griffins, dragons, a pig playing the Northumbrian pipes, and a man wheeling his wife around in a wheelbarrow! Given that these carvings were usually hidden beneath the stall seats, it seems that the church authorities were happy to turn a blind eye to the somewhat subversive whims of the craftsmen 😀.

    The Great Hall and the Black Staircase are two other striking features of the revamped castle.    Les mer

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    Beamish Museum

    21. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    After a rainy day at the van yesterday, we were up early this morning to visit Beamish, the Living Museum of the North. The weather was cold and grey, and rain was forecast, but we didn’t let it deter us!

    The open-air museum opened in 1970. It has always been on my radar, especially considering my family connections to the area and the way of life represented here, but somehow, I have never got round to visiting! We put that right today, but we barely scratched the surface of the place. There is so much to see and do! Luckily, our tickets are valid for a year, so we will definitely be back!

    The museum occupies such a large site that the easiest way to get around is to hop on one of the many buses and trams that circulate around the place. Stepping on board really gives you a sense of the history of the place - as do the period advertising boards everywhere!    Les mer

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  • Working in Whitby
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    1900s town, Beamish Museum

    21. mars 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Our first stop of the day was at the 1900s Town. There was so much to see in this area alone!

    The idea is to experience life in a northeast town in the years leading up to World War I. They've certainly achieved this! As you walk down the cobbled streets, you encounter people in period costume going about their daily business - shopping chatting, working, and, when we were there, taking part in a 'Votes for Women' march.

    You get to go inside the Edwardian homes on Ravensworth Terrace and meet the occupants. There are lots of authentic, fully-stocked shops, including a Co-op, a bakery, a sweet shop, and a drapers. It was fascinating - I could have spent all day in just this one street!

    The highlight for me was bottle shop located between the chemist and the photography studio. I almost walked straight past it and then did a double-take - could this be the aerated water bottling that my ancestor, Harrison Bramhald, had put down as his profession in the 1881 Census? I asked some questions and, indeed, it was! And I thought he was the local nutcase in a street full of miners!! But, no, it really was a job you could do! I'm so glad I found out about it 😀.

    We also explored the garage, the Sun Inn pub, the bank, and the printer's. I loved it!! I wasn't surprised to learn that the 1900s town was used as a location for both the film and the TV series of Downton Abbey.    Les mer

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