Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby

Headed off to the seaside today. Bit of a break from castles but still learned plenty of history.

The history relates more to Whitby than Robin Hood ‘s bay which is just a few miles south. We decided to explore Robin Hood’s Bay first. It is a quieter village but really pretty and interesting. It is thought it was named after the famous outlaw but there is no historical proof that he ever lived there.

It was so steep walking down to the beach that I was worried I would struggle to get back. I was fine - taking the road instead of the steps. Also, we took a break and had lunch of half a small lobster, chips and salad for lunch at a waterfront pub, The Bay Hotel, before we headed back to the car.

Drove to Whitby which has become a bit like Blackpool. The Cook history was a big deal when I last visited but it is minimal these days.

We took a guided boat tour for £5 each and it was worth every bit of it. It got rough as we reached the entrance to the bay (man made) and out on the cusp of the North Sea.

Back on land we did the Promenade thing out to the end of the pier and then to the shops.

Took up John’s suggestion and bought a tiny pair of ‘jet’ stud earrings. Jet is essentially a black to blue black lustrous, high grade lignite, dense in texture originating from fossilised Monkey Puzzle trees. Jet was particularly popular in the late 1800’s - often used for mourning jewellery.

Running out of legs so back to the car via the supermarket where we purchased salad items for tea tomorrow as we bought 2 pasties at Castle Howard which we will need to eat up.

We drove through the North Yorkshire Dales which were vast and much of the heather was out showing carpets of dark pink and purple.

High on a hill near Whitby we noticed an unusual very large building. On further investigation it turns out to be RAF Flyingdale which operates as a continuous ballistic missile early-warning and space surveillance station for the UK and US governments.

Home via the Durham Ox in Crayke as we enjoyed it so much last night. Dinner was as good as last night but we just had a main tonight. Home then to hang out the washing, do some blogging and off to bed.Read more