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Northern England
  • Ceri Chaplin
  • Ceri Chaplin

Northern England

A trip around Northern England, sightseeing and meeting friends Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 27, 2026
    Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler
    1

    Pulp

    August 28 in England ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    After a glorious summer with wall-to-wall sunshine, it appears that the week we have off is going to be much more unsettled. But hey ho, we're on holiday and looking forward to the break around Northern England.

    After finishing work on Thursday evening, we trudged up the M5 and M6 to Manchester, arriving at just after 8:15. After parking and checking into our hotel, we walked out into the centre for some food.

    The first place we went to, we got a pretty grumpy reception and was told that they'd stopped serving, even though it was long before nine. Short distance back we passed Cosy Club and decided to have our meal there.

    Two burgers, short time later, and we're back at the hotel, not wanting to explore too much because of the heavy rain.

    We spent the afternoon avoiding the rain, having a few drinks, and then some food before going back to the hotel at just after six to get ready for the evening.

    Then we caught the tram to Wythenshawe Park and had a long walk to find the entrance. We waited for about an hour before Pulp came on. They were phenomenal and the rain stayed off, so it was a fantastic show overall.

    Then we battled the journey back with some shocking organisation, but we did eventually manage to get a bus back into the city centre and the long walk back to our hotel for bed.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler

    Manchester to Newcastle

    August 29 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    After waking up and a coffee, we got ourselves sorted and then checked out and got on the road. We stopped about half an hour away at a roadside cafe called Cosy Cabin, just off the M62, for what turned out to be a very good breakfast.

    The rest of the journey took just over two hours, and we arrived at Debbie and Richard's just after 1 p.m.

    We had a coffee and some snacks and then went for a walk from the house to the George Stephenson Railway Museum. This is a lovely little free exhibition which includes the third oldest steam locomotive in the world, an example of one of the first metros in Newcastle, and some other big engines.

    From here we had a short walk to the Shire Horse Inn where we had a few drinks outside and then walked back to their house.

    By now it was time for food and Richard cooked up some delicious chicken skewers, sausages and burgers. Even though it was getting late we managed to have those outside.

    As it got dark, we moved inside for the rest of the evening.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler

    Chillingham Castle and Chillingham Wild Cattle

    August 30 in England ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Today was a surprise for me for some reason. After getting up, we had coffee and bacon and egg rolls, and then set off for our adventure at around 10:00.

    Debbie was driving, and after about an hour and fifteen minutes, we arrived at our destination, which turned out to be Chillingham Castle, supposedly the most haunted castle in England. It turns out we were also booked on a tour and experience with the Chillingham Wild Cattle later on.

    We spent the best part of a couple of hours exploring the very bizarre castle, full of all sorts of knick-knacks, interesting objects and frankly tat. We didn't see any ghosts. We also took advantage of the tea room for a drink and some cake.

    From here we walked back to the entrance to the Chillingham Wild Cattle experience to meet our tour. After a short video, our guides took us in a trailer to where we would do a short walk to see the cattle.

    The cattle are one of only two places in the world to find this breed, the other being a reserve population in Scotland. They have an amazingly 95% gene similarity with each other, which compares to around 19% for normal cattle, and at that level you would expect significant problems, but it's thought that these have been bred out over the years.

    We spent a fascinating hour observing the animals with a really interesting guide before getting back on the trailer to go to the entrance.

    Next stop was some Sunday lunch at the Anglers Inn on the way back to the house. We had a delicious meal and then headed back home.

    Once we were back we spent the rest of the day chatting, playing games, having a glass of wine or two and then finally watching, perhaps appropriately, the first series of Ghosts.

    A lovely day with great friends and amazingly the weather held for us.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler

    Newcastle to Staithes via Saltburn-by-the-Sea

    August 31 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After a lazy start, I got up for a run to clear my head and then back to Debbie and Richie's for some breakfast.

    We stayed chatting before eventually getting ready and heading off for the next leg of our journey. We headed south through the Tyne Tunnel and after about an hour arrived at Saltburn-by-the-Sea.

    We spent a couple of hours exploring, had a drink, and went on a little model miniature railway. Just as we were about to get the funicular railway back up to where we parked the car, it started to rain, and so rather than wait in the queue, we headed back up the steps.

    Quick pit stop at the supermarket for some provisions and then on for the 25 minutes to Staithes, which is where we are staying for the next couple of nights.

    After driving the car down into Staithes through the cobbled streets, we parked quickly to unload while we found our cottage tucked away in the back streets near the harbour. Having unloaded and then returned the car to the top car park, we went out exploring the tiny town nestled at the bottom of a cliff and then had a couple of pints at the Cod and Lobster pub.

    We popped back home for a refresh and then we're back in the pub just after six for some food. I had a delicious salmon dish while Ed had the largest chicken parmo that he's had since we were in Australia.

    After food we headed back to our cottage to relax and then an early night.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler
    Overlooking Staithes
    Overlooking StaithesStaithesA sculpture and information about the local mine, which is both under land and seaLobster at the top of StaithesRobin Hood's BayWhitby AbbeyLooking down into Whitby

    Staithes, North Yorkshire Coast, Robin Hood's Bay

    September 1 in England ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    We had a lazy start with coffee and then bacon and egg baps for breakfast.

    After breakfast, we headed out on a walk along the clifftops north towards Saltburn-by-the-Sea and then looping in around Boulby, which is the highest point on the east coast of England at around 230 metres.

    There's also a large mine there, which is the deepest mine under the sea in Britain.

    The walk took us about two and a half hours. And when we got back to the cottage it was time for some food.

    For the afternoon we decided that we would explore a little further along the coast, so we picked up the car and headed south to Robin Hood's Bay.

    We spent an hour or so wandering around, taking in the sights and having a drink overlooking the harbour. From here we started back towards Staithes, stopping briefly at Whitby Abbey for a short walk and some photos.

    Once back at the cottage, as it was now past 4pm, we had a few drinks overlooking the sea and then some food again at the pub. Back at the cottage, we spent the evening relaxing.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler
    Hardraw ForceAysgarth Falls

    Staithes to Wensleydale

    September 2 in England ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    After coffee and breakfast, we sorted our stuff in time for checkout just before 10:00 a.m

    The journey today was over the North Yorkshire Moors and then into the Yorkshire Dales to Wensleydale, where we were meeting with Karen and Adrian for a couple of nights.

    We decided to stop after about 40 minutes at the Hole of Horcum to see the display of purple heather in the valley below.

    From there, it was a couple of hours across the North Yorkshire Moors and then through the Yorkshire Dales, and we arrived at the Wensleydale Creamery at around 1:00 p.m. Karen and Adrian arrived a short time after, and after sampling some of the cheese, we drove to the Green Dragon Inn near Hardraw Force. Sadly, we missed the squirrels on this visit.

    We had a pint in the pub and then walked the short distance up to see the waterfall in the drizzle. After this, we started heading back towards our hotel and we stopped at Aysgarth Falls before we got back.

    After a short walk, again in the drizzle, we drove the short distance to the Wensleydale Heifer where we're staying for the night. We checked in and had a few drinks in the bar before getting ready for our evening meal. The meal itself was delicious and left us all feeling stuffed. So after a final nightcap, we headed to bed.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler

    Wensleydale, Richmond, Masham and Harrogate

    September 3 in England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We met Karen and Adrian for breakfast at nine and had a delicious full York breakfast, which left us set for the morning.

    Once we checked out, we drove the short distance to Richmond through the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and spent an hour or so looking around the town, with Adrian and Karen buying some artwork for their lounge.

    From here, we headed south to Masham, where again we looked around the market square and visited the Black Sheep Brewery.

    Our final journey of the day was further south again to Harrogate, where we are staying. We managed to check into the hotel and then spent the afternoon exploring the town, stopping for refreshments as we went. We came back to the hotel for some food, then back out to a pub for a pub quiz, and then back to the hotel for a nightcap.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler

    Harrogate to York via Knaresborough

    September 4 in England ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    After breakfast at the hotel, we had a quick wander around Harrogate again before driving the short distance to Knaresborough. There we spent a couple of hours wandering around this pretty market town with loads of independent shops.

    After a coffee at the hotel, Adrian and Karen departed, and Ed and I headed to York.

    Fortunately, we were able to check into the hotel early, and from there we walked a couple of miles into the city and spent the afternoon mooching around before meeting Jackie at around 5:00 p.m. for a few drinks.

    After this, once Jackie had left, we found a pub for some food before grabbing a taxi back to the hotel and an earlyish night.    Read more

  • Ceri ChaplinNorthern EnglandTraveler

    York to Leeds via Pontefract

    September 5 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I was up and after coffee I did the York Racecourse parkrun and managed a pretty good time, so that started the day well.

    After this, we got ourselves sorted and started to make our way to Alayne's in Leeds. We stopped on the way at Pontefract and had a look round the town, grabbed some breakfast in a greasy spoon and looked around the castle.

    We headed on to Leeds and spent the afternoon sitting in the garden before we had pizzas and then a taxi for Alayne, Ed and me to get to Bradford for the ballet. (I know!)

    .The ballet was an adaptation of Gentleman Jack and a first experience for both Ed and me. Still trying to work out whether I really enjoyed it, but it was definitely something different to do.

    We had a quick drink after the performance and then a taxi back to Alayne's where we had a nightcap before bed.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 6, 2026