It's always nice to make a new friend
Post Office and Aidensfield Store
Wonder where Bernie and David are?
The door was closed tight
Is it the Hogwarts Express?
Spotting train spotters
Countryside in the grip of drought!
An unusual village
Grosmont Station decorated for the Anniversary
The Esk River
Yorkshire sheep doing what sheep do best
Whitby Harbour looking south
Whitby Harbour looking north
Mighty big, aggressive seagull
Whale bones make a nice frame
Captain Cook
Nice scenery
Train spotters
Breakfast this morning was served in the conservatory, overlooking the garden – and the sun was actually shining! However, a nose outside the door quickly left us looking for coats, scarves and gloves – even Cat insisted on wearing his scarf today. Our plan for today was to have a wander around the village, then drive to Whitby. However, after wandering along the main street, stopping to inspect Scripps Garage on the way and discovering the Aidensfield Arms was closed, we ended up at the station – Hogwarts Station! The Hogwarts Express (or something very similar) pulled into the station just after we arrived. We then discovered that another train would be arriving in about ten minutes to travel to Whitby, with a return at 2.00 pm. After a quick one second think, the decision was made to purchase a return ticket; our short village walk ended up in Whitby!
As luck would have it, this weekend just happens to be the 40th Anniversary of the North Moors Railway, so we had a proper steam engine to pull the train through the lovely green countryside. The locals are complaining that they are in the middle of a drought and the earth is just so parched! We quickly realised that the country if populated with many people who are train mad and spend a lot of time train watching. Because of the anniversary, there were large numbers of very intense men - wearing outdoor gear and carrying large equipment bags, tripods, video cameras and large cameras with even larger lenses – lining the track, station platforms and anywhere they could manage to set up their tripods. We now know how the Queen must feel to have so many people watching as one travels by. We have seen so many pheasants in the last few days that we no longer even comment on them!
Whitby is a quaint little fishing port, which just happens to be the port where James Cook was a sailing apprentice. So we headed across the little bridge above the very muddy estuary (the tide is still out!) to the James Cook Museum. This is in the house he lived in while an apprentice and contains much memorabilia of Cook’s journeys and many original letters, all spread over the four floors of the house. Of course, we then had to cross back over the river, walk past all the “Best Fish and Chips in Whitby” pubs, shops, cafes and stalls and climb the hill to the Captain Cook Memorial. Next to Cook is another memorial of two whale bones dedicated to the whalers. From this vantage point, we were able to see straight across to the ruins of Whitby Abbey and the church. It was quite a struggle to actually find a tea room which served sandwiches and not fish and chips – oh, the greasy smell associated with walking along the quay. The seagulls around Whitby are positively huge and very aggressive. We came across one which had actually taken a large carton of fish and chips out of a lady’s hand – they are definitely not to be argued with. Needless to say, being beside the water, Whitby also has its fair share of amusement arcades!
We returned to Goathland, with even more people lined up taking photos – the intensity and determined looks of these men was just incredible. It seems to be the accepted fact in England that people may take their dogs with them wherever they go, even into shops, restaurants and on trains. We were joined in our carriage by a man with two terriers on a double lead and we had the pleasure of them sitting opposite us. He promptly spread a towel across his knee and the dogs were lifted up to be cuddled and snarl any anyone who happened to approach. Cat glared at them for the whole trip! Fortunately the rain held off for our walk from the station to the B & B. A fire would be a nice touch, but the locals seem to think the weather is quite mild.
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