travel – Page 7 – turnrightoutofportsmouth

Goathland – aka Aidensfield or Hogwarts…

Our final day in the moors was reserved to visit Goathland, otherwise known as Aidensfield (Heartbeat’s location) or Hogwarts Station (the train station was used in the Harry Potter films).

We would have loved to have arrived in the village on the steam train (North York Moors Railway), but the cost was prohibitive unfortunately. Even just to travel 1 stop between Grosmont and Goathland would have cost us £26 return…. There were plenty of trains running though so obviously plenty of people paying for this. Apparently it wasn’t always this expensive – it appears that the Harry Potter effect has caused the increase in prices.

We saw the steam train for the 1st time at Grosmont – perfect timing actually as we were at the front of the queue when the level crossing gates closed! We do love to see the trains in operation so this was an absolute treat.

Next it was a race to get to Goathland before the train! We managed it – just.. Parking by the road and running up to the bridge, which is where I took the main picture from 🙂 Another train was coming the other way so we saw both in the station. Heading back to the car we spotted a waterfall which we tried to get a bit closer. I had to give up as I picked a wrong spot to place my foot and nearly sank!

Steam trains at Goathland

Getting ready to leave the station #1

Getting ready to leave Goathland #2

Waterfall by Goathland station

We then carried on in the car towards the village itself, starting with the train station which I had a quick look at – unfortunately it didn’t really mean much to me as I haven’t watched any Harry Potter film all the way through (I’ve maybe seen 15-20 minutes in total)…. See photos below 🙂 Continue reading “Goathland – aka Aidensfield or Hogwarts…”

Walks in the North York Moors

When we first arrived in the North York Moors we drove past Roseberry Topping a few times on our way out for the day. Each time we both said we’ll go up that while we’re here 🙂

On our 1st day back we had taken a wrong turning and found somewhere to park for free from where we could walk up the peak; Gribdale Gate. From here we could also go in the opposite direction to visit Captain Cook’s monument. This was perfect as the car park sited on the main road has a cost attached – although I think the path is more straightforward and definitely looked easier in hindsight!

We thought that we were being clever but from our direction we actually had to cope with 3 ascents and descents. There are ‘steps’ provided in places but these are not particularly easy to negotiate – we were in awe of the young couple who were walking this in the pouring rain with their young baby on the dad’s back 🙂

So, yes, we had a rainstorm on the way up, but by the time we got to the top the sun was back out – very changeable.

The last bit up to the summit was particularly taxing for me, so I thought I’d have a little sit down – until I spotted the lizard that I was about to sit on! (I thought it was a snake at first..) I carried on 🙂

The views from the top were absolutely amazing so I’ve included this video showing them all around, plus a few photos on a slideshow. Continue reading “Walks in the North York Moors”

A few more days on the Moors and seeing the Transporter Bridge

We did a lot of walking in the North York Moors – even when we were ‘going’ somewhere! So this post will deal with 1 of the days that we were, sort of at least, heading somewhere and I will do a separate post for the days we actually set out just to walk (to the top of Roseberry Topping and to see Captain Cook’s Monument to be precise).

On day 2 in the Moors we headed to the nearest decent sized town, Stokesley, which turned out to be extremely pleasant. The parking system was disc parking and, not having a disc, we drove through and parked as soon as we could, giving us a short walk back into town. There are an awful lot of old buildings in Stokesley and the centre has a really nice feel about it, with lots of independent shops and several butchers, bakers and greengrocers.

We also found a dedicated running shop here (I needed a new water bottle). The 1st bottle they showed me was £35 – I politely explained I wasn’t actually THAT much of a runner! I did get what I wanted though, and then realised that I recognised the couple from my previous morning’s ‘run’ – I had stopped to wait for them to pass me with their 4 dogs as I was embarrassed by my shambling and didn’t want them to observe it! These 2 are proper runners – he went up the hill like it was a Sunday afternoon stroll, whereas I had to bully myself up this hill (all 20m or so of it…). The shop is called Let’s Run, and they are very involved in coaching and getting beginners out with groups.

Packhorse Bridge in Stokesley

Looking toward the Packhorse Bridge in Stokesley

From here we headed towards Middlesborough as we both wanted to see the Transporter Bridge that crosses the Tees there.

We found it, and we went across the river on it (£1.30!), a very quick crossing after which we found ourselves in an area called Port Clarence, which used to be very busy, but which is now less so.

We had a quick drive around Middlesborough and were impressed by the evidence of past grandeur, and also the clear evidence of ongoing regeneration.

Making our way back the, slightly long way, we saw another bridge that appears to lift. I have since discovered this to be the Newport Vertical Lift Bridge which is no longer in use, so no chance of seeing it in action unfortunately 😦

Transporter Bridge, Middlesborough

Newprot Vertical Lift Bridge, Middlesborough

A couple of days later we decided to head south through the moors towards Helmsley. Continue reading “A few more days on the Moors and seeing the Transporter Bridge”

A little more of our time in the Yorkshire Dales

What I’m writing about now actually happened more than a fortnight ago (meaning I am really behind here – I do have good reasons though!)

We actually stayed in the Dales for a week, and as well as all the waterfalls that I’ve already written about (click here if you’ve not read it yet), we enjoyed simply driving along the country roads (and along some of the high passes), visiting a couple of the towns and villages and discovering Fountains Abbey and Castle Bolton.

Driving down the road from the campsite we came across an escarpment at Cray that a number of people were climbing. So we stopped and went up to have a closer look 🙂

Climbers at Cray

Ready to climb at Cray

From here we continued along the road until we came to Grassington – make no mistake through several pretty villages before getting here; this was just where we decided to stop 🙂

Grassington is actually a town, albeit a small town with a population at the last census of 1,126. It’s very pretty with a history of lead mining, a country park, a folk museum and several gift shops and eateries. Well worth a visit; we enjoyed wandering around for a short while 🙂

Grassington

We were actually aiming for Ripon when we set out in the morning, and once we’d left Grassington we aimed once again for this town. On the way we saw signs for How Stean Gorge which I had read about in the Rough Guide, and I thought it looked like it could be really good to visit. It took a while to get there, but we couldn’t see much. Unless we paid £7 each… Now it might well have been worth this money, but it’s only about 1000m long, and the weather wasn’t brilliant, so we decided against it.

There is however an awful lot on offer including canyoning, gorge walking, canoeing and the via ferrata (a high wire adventure), so I really think it’s worth a visit for the more adventurous among us (okay among you…!) Check out their website here if you’re interested in that sort of thing.

Back on the road again to Ripon we next came across Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden. Now I did, of course, know that this was here, but I wasn’t going to suggest stopping. But then we saw the magic words ‘World Heritage Site’, so decided to have a look after all. Being members of the National Trust we had nothing to lose – if we weren’t impressed we could just leave 🙂

We weren’t disappointed even though we didn’t actually manage to visit the church in the grounds (where Freddie Truman is apparently buried – according to my dad anyway 🙂 ) (I have just checked and Wikipedia says he’s buried in Bolton Abbey; but then again Wikipedia has been known to get it wrong…!), or the Studley Royal Gardens (which are actually the World Heritage Site). But we did see the hall (much of it now holiday & staff accommodation) and the remains of the abbey itself. These are really impressive being very extensive. You can clearly see the seats where the monks sat in the choir, visit an upstairs room (still completely intact) and a massive hall that still has it’s ceiling and arches.

There is quite a steep climb back up from the ruins – so much so that the tall church tower looks a little like a gatehouse as you’re walking towards it!

We fully intended to go back with our bikes to visit the water gardens and the deer park, but sadly never actually made it (as is so often the case).

Fountains Abbey

The church at Fountains Abbey

Time was no getting on so we just drove through Ripon and headed back to the van via a Co-op in Masham (there is a distinct lack of shops in the Dales themselves!)

This we found out to our cost later that evening. We had forgotten a vital item when in the shop, but decided to wait until after our tea to go back out. Big mistake! We headed back out at 7.35pm. The garage in Aysgarth had closed at 7pm, so we decided to head for Hawes, 8 miles away, as that’s a fairly decent size – no, all that was open were pubs. And a Chinese takeaway. So then we had to come back and head for Leyburn, 8 miles in the other direction, all the way looking for shops, garages etc. There were a couple of village shops and garages, but everything was shut, except for the pubs!

Finally in Leyburn – a decent sized town, we found a choice of 2 shops. So because we forgot something we drove about 36 miles and were out for over an hour. And we complain at home because our nearest shop is a mile away!!

We headed back to Hawes another day, although we didn’t stop (this was the day that we visited Hardraw Force). We then took the Buttertubs Pass, an amazing road with wonderful views over the dales. So called because apparently farmers would leave unsold butter in the deep natural potholes along the side of the road when they left market.

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We drove a 2nd pass – no name given – and at the bottom we spotted a mole running along the side of the road! Just amazing 🙂

At the top of the pass we found Muker, a busy little village with a couple of tea rooms and a pub. We were confused as to why it was quite so busy until I realised that it was on the route of a long distance walking path.

Church at Muker

Muker

We continued along the ‘back road’ to Aysgarth until we got to Castle Bolton. This is where the reception for the wedding I mentioned previously was held. It was very cold that time! This time not so much.

There was a medieval music festival being held there this weekend and we were able to access the ground floor as well as the café on the 1st floor free of charge. There was quite a lot to see!

So another couple of lovely days in the Dales were concluded. Just 1 more post on this, dealing with a visit to Richmond and Leyburn 🙂

Keep travelling!

Other posts from our time in the Yorkshire Dales:-

Waterfalls (Aysgarth, Hardraw & West Burton)

Walking on Cray Pike

Richmond and Leyburn

Waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales – Days 2,4 & 6 :)

There is water everywhere in the Dales. Tumbling over rocks in rivers and streams that run alongside the road, flowing serenely into Tarns, ready to be enjoyed in reservoirs and thundering down falls or over escarpments.

However you experience it it’s awesome beauty cannot be ignored 🙂

We have made it our business to visit 3 areas of falls; Aysgarth, Hardraw Force and the Cauldron Falls at West Burton (not even mentioned in guidebooks!) I think we actually enjoyed the Cauldron Falls most as we were able to explore them more fully – we were almost able to walk behind them 🙂

Note: I will pop most of the photos at the end on a slideshow 🙂 Continue reading “Waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales – Days 2,4 & 6 :)”

Cornwall – the most beautiful place in the world :)

After Yorkshire we headed for Cornwall… Yes, a slight deviation from our route around the coast, but necessary to attend my friend’s Very Important birthday celebrations 🙂 Louise had rented a house for the week in Rock where she was staying with her family, so we took the van and had my sister & brother-in-law to stay for a couple of nights + another friend and her husband in their tent for a couple of nights (as it happened due to the weather they put their tent away and stayed in the van with us for their 2nd night).

Now, I have spent a lot of time in Cornwall throughout my life and it remains my favourite place in the world. I did think that perhaps I wouldn’t feel the same when I returned, what with all the wonderful places we have seen over the last couple of years, but no, as ever, it felt like I was coming home 🙂

On this trip we managed to visit 3 of my favourite spots in the county, Tintagel, Bedruthen Steps and Port Isaac. Unfortunately we ran out of time and couldn’t get to Boscastle this time (if you’re visiting Cornwall for the 1st time it’s a must). We also managed to visit several places that I’ve somehow missed on previous visits, although it’s always possible that I went to any of them as a child and have simply forgotten; Rock itself, Trevone, Trebarwith Strand and Port Gaverne – a short walk from Port Isaac.

Rather than write in detail about each I’ve simply decided to put pictures up! They really speak for themselves 🙂

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We had such a wonderful weekend with the focus being on birthday celebrations. On the Friday evening the ladies were all heading over to Padstow to eat at Rick Stein’s Fish Restaurant. We went over on the ferry and came back on the water taxi (which you have to call, but is basically a ferry as well).

I have to be honest here and admit that I wasn’t looking forward to this particularly as I’m not overly keen on seafood, I knew it would be fairly expensive and, shock, horror, I’m not actually a fan of Rick Stein. However, the food was exquisite, the atmosphere was very laid back and the bill wasn’t actually as expensive as expected. On top of that, on discovering it was Lou’s birthday, an additional dessert was brought out with 6 mini desserts on a plate on which happy birthday had been written in chocolate 🙂

We had such a lovely evening, made even better when we received a text from Calv with a picture of the menu from the pub the boys had gone to in Rock (see below for extract!)

Also, here’s a picture of my dessert 🙂 Very nice it was too!

We struggled to get a taxi to take us back to our campsite 2 miles away from the house (as in, it was impossible!) so we had to walk back on both Friday night and Saturday night – after the barbeque.

As the bbq didn’t start until mid-afternoon those of us staying at the campsite headed out to Port Isaac in the morning after Emma and Chris arrived. In fact they arrived before Debbie and I actually got back from our walk to pick the car up – we went the long way across the fields and the golf course so that we could have a look at the historic church that’s right in the middle of the golf course, St Endenoc. This then took us across the dunes and down onto either the beach or into the car-park – depending on which of numerous paths you choose!

Watch out for the parking wardens – a ticket was received by 1 of the cars for being parked partly on the grass of the packed car park. As ever Port Isaac didn’t disappoint and, this time, I walked up to the headland beyond the Doc’s surgery with Calv 🙂

On the road down to Rock there are a number of individual shops including a butchers and a bakers. We used both of them and they were wonderful! We also used the fish and chip shop on Sunday night when we headed again to the house to harass Lou and her family! This was a bit of a special evening actually culminating as it did with a sing-along with Lou’s grandparents; an amazing couple , married 68 years and still going strong 🙂

After a boules match, that saw both Calv and Debbie beat the mega competitive Chris (!) Don’t worry I played him after Debbie and Paul left and I let him win…. Haha 🙂

We then headed off on a trip down towards Newquay to Bedruthen Steps, a beautiful beach with natural caves and rock formations, accessed by some brutal steps! I was very happy the next day to find that I am obviously much fitter than I was 3 years ago when we first visited – in that I was able to actually move and walk the next day with no problems whatsoever (it took me days to get over it last time, and I struggled to get into and out of the van!)

On Monday we had to move sites (we were moving to a certificated site a mile or so away that was £13 per night. In August. In Cornwall….!) Other than that we did very little apart from head into Wadebridge to do a little bit of shopping. It pretty much rained all day.

Tuesday dawned much nicer and we headed back to Rock for a day on the beach with Lou and her brother & his family. We took the kayak with us and the girls loved it! Louise and I failed miserably at the first attempt of climbing the dunes – they were far too high to tackle in flip-flops… We finished the day with a wonderfully competitive game of French cricket (proper rules!)

One thing we noticed both at Bedruthen and Rock were the number of jelly-fish washed up on the beach – they were everywhere!

On Wednesday we headed for Tintagel but took a wrong turn just before we arrived and found ourselves at Trebarwith Strand. We decided to take a look which ended up with Calv going into the water to get a little girl out who’d slipped off the rocks, and was in danger of being swept away down the narrow channel into the sea. All he got for his efforts was a deep cut above his eye and blood all over his face – no thank you from her father when he turned up….

As he was soaking wet and more than a little shocked we headed back to the van – Calv with massive pasty in hand.

We did make it to wonderful Tintagel the following day before we left for home, via Bridport. Or so we thought…

We intended to stop in a free car-park by the police station in Bridport, but got there to find that the fun-fair had moved in for 3 days 😦

We stopped to try to find a motorhome stopover and found a pub, but on phoning them there was a problem with them enabling us to fulfil the condition of having a meal in the pub, so we abandoned that plan. We eventually found a certificated site that could take us and headed there. We missed the turn though so had to continue along the road, which took us past the pub we’d tried to get into (the car park was far too small for us anyway), but I realised that Lou’s nan and granddad actually lived opposite the pub! Lou later told me that they were all eating in there that evening, AND, the site we ended up at was, quite literally, behind here mum and dad’s house!

1 final coincidence was that there was a couple in a motorhome on the same site as us that night. We arrived late and only said ‘hello’, and they had left before we got up the next morning. When we pulled up at Kia Ora, our ‘home’ site in Nutbourne near Emsworth, this same couple had just pulled in… You couldn’t make it up!

We did notice that there were more foreign visitors in Cornwall than anywhere else we have visited (and there have been plenty). All nationalities here as well, but lots of Italians for some reason…

We have just had 10 days at home and today have moved back up country – we’re just south of Sheffield. Check back for my next post which will deal with a cycle ride along the Hayling Billy yesterday 🙂

Discovering more delights in Scarborough – North Bay and the Castle

This is a final mop-up of our time, so far, in Yorkshire (we’re heading back via York next week..), and it will cover a 2nd visit to Scarborough – to the North Bay area and the castle, a flying visit to Burton Agnes & the Rudston Monolith, the Muston scarecrow festival and Boggle Hole (visited on the way home from Whitby).

So let’s start with Boggle Hole (where the main picture was taken). We just saw the sign on the way home and thought it was a good name and we’d have a look! We took the lane, which turned out to be long and narrow, until we came to a small parking area – keep going, says Calv. Only we couldn’t as there was a sign up advising against it! The lane that we walked down was steep and led to a YHA hostel and the Quarterdeck café. These were nestled at the top of a rocky cove where fossil hunts are regularly held Continue reading “Discovering more delights in Scarborough – North Bay and the Castle”

Spurn Head via Patrington, the Meridian Line and a reminder of the gunpowder plot

Spurn Head is a constantly changing spit that reaches out into the Humber like a bent finger. It’s formed from the erosion further up the coast and, whilst once it had a proper road connecting it to the mainland, it is now cut off at high tide and connected by a causeway at other times.

We took the A165 south and then headed along the road from Hull towards Spurn. As we entered one of the villages on the way I remembered that our neighbour who had left the campsite the day before lived there.

“John and Mary live here” I said. As I said this I look to my right. “There’s John!” He was out weeding his garden! So in we went for a cuppa and some stories from John about strange goings on in his garage…! This isn’t the only coincidence we’ve experienced in the last couple of weeks either.

They told us about a couple of things to look out for on our way to Spurn Head, including a stone denoting the meridian line, and the memorial to 2 of the gunpowder plotters who were brothers who lived on a farm in the area. This is done in the same style as the memorial to the airmen at Lisset.

The Meridian Line Stone just outside of Patrington

Gunpowder Plotters just outside of Patrington

We then visited the church at Patrington, otherwise known as The Queen of Holderness. Chatting to a man inside we found out that the column that looked out of place was, in fact, part of a much earlier church that had been on the site.

Patrington – The Queen of Holderness

Inside the church at Patrington

Finally we made it to Spurn Head. Or at least we thought we had! We parked just past the café by the toilets and were confused that we couldn’t see anything obvious to suggest we were about to cross a causeway. Well, this was because we weren’t there yet! We should have turned right at the café….

We parked on the road outside the car park, unloaded the bikes and set off. It wasn’t long before we came to sand; sand that you couldn’t cycle over unless you had those special fat tyres. Why we hadn’t realised that the causeway would be sand I really don’t know!

It therefore took a while to cross this 3/4 mile stretch! Luckily we made it to the other side and the 1st shelter before the heavens opened! The shelter was just big enough to fit 4 people in ‘cosily’. There were just the 2 of us so that meant that Calv was able to bring his bike in too…. It was great fun sharing that space for about 20 minutes!

Luckily the one couple who passed by were so soaked already that they decided to just continue. Once you’ve got past the last bit of sand (and the bit of the path that’s fallen into the sea) the path isn’t bad at all (although we had an awful lot of big puddles after the rainstorms we were dealing with!)

There are several nature trails to follow along the spit, a lighthouse that is open at certain times and the RNLI station. This is also where the river pilots operate from.

You cannot drive onto Spurn Head. However, you can book onto a Spurn Safari, ride your bike or walk. The authorised vehicles use the same narrow paths as walkers and cyclists so be aware!

The total cycle from the car park is 3.5 miles. On the way back the sun came out for us and we were delighted to spot a number of seals bobbing their heads out of the water close to the shore. And then we had a rainbow 🙂

Being late home we eventually realised that we were going to have to eat on the way. We followed the coast road back and driving through Aldbrough we spotted a fish and chip shop that had a café – The Frying Farmer. What a find – the best fish and chips we have ever had. And I had a slice of gorgeous Victoria sponge to take away!

Despite the weather we had a wonderful day out when we visited Spurn Head and would highly recommend it – don’t forget to check the tides, but there is plenty of information available when you get there 🙂

Yorkshire Coastal Resorts – Which is your favourite?? Filey, Scarborough, Robin Hoods Bay or Whitby…

What a delight it’s been discovering that there are even more beautiful beaches in our amazing country than we were aware of! These resorts tend to be a little quieter than their counterparts in Cornwall – with the exception perhaps of Whitby 🙂

I thought I’d pop this poll on to see if people agree with our personal favourites 🙂

Okay, so over the course of the last week or so we have visited all 4 of these resorts from our base in Flamborough – meaning that Filey is closest to us, then Scarborough, then Robin Hoods Bay and finally Whitby. (You might want to get a cuppa before continuing with this post! Or read it in shifts. Sorry…!)

The first resort we visited was Filey over a week ago now. We were totally charmed by this place. We parked by the side of the road in Church Ravine (there are parking charges, and make sure to keep those kids safely in the car until you’re ready to cross over to the pavement). Walking down towards the beach one of the 1st things we saw were the donkeys taking kids for rides – it’s been years since I saw donkeys on the beach. I also have a feeling that my own kids may never have experienced this particular delight – put me right boys if I’m wrong here!

To the left of this entrance to the beach, and the donkeys, is the area where you will find a small number of amusements and traditional seaside shops and cafes, as well as another section of beach (not quite so sandy) and the traditional fishing cobles parked up. The lifeboat station is also here.

Donkeys at Filey

Fishing boats at Coble Landing, Filey

Tractors for launching the boats at Coble Landing, Filey

We turned right for a very pleasant wander along the seafront. Along here there was a crazy golf course, a number of sculptures, a paddling pool, a hopscotch outline with fish sculptures to jump on and deckchairs & beach huts for hire!

I think this is Finlay… in Filey

The beach at Filey

Hopscotch on the promenade – Filey

Filey Beach

Part of Filey’s history involves early planes taking off and landing on the beach, and an early flying school being established here. The following information board is really interesting and well worth a read 🙂 Continue reading “Yorkshire Coastal Resorts – Which is your favourite?? Filey, Scarborough, Robin Hoods Bay or Whitby…”

A long walk in Lincolnshire. Discovering Louth & Woodhall Spa

We knew that there was a large reservoir, Covenham Reservoir, close by so decided to walk on Saturday to find it. We took the canal path from about 200m away from the campsite, past the old mill – the possibilities of what could be done with that place!

We quickly came across several cows grazing alongside the canal and then went through a gate to a section where cows clearly hadn’t been grazing for some time (they were on the other side of the canal here), which made for a lot of concentration; making sure that we didn’t step in cow pats, brush past nettles and thistles or fall off the bank!

We stumbled across the correct route completely by accident; coming to a narrow bridge across the river and finding a public bridleway crossing diagonally across the fields. From here we found a farmyard equipment graveyard lining the track down past a farm.

Again, completely by chance, we looked right at the right spot to see steps leading up the side of the reservoir and a stile to a footpath across the field. It was quite a steep climb and at the top we sat on the wall overlooking the water (quite a feat for me trying to get up onto the wall with my short legs and lack of agility these days!) and ate our lunch, before walking all the way around the reservoir.

We were surprised at how quiet it was on a sunny Saturday in the school holidays, but guess it was due to it being the 1st weekend of the holidays with people perhaps disappearing away on holiday. We chatted to a lad who was there with his jetski who told us it’s normally really busy. He and his mate had the water to themselves! Continue reading “A long walk in Lincolnshire. Discovering Louth & Woodhall Spa”