Above - the view from the house we stayed in at Sandsend on the North Yorkshire coast. Much of the time the sea roared as its white horses galloped up the shore. Two miles south angry waves destroyed several beach huts at Whitby.
Below - the view from Sandsend to Whitby. You can see the ruins of Whitby Abbey on the headland. That is where Abbess Hilda and the cowherd Caedmon dwelt. Below to the left there's the entrance to Whitby's harbour. Captain James Cook learnt the most fundamental skills of seafaring right there.
On Thursday we walked along the cliffs to Runswick Bay. There's Jackie and Glyn and Shirley on the left and Tony and Pauline on the right. It was a lovely coastal ramble and the daytime temperature was mild - almost balmy.
We reached the beach at Runswick Bay. Once the village was all about fishing and the sea. Nowadays it's about tourism and holiday cottages. There are no barefoot children any more or weathered old men smoking clay pipes or old women in black shawls fixing broken nets. They have all gone.
We climbed to the main coast road above the village and caught a service bus back to Whitby. Then later we walked along the beach back to Sandsend where we rested before going for dinner in "The Hart Inn".
This morning I woke far too early and went out into the pre-dawn, listening to the pounding of the sea. It was not one of those golden, rosy sunrises but a muffled, pale grey one. I saw a lone telephone box by a bus stop on the coast road. I took several pictures of it but this is the one I have chosen to share with you:-
Three lovely days away with good friends. Easy talking in a fabulous seaside house. Good food and the sound of the relentless North Sea beating on the shore. Maybe I will return to this blogpost in the future, remembering with warmth our splendid October excursion courtesy of Tony and Pauline.
Sounds like a wonderful getaway. That first photo looks so much like a realist painting in the style of Alex Colville, a Nova Scotia artist whose paintings look like photos: http://alexcolville.ca/gallery/
ReplyDeleteWere you and your husband the models for "Refrigerator" Jenny?
DeleteHah! No :) The "models" in most of Colville's paintings are his wife and himself.
DeleteFor a prairie boy. I like watching the waves roll in. Nice photo of the waves.
ReplyDeleteThe closest you get to the sea out on the prairie is when the wind ruffles through the wheat - giving the appearance of sea waves.
DeleteWhat a view from the house! I am happy to hear you and Shirley are having a good time with friends. The best of life!
ReplyDeleteNot all days are like that but sometimes they happen and enhance your life.
DeleteLooks like the beach may be dog friendly at Runswick. Perhaps we should visit with Rick. I like the phone box photo.
ReplyDeleteDogs are banned from the beach at Sandsend until October 1st each summer. I don't know what the regulations are at Runswick Bay. Probably the same.
DeleteWasn't or isn't it your birthday, Neil? In any case, it sounds like a wonderful break, with the weather allowing for walks on the beach and along cliff toos. I love that view of Whitby; it has been far too long since I last visited there. The grey armchair at first glance looked like my yellow one's twin.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to you!
Hang on...I am still a young lad of 65! I won't be an old man of 66 until next week!
DeleteThere is something about the bleak grayness of the East coast that is somehow very nostalgic but I am glad both of you enjoyed your brief holiday with friends.
ReplyDeleteOn the way home we took the Pickering to Thirsk road and I saw a signpost to your village Thelma... just three miles. If I had been on my own I would have called in for a cuppa.
DeleteIt all sounds perfect . I remember going to Whitby when I was " little". There was a small stone built round hut, for want of a better word, by the harbour and a man used to give a show with large string puppets. ( I remember them as about 3 ft tall, but then I was small so maybe not !!)There were steps down from the " hut" and a sort of stage at the top where he performed. They must have made a big impression on me to remember all that when I can hardly remember what I did last week!!
ReplyDeleteThe puppeteer is no longer there Frances but Whitby remains a special place.
DeleteThose clouds through the window almost look like distant buildings. We have happy memories of a week in a house just up the hill from there, playing in an inflatable dinghy in the pool where the stream flows into the sea. Very different weather. And yes, walking north along the old railway line.
ReplyDeleteNice memories Tasker. Were your swimming trunks knitted by your grandmother?
DeleteOf course not. I inherited her costume.
Delete...and her earrings.
DeleteDo you always have to have the last word?
DeleteNo...I mean yes!
DeleteI can almost smell the cold salt-sea air. Bracing but lovely.
ReplyDeletePress "Esc", "Num Lock" and "AltGr" simultaneously on your keyboard and the aroma of sea air will emerge from your USB ports.
DeleteGreat view from the window. That looks like the kind of house I would love to stay in.
ReplyDeleteIt was quite superb. Spacious, simply decorated with top quality fitments throughout.
DeleteThe phone booth looks like a small beacon of hope in a dark, ominous backdrop.
ReplyDeleteThat is just how I feel about that image Linda.
DeleteMy first thought was to wonder just how long the house in the first picture will be there.
ReplyDeleteI think the rental house was high enough up to exist for many more years but the cafe you can see by the shore is in peril.
DeleteThat sounds like a wonderful escape. I love a good windy, wintry (or autumnal, in this case) beach. I'll have to make my way up to Whitby to check out that abbey!
ReplyDeleteWhitby is a special place Steve. I do hope that you get to visit it one
Deleteday.