Whitby - Day 2

A combination of heat and noisy seagulls made for an awful night's sleep. However, the kids awoke extra early, so Matt and I begrudgingly got out of bed.

 Once we were all ready for the day ahead, we headed out to see the sights. We crossed the swing bridge, which was cool to watch open for boats going in and out. Naturally, the only photo I got was this one.

 

While the bridge is open

 

We walked up the 199 steps that lead to St Mary's Church and the gothic ruins of Whitby Abbey. We walked around the outside of the Abbey, but didn't buy a ticket to see it up close, as the kids were whining about most things. 

Two piers flank the entrance to the harbor

Memorial for Caedmon, England's first poet

St Mary's Church

Whitby Abbey is famous for being the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. There was loads of vampire themed merchandise throughout the town, and Clara was thrilled to pick up a plush bat as her souvenir.

 

 

 

We walked back toward the town centre via a different route, but the kids were still unhappy in general. There was only a brief reprieve when we encountered some horses.

 

 

We looked at the sea and the whale bone arch, then hit a cafe for lunch. It was so hot, but there was a bit of relief when the breeze came off the water.

We went back to the cottage to rest. Matt and I had a little nap while the kids watched television. Then it was beach time! The kids played, gathered rocks, and had a great time, and even Matt got soaked up to his shorts. I only got my feet wet, and the water was cold but it was so nice in the heat.

 

Once we had our fill of seaside fun for the day, we stopped back at the cottage to rinse the sand from the girls. Hot and tired, we went to a pub very close by for dinner. The kids had water in pint glasses, pretending it was beer, and that they were a ship's crew defeating sea beasts. It's a good thing they were imaginative, because the food took more than an hour and a half to arrive. The kids were being patient, but we were very hungry.

 

When the food finally arrived, we ate quickly and got the kids home to go to bed. Thankfully, we all slept much better than the previous night.

 

 

Whitby- Day 1- Summer 2022

 Okay, for real this time I'm going to try to catch up. We've had lots going on, but I do like recording these trips at least for myself, so we will start with a 2022 summer's road trip to Whitby, which is on the Eastern coast of England near Scarborough (I think most people have heard of that town).

We had done a quick day trip to Whitby in our first year here, but had always wanted to go back and see more. So we planned- coincidentally during the hottest heat wave in Britain for decades or something.

Considering that we pare down for air travel, you'd think we would have done the same. But no, we filled up the car with "necessities" and headed out after lunch.  It was hot, but we were okay because of the car's A/C.

When we arrived, our rental cottage wasn't ready yet, so we went to the Magpie Cafe for dinner. We had been here on our first trip and loved it, and it was just as great as we had remembered. Clara was so excited seeing so many fish and chip restaurants.

Once we had eaten, our cottage was ready. It was tucked away in some little alleyways, but we eventually found it. By now we were really feeling the heat (and remember, air conditioning is not standard here).

One of many "friends" who visited

It was so hot, but a cute place to stay.

After 7pm, Lily volunteered to go on a short walk with me. We were only a couple of blocks from the sea, and I wanted to look around. She soon became grumpy because we didn't get ice cream (I hadn't even brought my wallet), so we went back to our base to lie around sweating until bedtime.

Whalebone arch overlooking the North Sea

Apologies for the small photos here at the bottom, I don't know why they're like that.