Day 4 Sunday 13 April

 Left York this morning to travel to Whitby. Stopped off at Scarborough on the way, about 1 hr from York. Wandered around the beach and up to the castle. Quite a lovely place. We were warned by our host in York to not eat food in the open as the seagulls are very aggressive and will attack you for it! We parked at Grand Hotel and wandered around - definitely not eating!

The Towers

St Mary’s Church- they started ringing the bloody bells- so long and so loud!. Enough to wake the dead! 

Scarborough from the marina

Grand Hotel

View of Scarborough from up near Scarborough Castle

The grave of Anne Brontë, the writer and one of Brontë sisters

Scarborough Castle

Luna Park on foreshore - didn’t look as good as ours!

South end of Scarborough 

View of Scarborough from marina

View from top near Grand Hotel

Off to Robin Hood Bay about 30 mins north of Scarborough - what a gorgeous little place. Well known for its smuggling days!

Coming into the Bay Area. You walk down this really steep road to the beach area which apparently is full of fossils at low tide. It was low tide but we didn’t fossick for fossils!

The view looking back from the beach to the town. Cliffs were quite high.

Road down to bay

One of the pubs - obviously named after Robin Hood! 

Walking down to the Bay

A panoramic of the bay at low tide

Low tide at the bay

View again from the road.

Now off to Whitby - about 15 mins from Robin Hood Bay. Staying at an Air bnb built in 1860!

The place we’re staying

Another place called the Shambles

Whitney Abbey

View of Whitby from the way to the Abbey

Getting friendly with a local!

Had to take a photo of this for Jude! 

View of Abbey from St Mary’s church. Some of the graves date back to the 1700’s!

St Mary’s Church near the Abbey

The seagulls here are ginormous! 

Walking up the 199 steps to the Whitby Abbey! 

The Abbey

The Abbey house 

Sailing boat coming into harbour

The obligatory photo under the whalebones! Whitby was a big whaling town

Information on Whitby Abbey

Another view of the Abbey, it really was magnificent looking perched on this hill right on the coast!

The old town of Whitby

Whitby

Panoramic view of Whitby from the Abbey hill

Us in front of Abbey

Such history is here. There is a monument to Captain Cook as he did his training here as well as the ships he sailed were built here

Whitby is a really lovely town. Bit sorry we’re only here for the night but off to Edinburgh tomorrow! 

Day 3 York Saturday April 12

Woke up early this morning to fog and quite cold. 

View from our bedroom window, the racecourse.

Front view of the house we’re staying in.

Elaine let us know there was a car boot sale on up the road so off we went. Hundreds and hundreds of cars turn up full of people’s wares! Definitely that old saying of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” rang true here! 

Me eating a steak pie from the butchers at the end of our street- bloody delicious! Warming up at 8am! 

Then off to explore York - what a fabulous city! Went and did the Jorvik Viking Experience. They have a very strong Viking history here and you go in a small train underground to see all the relics they found when excavating. They’ve done an excellent replica of the villages they found. - really interesting!

Visited the Shambles - an amazing cobblestone street with amazing shops.

Climbed and walked the  city walls- the views were amazing

Visited Clifford Towers - all that’s left of the Royal Castle. It was where in 1190 150 Jews sought protection from a mob incited by Richard Maleoisse (don’t know who he is,) They wouldn’t convert their faith so the male Jews killed their wives and children, then the Rabbi killed the males and then he committed suicide- how tragic! There was 360 degree views of the city

Clifford Tower

Great sign on side of building! I want some! 

One of the lovely building in the city centre

Another view of the York Minster

Treasury House

Sign outside of the Golden Fleece pub, most haunted apparently

Side view of the Minster

Walked nearly 15 kms today!  Loved York - off to Whitby tomorrow. 

Day 2 Friday April 11

Up early after pretty good sleep and off to York, via Cambridge. Cambridge is such a beautiful city - watched many a Lewis set here. We didn’t do a tour but walked through the old town ourselves. Spent a couple of hours here and would have spent more but had to get onto Kings Lynn on the next part of the journey to York. 

Kings College Cambridge

Had to take a photo of this shop- not that I think Mum Betty was ever sweaty! 😓 

Free School Lane Cambridge

Kings College 

Heaps of traffic on the road and one section was closed off due to police incident. Diverted through a little place called Orwell with heaps of thatched roof houses and narrow streets! Gorgeous but didn’t stop long enough for photos! Saw canal boat on way and took photo for Ryan’s and Smiths, heaps of these on the rivers!

Didn’t take any at Kings Lynn either, still had 3.5 hrs to go to York! Arrived there at 6pm and met by the lovely Elaine at our air bnb. 

Walked into town to do the ghost tour, a very entertaining gentleman walked us around York and told tales of murders, executions and hangings that York is famous for - apparently! Dick Turpin was hung at the racecourse across the road from where we’re staying and his ghost haunts the town! We walked through the Minster

Millennium Bridge

The wall around old town York

The Golden Fleece pub- ghosts inhabit the cellar, it is a tiny little place next to the crooked building!

The Cathedral

The Kings Arms where the tour started

Site of an old school where the little children were murdered by the evil old principal and you can hear them - mainly after youve imbibed a lot of alcohol apparently!

Treasury House, bodies of Roman soldiers were found here when it was being built and they still Rome it today (sic) 😂

Our bedroom in the attic - we walked through up 3 flights of stairs to get to it but it’s really quaint! Back here about 1030pm and off to bed! 

Day 1 Flight and Arrival Thursday April 10

Long flight from Brissie to Dubai firstly. Mike dropped us off at International airport in Brisbane at 10 pm and flight took off at 2pm on time. Good flight and when we landed in Dubai, we were taken straight to the gate where the connection to London was waiting! All went smoothly! I was so worried about this part as we only had 1.5 hrs in Dubai between flights but all good. This flight took off on time and for the next 7 hours I sat next to the most inconsiderate, annoying young male! Big fellow was quite unwell and sniffed and heavy sighed and coughed the whole way while constantly leaning over my area!

I kept shoving eucalyptus oil up my nose and turned my back on him- very uncomfortable for 7 hours! I swear he would have sat on my lap if I’d let him - he almost was anyway! Flight thank heavens landed early at 4pm, weather beautiful and off to get the car! Picked up vehicle - cost double what we’d expected - oh interest rate, why do you have to be so cruel! Beautiful new car however and off to Ramada by North, somewhere one hour north of Heathrow! No issues getting there, it was next to a service centre so Burger King for dinner, glass of red wine and off to bed! Nearly 48 hours without sleep, well prolonged sleep, so more than ready for bed! 

At departures

Ramada by North.