Whitby
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| Whitby Harbour |
When I woke up the sun was out and it looked cold but clear. The weather has certainly changed from those balmy days I experienced earlier. Yesterday had a top of 9 degrees and today's temp was promised to be about the same.
So, check out and on the road again. I knew I was going to Whitby, but wasn't quite sure after that...
I was really glad that I didn't go to Whitby late yesterday because the drive over the North Yorkshire Moors was outstanding and I would've missed most of it in the dark and the rain. If you've ever seen the series "Heartbeat" you will know what I mean..
I stopped at one point to take a pic, but it was hard to capture the grandeur of the scenery around me..
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| North Yorkshire Moors |
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| North Yorkshire Moors |
There were a couple of reasons I wanted to go to Whitby -
- It was reputedly a beautiful place
- James Cook came from there
- There is a beautiful ruin of an Abbey on the cliff overlooking the town
Gaby Garmin helped me arrive very efficiently as usual and I found a good car park right near the harbour.
I decided to start with the toughest assignment which was to climb the 199 steps to the Abbey ruins..
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| Will I? Won't I? .... |
Well, I did, and it wasn't too bad after all...
Some lovely views on the way up....
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| Whitby |
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| Whitby |
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| Whitby |
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| Whitby |
So I made it to the top... 199 steps later!
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| Made it! |
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| This is where I came from... |
And it was worth the effort. The first Church up there was the Church of St Mary the Virgin
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| Church of St Mary the Virgin |
But the Whitby Abbey was the main thing I had staggered up all those steps to see, and it was certainly worth it..
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| Whitby Abbey - look at the birds... |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
Once again we were given an audio guide, which I really love because you can take the tour at your own pace. I had only put 2 hours in the "pay as you go" parking, so was aware I couldn't stay too long.
Anyway, it was absolutely freezing up there... the wind was straight off the ocean and very biting...
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
Apart from the fact I was freezing to death, I was conscious of my parking time so I didn't dilly-dally too much and set off down those 199 steps again.
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| Whitby Harbour |
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| Whitby Harbour |
By now, it was starting to drizzle rain, so I was not sure what to do next. I wanted to see the James Cook statue which was on the headland on the other side of the harbour. So I went back to the car and sat in the warm for a while.Then I put another 3 pounds in the meter and off I went again. The rain was getting a bit heavier by now, but I had my rain jacket on and I figured I had to "toughen up Princess!"
So I walked up the main street to see the statue of James Cook. (Hope the Year 8/9s appreciate the effort!)
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| James Cook Statue Whitby |
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| James Cook Statue Whitby |
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| James Cook Statue Whitby |
By now the rain was getting pretty heavy, so I was looking for a refuge that had some nice soup for lunch. Not an easy find.... But at last I found a cafe that had some really warming vegetable soup. and I was inside and out of the rain for a while.
One other thing I found in the main street was something that Whitby is also famous for..
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| Dracula experience in Whitby |
Bram Stoker found some of his inspiration for 'Dracula' after staying in Whitby in 1890. He stayed in a house on the West Cliff and was trying to decide whether it would be suitable for a family holiday.
By all accounts, he was quite smitten with the atmosphere of the town; the red roofs, Whitby Abbey, the church with its tombstones and even the bats flying around the many churches.
By now it was raining quite seriously and I was glad to get back in the car and turn the heater on full!
The next thing to do was to set Gaby Garmin for a destination for the night, and once again I didn't have anything booked...
I had looked at the map last night and there were a few options, but I wanted to get somewhere within striking distance of Scotland, so the place that jumped out at me was Carlisle. It meant I crossed England totally from East to West... And it took me 2 and a half hours!!!
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| Route from Whitby to Carlisle |
The drive was once again eventful as a very dense fog rolled in and the visibility varied between 50-100 metres. This trip is proving to be one long adventure!!!
After I eventually emerged from the fog, I was conscious once again of the beautiful scenery that was surrounding me. What a shame I missed so much of it in the fog!
So tonight I'm safely holed up in Carlisle... same name as the suburb of St Clare's... it's a sign!!!!
My motel is comfortable but ordinary, but it's a roof over my head and I'm warm and fed and off the road.
Four seasons in one day... reminds me of Melbourne!!!
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