28 November 2022

Photography: Whitby

 

We came to Whitby in the autumn, for the 'sturm und drang' of the wind & wild of the angry North Sea: it was mild & damp, with a couple of lovely days... 
fkn climate change!

Stayed in a well-appointed wee cottage just off Flowergate, in the heart of town: 
it was lovely to have a bolthole; to eat well, cheaply; to wander about in us pants!  

For all the times we have visited over the past 30 or so years, we'd never been in a pub, nor done grown-up tourist wandering... bloody kids, eh?
It was lovely to see the streets, ghauts, & buildings NOT rammed with thousands of tourists... last time we were here it was shoulder-to-shoulder with hoi polloi!
You've a few walks north & south along the coast; west up the river... then you're travelling out to get your stroll on, but the town oozes charm & interest...
some great pies to be had as well (Humble Pie Shop, Brekons Butchers!)
And, my goodness doesn't the place have plenty of good boozers?
Whitby Brewery tap is the highest...
The Little Angel, a great local, with good beer & friendly folk...
The Quirky Den, the best micro pub, buzzing, with a fantastic offer...
The Station, a lovely, big town-centre pub, great beers...
The Waiting Room, a nice CAMRA-type beer house...
The Black Horse, a small, quiet old town local...
The Arch & Abbey, good choice, but dead as some doo-doos!

Never did get any fish & chips!









Back from the north-east... & it's so very, very wet!

 

28 October 2022

Walking: Bawdsey, coast & river

A lovely circular walk, starting pretty much at the Martello tower, then south along to Bawdsey beach & into the River Deben... the weather was so very kind!
All along this walk lies evidence of the rapid erosion that drives the alarming retreat of this part of the country: as Yorkshire & Dorset, with sand- & lime- stone rock.
Much evidence of concrete & timber defence structures, both to protect the land & to protect the country from invasion during WW11
- this area was critical in the development of useable radar technology.
Over time, the sea defences have proved the less effective!
Finally, we came to the mouth of the Deben, opposite Felixstowe Ferry 
- thankfully before the rising tide got to us shoes!
All in all a lovely wander, although walking along the 'clifftop' who had to feel sorry for the farmer who is going to lose another big chunk of field this winter!

















24 October 2022

Walking: Shottisham - Rendlesham Forest - Hollesley circular...

... although God knows what distance - we got lost in the woods for a while!
Bigger than you think are forests!
We just kinda set off along the sandy byways that criss-cross the area,
bimbling north &, once in the forest proper, all the trees began to look the same!
It was beautiful walking weather,
& we eventually found a road that took us to the Shepherd & Dog in Hollesley
- which was lovely by the way -
but evening, & rain, dropped shockingly quickly!
Coupla beers, a glance at All Saints, then a coupla miles in the damp & dark!
We had to have a few more beers when back in Shottisham!