A wet week in Whitby

Every year we spend a week away with good friends in our caravans. This year we decided to go to North Yorkshire, a part of the country I had not visited before. We booked onto a campsite at West Ayton just outside Scarborough and about 20 miles from Whitby, famous for fish and chips, Dracula  and Captain Cook. 

Last year we were away and had really hot weather so decided to pick the same week. How wrong can you be? In fairness the first two days were glorious and we secretly wondered if the weather forecasters had got it wrong and we would have a good week. But alas no,  it proved to be absolutely dreadful with terrible flooding. And the worst hit area of the country? North Yorkshire!

 

Despite the weather we had a good time and found the area to have both beautiful countryside and  friendly people. In fact we went to a National Trust property one day Nunnington Hall near York and found not only a delightful house but the best set of room stewards I have ever encountered at a NT property. They were engaging, interesting and friendly and really added to the experience. As someone who has volunteered in the past for the NT I hate to say it but it was the best experience I have ever had at one of their properties, mainly due to the volunteers.

 

We went to Whitby twice once on the weekend when the weather was lovely, visited the abbey and then tried to park in the town but it was impossible. We eventually found a 20 minute spot and ate some hasty fish and chips which were really delicious.

We wanted to try the famous Magpie Cafe but the queue was so long that it wasn’t possible due to our limited parking time. So we went back a couple of days later when the rain was pouring very hard, parked, and got into the Magpie Cafe without queuing. We had a wonderful meal which lived up to expectations.

 

Robins Hood Bay was a disappointment due to the weather – we couldn’t actually see it but we found Scarborough to be a great sea side town with lovely beaches and a really good shopping centre. The rest of the week was spent mainly hiding in the caravan or trying to miss the rain and flooding. On Friday we said goodbye to our friends and headed for the Yorkshire Dales for two nights on our way home.

 

We stopped at a really pretty spot not far from Grassington and had a lovely day driving around the Dales visiting Hawes and the Ribblevalley to see the viaduct. There was a great pub in the village where we had a memorable meal and again the friendliness of the people made the holiday. Well the weather certainly didn’t!