Monday & Tuesday – Out and About in the Whitby Area

Monday: Clouds, Sun, Wind, Cool – A Visit to Staithes

I am posting this two-day blog Wednesday morning at the Coliseum Café.  The next post will be Thursday night or Friday morning from Oxford as we start to bring this spectacular vacation to a close.  More then.

A partly cloudy, windy, and cool day.  We started it off by going to the Coliseum Center Tea Room to use their Wi-Fi.  The Tea Room is a gathering spot for locals, but we got there early and beat the rush.  Hot chocolate and scones were the order of the day whilst we used their internet connection – £1/hour.  Elaine walked about as I finished up.  After a couple of pictures of the Whitby Harbor area and a “Whitby in Bloom” flower box (yeah, not so much in bloom at the moment, we hopped back in Pierre Peugeot for the short ride to Saithes.

Click Pictures to Enlarge (no captions today)

Staithes is yet another picturesque town with a harbor at the foot of a cliff.  No parking in the old town, so it was park on top and trek down. (It’s the going back up that is hard, but we’re getting used to it now.)  Staithes a quaint town with what looks like a busy harbor when the tide is in.  We were there at low tide, so the boats were all resting on bare ground waiting for the tide.  Note the odd pelican sculpture adorning one house.  The Cod & Lobster Pub is located right at the harbor, and after the steep walk down, we rewarded ourselves with a pint: Timothy Taylor Ale for me, Crabbie’s Ginger Beer (alcoholic) for Elaine.  I played fetch with a neighborhood dog on the beach.  As you can see from the picture of the truck, driving in the old town in Staithes is a bit of a challenge (and all the streets are two-way!)  After a stop in a  craft shop, we hiked back up Mt Everest to the car.

Pictures from Staithes

Elaine had prepared a picnic lunch, so we stopped in Sandsend and enjoyed it on a windy beachside bench.  My hat stayed in Pierre Peugeot all day as it would have disappeared like a flash in the wind.  After lunch we decided to call it an early day.  We did stop at Sainsbury’s for a Pierre petrol refill and for a final few groceries.  Then it was back to Galatea Cottage at Whitby Light for naps, snacks, television, reading, and waiting for cocktail hour.  There was time for a few pictures.  The Cleveland Way, a popular hiking trail, goes right by Whitby Light.  Hikers have been few and far between during our stay.  I wandered down the trail (hardly a hike) a bit to get a pictures of Whitby Light and the cliffs, a popular nesting place for sea birds.  The crest pictured is the logo for Trinity House, the organization that runs the lighthouses in England and also now rents out the lighthouse keeper cottages like the one we are in now.

Sammy Seagull, our house seagull, was perched as usual on the roof of the shed near our patio deck while we sipped cocktails and enjoyed cheese and crackers.  A pigeon dared land on the shed but quickly fled when Sammy attacked and bit his tail.  Dinner tonight was a hodgepodge at home – soup as a main for Elaine and a Sainsbury prepared meal of Lamb Rogan Josh for me.

At Sandsend and Galatea Cottage

Tuesday: Eden Camp, the Story of Britain at War

Pictures from Galatea Tuesday Morning

Leaving the cottage, we weaved our way through the cows and the farmer was letting out into the pasture for the day.  Today we drove to Malton under partly cloudy skies to visit Eden Camp which was created as a prisoner of war (POW) camp for Italian and German prisoners during WWII.  It was one of dozens located all around England.  The original housing huts have been transformed into a museum of Britain at war with the emphasis on World War II (The People’s War – 1939-1945).  From the Home Front to the Front Line, a nation pulls together.  There is memorabilia galore.  The story of day to day life is recreated.  The best part may be the stories of individuals which are told in a compelling fashion.  News footage from the war is shown on videos, and there is a vast collections of WWII newspapers.  We were the first ones through the doors when the museum opened at 10:00.  We finally left at 2:30.  If you read everything, you could spend a week here.  Here are lots of pictures.  Most are self explanatory, a few have captions.  They will give you an idea of the breadth of war coverage at Eden Camp.

Pictures at Eden Camp

On the way home we got a nice wash for Pierre Peugeot who now looks shiny and new again.  In the self-wash bay we were next to another 2017 Red Peugeot 3008 Grip.  What are the odds?

Dinner tonight was at Harry’s Lounge on the Pier Road down by Whitby Harbor.  Food was great.

(E) Prawns in Garlic Butter starter; 1/2 Lobster main; Eton Mess dessert

(J): New York Chowder starter; Grilled Halibut main; Ice Cream dessert

The New York Chowder was delicious but not Manhattan Style which is a desecration of good chowder.  After dinner we walked about Whitby for a bit, indiscriminately snapping pictures before returning to Galatea Cottage for the sunset.

Pictures of Dinner and of Whitby Harbor and back at Galatea Cottage