Scarborough and Whitby
We’d been home from our early Iberian summer tour of Spain, Portugal and France for a few weeks, the MoHo had been cleaned inside and out and we’d stored her away. We’d been busy in the garden, cutting down trees and trimming back hedges (well the ones which didn’t have a bird’s nest in it) and the TV was full of news about a heat wave arriving which was great news as the weather had been rubbish since we’d hit France and just as bad when we got home, one night I’d even turned the central heating on!
“So,” said my OH, “should we take the MoHo out to enjoy the good weather?” I didn’t have to think too long, did I want to spend the next few days brushing fine sand in between the gaps of the block drive which had been jet washed the previous week, or should I paint the garage door or ……. drop everything and go away? That was a no brainer (as they say).
We got the 2018 road atlas out and peered down. Cornwall? Wales? London? How about going to somewhere we hadn’t been to before? I pointed At Whitby, “If it’s good enough for the Goths it’s good enough for me,” I declared.
So having decided on a place, we then had to search for somewhere to stay. Pitch-up, Caravan Club and Park4Night, were just a few of the on line apps we looked at but would you believe it for Mon 1st through to Fri 5th was really busy. We couldn’t get anywhere near Whitby. Apart from a holiday camp type place a few miles outside but it wasn’t on a bus route and was too far to walk so we ended up selecting one outside of Scarborough.
The Crow’s Nest is mainly a caravan (ie static caravans) site with brand new super pitches for motorhomes. There were plenty of amenities on site, a bar and games room, outdoor pool, a large shop and a fish and chip shop on site. Each new pitch had electric, water and a water waste drain, a large patch of grass between pitches, all very well tended. Brilliant. The biggest problem was reversing the van over the small 12×12” square drainage point. Our pitch was on the top field just a few minutes walk from the cliff top and some stunning views.
The site was good but the customer service at Reception left a lot to be desired, the way they talked to us made us feel they were doing us a favour. Don’t think we’ll be going back.
The bus stop was at the end of the 1/4 mile long driveway, buses ran almost every 20 mins or so but flippin heck it was expensive, £6.60 return ticket for a 10 min, 4 stop trip into town. Compared to the prices were we’re paying in Spain and France which averaged a couple of euros at most each way for trips of 3/4 hour, 33 stop trip.
I’m not sure what I expected Scarborough to be but it was a typical Victorian seaside town, with some truly impressive buildings, one of which was the Town Hall which I mistook for a hotel! There was a cute funicular railway which came up from the beach to the town, we made very good use of it!
There are two beaches, north and south (they must have taken hours coming up with those names). We walked from the train station down through the shopping arcade towards south beach. There were a lot of empty shop fronts but that is a sign of the times.
The beach front it was so busy, lots of families on the beach building sandcastles or simply digging for Australia! Sitting on stripey deck chairs eating yellow topped ice creams or vinegary chips. There was plenty of choice, fish stalls selling cockles, prawns and even lobster; brightly coloured rock in vast quantities for only £5, fish and chips shops which all seemed to be ‘Award Winning’!
Donkey rides for £3
Deck chairs £5 for 2 for the day
We walked all the way along to the Spa at the end of the beach and took this shot looking back, you can just see the castle on the top right.
The following day we took a day off and just lazed around the moho, then the next day we drove up to Whitby and parked in the Park and Ride car park and got a bus into town.
Whitby reminded me of places in Cornwall where houses of all shapes and sizes rise up from the harbour all higgledy-piggledy. The place was packed with tourists, we watched a dad and his 7/8 year old daughter catching crabs with a hook then placing them into a bucket of water. I was surprised at how fast he was catching them, in typical dad fashion the little girl just watched as Dad had fun!! Not sure what they did with them afterwards, I hope they put them back into the sea.
There are 199 steps up from the town to the Abbey. Phew! But when you got there it was worth it. You have to enter via the museum (English Heritage) and shop (of course).
Such a lot of history here, more recently made famous by Bram Stoker.
I can see why it’s so popular, it has such an atmosphere.
