Heading back to the east coast
The morning after the Champions League Final began with a nice breakfast, a shower and some food shopping on the way to Clitheroe, our next target.
Not that we had ever heard of this small town before, but my human had seen the website of the "Clitheroe Ramblers", a local hiking club, by accident, and there they introduced a 50km circular route through the area, which was meant to be of outstanding beauty.
It was too late that day to get going on this hike, so we had a look at the old castle and the cute little town before heading to a campground, since there was no good free parking available. Fine by me, gave me a chance to connect to some other vans.
The next morning, at 6am sharp, my human was on her way. Not even Carmelo was up for this one, although he's usually on board when it comes to weird stuff like this.
While we were chilling on the campground, my human had a bit of a hard time navigating this trail, which led her through fields, knee high with wet grass, crossing a couple of rivers (no, no bridges), scrambling through thorn bushes. I'm not saying she was always on the right track, though. Since it started raining about half an hour after she left, herself as well as the leaflet with a route description she had with her, were both soaked before long and therefore it was hard to read.
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| A brief dry moment to capture these beauties |
When she got back after some 10 hours, she was extremely happy to see me and even more so to have a long, hot shower. Never mind that her feet looked like the belly of a fish long dead. She does need new boots!
To stretch out the slightly sore muscles, there was a Yoga session the next morning, then some house keeping before we left for Skipton.
Here we parked close to the canal that runs through town and my human went for a walk alongside it and then through town, checking all the outdoor stores, which there were a surprising number of. But not the right one, it seemed.
In the evening she had a first call with a potential employer for the winter season. Seems so long till winter, especially since it seems like summer is still far off here in England, but it's never to early to think about where the next batch of cash should come from.
Before we left town the following morning, there was one more shop to check for boots. And this was the right one. With her and the salesman both happy, she got back with brand new, top notch boots.
On our way to York we stopped at the Coldstones Cut. Which they say is art. The highest and biggest in Yorkshire. Judge for yourself, if you will. The view into the quarry next to it was quite cool, though.
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| Well, what can I say? A giant's bike? |
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| To make even halfway sense of this, you would have to see an aerial shot |
Also on the way were the Brimham Rocks. Now they were a lot more fun! This is a site of special scientific interest which was formed some 325 million years ago! 200 million years BEFORE the dinosaurs!
We arrived in York in the late afternoon and after having heard some people rave about the new "Top Gun" movie, it was time to go and see it for ourselves. And yes, it is good. Foreseeable, but good.
The next day my human had a look around the city, checking out the Old Town, the Cathedral and a couple of markets. York is quite a nice little town, but leans very heavily on the whole Harry Potter theme. Every second house is haunted and there are more ghost tours than you can count.
There was a long line of people outside on small shop and all they sold in there were little ceramic ghost, you know, the bed linen type.
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| This used to be the butcherˋs street; the meat would be layed out on the wide window sills |
Of course it was the Platinum Jubilee weekend for the Queen as well, so outside a museum, there was a little military parade, lots of ladies with fancy hats seated on the green, a 42-shot gun salute and a great military band. They played "La Bamba", "Jailhouse Rock" and "It's not unusual", besides other songs.
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| He seemed to be the master of ceremonies |
After spending the night in a small village along the way, my human had another call regarding the winter job. Then we were headed for the Flamborough Lighthouse, from where there are great coastal walks.
Driving towards Scarborough, we had trouble finding a good parking spot, until, while driving through a roundabout, we spotted some caravans parked along a side street. What a find! Right next to the cliffs with a path down to the beach, 5km from the city.
I mentioned the National Cycle Network before, and from here there is a 40km on way route through Scarborough to Whitby, always close to the coast. Naturally, that's what my human had planned for the coming day.
Had she known the condition of the trail, she might not have been so eager. But she made it to Whitby, had lunch and a little look around, and, after 86 kilometers (yes, some unplanned detours) got back in time for dinner.
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| Whitby; we will be back here soon for a closer look |
Scarborough used to be the primer sea bath spot for the rich and famous, back in the day. Well, that day has long gone. Nowadays the promenade is filled with cheap, casino style, slot machine monstrosities and the best fish & chips shops in England, every single one of them. Loud and terrible music blasts from an uncountable number of speakers. And it was the first time that we thought of a place here in England as dirty. The are in front of the Grand Hotel was full of bird shit, spray paint and rubbish.
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| Scarborough, best seen from high above... |
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| ...or from far away. |
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| Yes, I guess it's what they call a summer here |
Needless to say we left again after about two hours.
A little bit inland, there is the Hole of Horcum.
This is a huge natural amphitheater some 130m deep. According to legend it was formed when Wade the Giant scooped up a handful of earth to throw at his wife during an argument. Nice.
Actually, it was created by a process called spring-sapping, whereby water welling up from the hillside has gradually undermined the slopes above, eating away the rocks. Over thousands of years, a once narrow valley has widened and deepened into an enormous cauldron.
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| These stone walls are very tipical, at least in this part of England |
We stationed ourselves on a nice little farm not far from the trailhead and off they went to walk this circular route around and through the hole. With the new boots, of course, and without rain.
That started some 5 minutes after they go back. And hasn't stopped since.
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