Welcome to the Wakey Races 2: Race around the north - Salisbury, Andover, M25

9 July 2026

The holiday is over, but there is still a day to enjoy, so we decided to travel back via Salisbury and Andover. We arrived in Salisbury late morning, and walked to the Cathedral.  It is a magnificent building, one of the most imposing I've seen.  Inside, we are told that the Cathedral is closing early, and that we can join the last tour, which started about 15 minutes ago. Our guide was, sadly, one of the worst I have ever had.  Far too willing to discuss irrelevancies with a vocal member of the tour, and starting talking as soon as they arrived at the next location, without checking that all members of the tour have arrived.  We may have done better going it alone.

Indeed, we did exactly that, so we got more time to see the Magna Carta.  The Salisbury version is so much clearer than the Lincoln Version. We saw the Lincoln Copy here, but didn't come away with a picture.  Nevertheless, what I said there still applies.  If you live in the Western World, this is one of the most important historical documents. It is protected from direct sunlight; it is dimly lit. Photography is forbidden.  My picture comes from the plaque outside the display chamber. The Cathedral restaurant doesn't close part way through the day, so we enjoyed lunch in the courtyard, undercover and in shade. Then it was on to Andover, less than 20 mile onward, but a pretty drive.  Jo said she had never been there. I said there was nothing much to see.  Now she has been there, and enjoyed some refreshment in a little café that just says 'old English ladies' (Miss Marple) in its style and presentation. Then onwards to the dreaded M25.  We had avoided the 5-mile queue at the tunnel, to sit in slow moving traffic for about 40 minutes and travel less than 2 junctions.  The remains of the caravan, apparently destroyed by a collision with the concrete wall that separates the north and southbound traffic, told us why we had waited so long.  The nutters abounded, overtaking on the inside, weaving through the traffic like their lives depended on it.   When the jam freed, the worst offender was still only 2 cars ahead.  Just as we got going, we were stopped again by a second incident.  For about another 20 minutes.  With less than half a tank of fuel, and the consumption display telling me 2.5 mile per gallon, I was starting to get range anxiety. We stopped at South Mimms for Dinner (a snack really), and arrived home mid-evening.

A lovely holiday.

The Race to Ring, The bells, the bells - Swanage, the Pier, Bandstand and Mill pond

8 July 2026

We started the day with a visit to St Mary's Church, the one just across the road from Millbrook.  The one with the bells in the clock that strike the hour 24 times a day.  The stained glass is lovely.

It is another hot day, so we strolled along the sea front to the pier, where we found a shady spot, outside a restaurant, and sat watching the world go by.  The pier is at one end of the bay, and gives a great view from the cliffs in the distance, to the Grand Hotel, and along the sea front.  I tried to capture it in a video.  This is the third, or fourth attempt.  It was busy, and I had to put up with people passing up and down the pier.  My timing was clearly wrong.

There was an art exhibition at the end of the pier, each of the supports had a carefully laminated photo stapled to it.  All the pictures were of sea creatures in their natural habitats.  I tried taking a picture of the small (unidentified) fish swimming around pier.  What I got looked more like some sort of modern art than a picture of fish. A ferry runs from the pier.  As do a number of short boat trips along the Jurassic Coast.  I'd be interested to know if all the passengers pay the pier entry fee.  Once the ferry was loaded, it left.  We could still hear the announcements as is got to the other side of the bay.  The pier was much quieter after that. We had lunch in the Pier Head restaurant, as recommended by one of the people in the pier kiosk.  The food was very good, but the service was rather slow.  All the young ladies serving seemed pre-occupied with other jobs, one was told to find us a seat by her supervisor.  Even the drinks took a while to arrive.  The restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived, but soon filled up.  Then it was back to the B&B, as the next thing to do would have been too much walking for me.  On the way we had a round of crazy golf at one of the entertainment places built into the cliffs.  It was a rather easy course.  Then I sat in one of the shelters for a bit, while Jo had a paddle.

In the evening we visited the band stage, where the town band were playing.  This is a great traditional British sea side event, and we very much enjoyed it.  I made a list of the tunes I recognised, and the ones that were announced: Great escape theme Thunderbirds From mama Mia   - mama Mia  - SOS   - Winner takes it all  - Dancing queen Instant concert 33 pieces  Mountain country dances 3 tunes Bohemian Rhapsody James Bond  - theme  - Goldfinger  - nobody does it better  - the spy who loved me  - sky fall?  - live and let die Marches from silver screen ?  Elephant march Jungle Book Star Trek TNG theme Star Wars West Side story film - America - there a plaice for us Oliver - Food glorious food - where is he - consider yourself - I'd do anything Don't stop me now Encore: Singing in the rain

On the way back, I noticed that the sign said: St Mary's Church ¼ mile Mill Pond ¼ mile  It must be near the church, but we hadn't seen it.  Near the church the sign became vague, so with the help of Google Maps, we finally discovered it. A beautiful mill pond, in the middle of housing, the peace only interrupted by the church bells (the ringers were practising, I assume).

Race to the bottom - Swanage Railway, Ball clay Mine, & Corfe Castle

7 July 2026

Millbank B&B We are on the second floor.  It is very warm, the overnight low above 20C.  The windows are open.  Around dawn civil war breaks out in the gull community.  There is a lot of shouting, followed by a lot more shouting.  Eventually the church clock over the road strikes 5, and I go back to sleep for a little while. At Millbrook, breakfast is ordered by underlining items on a laminated menu and putting it in a box the night before.  I singularly failed at this, missing a tomato today, and toast on the last day.   Today we are travelling on the Swanage Railway, the plan is to travel to Nordon, the furthest stop on the line. From there visit the clay mining museum, then travel one stop back to Corfe Castle, look around the castle, and finally return on the train to Swanage. The plan was executed flawlessly.

The Engine 34072 looks capable of so much more than chugging up and down a short heritage railway. I wanted to see it on a main line, where it can really 'let rip' and properly show its power. We barely saw any smoke at all.

Here's a little of what the website says about it.  Here is the Wiki Entry for the class

Ball Clay has been taken from mines in the area for thousands of years.  It is a very useful clay for certain types of ceramics - particularly porcelain and insulators.  The picture shows the railway down which the clay was taken to be shipped to its destination.  The tunnel was moved and re-built here specifically for the museum.  Going down the walkway required care.  Ball Clay mining continues in the area, but now open cast mining is used to get the clay from the ground.  The guy protecting the entrance was past mid-talk when we arrived, so we caught a little of what he was saying, but missed much more.  His colleague who we met at the end was on his first day, and making too much of an effort to engage people.  He seemed a little awkward, but I'm sure he'll get it soon enough.

We caught the next train to Corfe Castle. (Also the name of the town.) The Greyhound Pub had been recommended by the guy asking for donations at the entrance to the museum, it proved a good place to eat.  The service was fast, and the food was good.  The castle is an imposing ruin.  Captured by treachery during the civil war, it was destroyed by the parliamentary sappers, who knew just where to put the charges to do the most damage.   The castle had been precariously mounted on top of the hill in the time of King John and the weight of it had caused the hill to deform, requiring a re-work of the building plans to prevent the walls from breaking.  I had a brief chat with the workers who were removing plant life from the crevices and re-filling with mortar.  The intention being to protect the monument from the ravages of the coming winter.  Then there was the long, slow, walk down the hill.

A view of Corfe Castle, from Corfe Castle.

The model village, built in the 1960s, it has the castle modelled in all its original glory.  The modelling is impressive and well imagined, compare what you see there, with views from the castle. We also visited the church, which is quite large for the size of the town.

Sorry about the shaky start, here is the 34072 entering Corfe Castle Station in reverse.

A very good day out in the heat.  We returned to the B&B via the co-op, where we bought salad and fruit.  So, dinner was in our room, quite late in the evening as we tried to cool down before bed.

Slow race to Swanage

We last visited Swanage in 2014. Before we can go there, we have to leave Weston.  That is a relatively simple process, so although we were up a little early, we are easily out on time.

We went to Bridport, for a coffee break, and to split the journey, as we can't get in until 4pm.  Almost immediately we found a shop selling cheese - it's one of our great skills!.  We already have too much cheese left over from our previous stay, and nowhere to store it now in the hot weather.  So, buying more was not an option.  "The Cherry Tree" has everything available for tasting, and the proprietor, who said "We've only been open since Wednesday" rather too often, also maintained that his shop is unique. We wish him great success, we bought some chutney to help him along.  The High Street in Bridport has a good collection of shops, and plenty of charity shops too.  We stopped in Coffee #1 for refreshment, and then moved on. We then travelled the few minutes to West Bay.  We enjoyed walking on the stones and eating our sandwiches on a seat overlooking the harbour.

There is a toy shop in Bridport, with a working fairground "Big Wheel".  It is made of Connex, a toy that the children (and I) loved many years ago, although we didn't have enough for something like this.

We arrived in Swanage just a few minutes too early after being delayed by multiple sets of traffic lights for road works on the way.  Those minutes were soon lost trying to find a parking space.  The B&B has 6 spaces, although none of them are really big enough for the Sharan.  We found a space on the road, but as we were about to go to the guest house, another, closer one became available, so I moved the car for a second time - and that is where it stayed for the few days we were there.

West Bay beach looking west

 

Racing to Park - Holy Communion at St. Andrew's Colyton

Sunday Worship took us back to St Andrew's Colyton.
The service began at 9:30, so we were up unusually early.  This was partly due to doubts about parking space, the town is one long stream of parked cars on the edge of the narrow roads.  There is a car park, and it is free on Sundays.

The service itself was rather more traditional than we are used to.  A sung Eucharist, with 4 readings, and 4 hymns.  It's always nice to worship with the locals.  There were several special things happening.  Their celebration of 150 years of M.U.  They had guest bell ringers giving them eight bells and were preparing for the Icon project.

 

Listen to the peel in the video.

Afterwards we spoke to a few people.  They are fortunate to have a number of retired clergy helping out. 

 

We had lunch in The Kingfisher - as recommended by a member of the congregation.  It was very good.

Then back to watch the F1 British Grande Prix, which had a disappointing ending.
 

Downhill Racing - Bransecombe and Sidmouth

The Old Bakery

We drove down the narrow lanes to Branscome, following the 899 bus.  The service runs 3 times a day and connects all the pretty villages on this part of the Devon Coast.  The top car park was tiny and full, so we proceeded to the beach car park. There was plenty of room, and another different type of payment.  This is "pay on exit", which is really better.

The old parts of the village are well spaced out and run by the National Trust.  Long time readers will know that my expectations at National Trust places are rarely met.  That was the case here too.  The Forge is just a shop with a small display.  The Old Bakery is just a shop.  The mill is on bypass and not running.  Although each place is lovely to see, they could do so much more.

We first walked to The Forge, then across the road and a bit further along, the Old Bakery, where we had a light lunch.  Then onto the Church and the Mill.

Bransecombe church is another one with an octogon on top.  The church was open, but not the tower, so we took a look inside.  Not so much stain glass, but a nice church.

The long walk back down hill took its toll, and I was limping a little by the time we returned to the car. 

 

 

 

Then we drove to Sidmouth and walked along the sea front.  A lovely place, with many people enjoying the warm weather.  There was another downhill 'run' from the Manor Road car park to the sea front,  In the late afternoon we are between lunch and dinner.  Most of the cafés are shut, and the evening economy is not yet underway, so it was fish & chips again (shame!)

 

 

Out of (with) the blocks - Racing underground - Beer Quarry

Beer is a small village on the south coast of Devon, it is mainly known for the stone that was quarried in the hills above.  The houses in the picture are partly built with the local stone.   The other industry here is fishing; there are still fishing boats on the stony beach.  The village is surrounded by steep hills and has a stream running down the main road (Fore Street).

We arrived in the Car Park a little before lunchtime.  This is Charlie's Yard, where we sat to eat lunch.  While eating we watched the swifts flying in and out, collecting food for their young nesting in the roof.  After lunch, we walked into the village.  St Michael's church is huge, and a mixture of traditional (the bibles) and modern (the children's work and use of the space).

Leaving the car park was difficult, we were parked on a steep hill, pointing downwards.  The spaces are made for 1960s cars.  The Sharan refused to go backwards.  I ended up using left foot braking to control the car, to get enough revs to move and not collide with the car behind.  Then up to the quarry. We changed into walking boots and put a coat on.  The temperature in the quarry varies between 7 and 10 Celsius.   Today it is a little over 8.  The guide was brilliant.  Telling us about the Roman, Saxon and later quarrying techniques, and showing us some of the evidence the various historical characters have left behind.  Guided tours are essential, the quarry covers 40 acres.

Tram racing - The Seaton Tramway

We travelled to Colyton, the 'far end' of the Seaton Tramway, where parking in the small car park is free.  Colyton is an original Victorian Station, and very nicely decorated and maintained.  Trams run every 20 minutes, so no racing was required (or allowed).  We were soon upstairs and underway.  The line is 120 Volt DC (don't touch it, but if you do, you'll probably survive), it is backed up by lead-acid batteries that are trickle charged from the mains.  The idea being that in a power cut there is enough juice to get the tram back to base.

The view from the upper story of the tram is amazing.  The line is single track with passing places and is managed with tokens, just like the old Victorian train line would be.  The trams were migrated from Eastbourne in 1970, some adjustments were made for the railway gauge.

On the top of the tram looking
backwards past the pick-up arm 

We had lunch in a small café in the front of a furniture store - the Finishing Touch Coffee Shop.  The view was awful, by the time we were ready to go the dust cart was still obscuring the view of the run-down buildings opposite.  On the upside the soup was very good, and very reasonably priced. 

We walk on into Seaton and visited the Sea Front and the very stony beach. We turned right, walking towards the Chine, but didn't get far enough.  That was because we spent our time visiting the water, sliding down the stones is not so easy as it once was.  Jo must have her paddle, then we climbed backup.  At the end there is a restaurant, where we bought ice cream.

 

Tram car No. 4

On the way back we travelled in Tram Car No. 4, mainly used for special occasions.  They did not put the lights on for us.  We debated stopping at Seaton Wetlands, but decided to go there by car.  That was a good decision, because when we arrived at the terminal the church bells were ringing, which prompted us to visit the most unusual church.

St Andrews, Colyton

The church bells continued on and off during our visit, which made me wonder if they were being played automatically. We could have gone up the tower, but the warnings put us off.

A Chime Barrel.  All the bells can be played by one ringer.

They have form!  They have turned their bells into a music box once, maybe they have done it again.

Then onto the Seaton Wetlands, where we saw mostly Black Headed Gulls, but also a Curlew in the distance.

Sand Martin Wall, with a Sand Marting arriving,
two blocks from the left.

They have made a sand martin wall, which is now occupied after many years of playing sand martin calls to the open air.   Walking around here some nasty biting insect decided to sample my blood.  It only partially succeeded, and is now an ex-insect.

After the insect incident, we watched a woman feeding a blackbird.  While that was happening the were shouts of "coming through" and "make way", or something similar, as two not quite middle-aged women shot past us on roller skates.  The path is shared use; it has a 5MPH speed limit.  

Perhaps I should have called this post Racing Skates.

Back in Seaton we bought Fish and Chips and sat on a seat behind some beach huts, looking at the sea as best we could.

 Or, perhaps I should have called it Failing to Race to a View.

 

 

 

  

Racing for a butterfly - South Devon Railway

About 1 hour's drive away is the South Devon Railway.  We decided to go for the second train of the day and arrived just as the first was being cleared to leave.  Just a few minutes earlier ...

Nevermind.  The smell of coal burning met us as we exited the car park, I am immediately in steam train mode.  Over the bridge, down the platform almost off the end we went to look in the museum.  Not as I remember when it was the Dart Valley Railway, but they have lost some space to the A38. We then went to look at the workshop and finally along the river path.  On the path we spotted a butterfly, and stopped to try to get a photo.  I can't get close enough.  In the bushes was a Sooty Copper.  No chance of getting a picture, because the running man demanded passage.  Where was he going in such a hurry? The path is now blocked at the A38.  It feels quite unnecessarily closed in, and barred.  For the sake of it, the powers that be are making the world smaller.

The engine for the day was the 1369 saddle tank.  The carriage has ancient 'bouncy' sprung seats, probably with horse hair on top of the springs.  Then the dog people get on. The dogs are fine, the people talk incessantly, ignoring the train altogether, and again our peace is ruined.  I don't want to hear your conversation, just enjoy the ride.

The Dart is a wide shallow river sometimes flowing over largish stones and mud, sometimes bedrock. Every so often there are small 'rapids'.  Ideal for kingfishers, but not today, although the water looks clear and clean.

In Totnes, we walk into town passing at least 3 signs pointing to the town centre all saying 0.9km.  They can't all be true, most likely none of them are.   

On the way up Fore Street, to the High Street we buy ice cream - 2 for £15, seems a lot. In the town square we have a conversation with 2 guys trying to give away Bibles.  I pray they get some customers.  They are from the local Free church.

On the way back to the 3pm departure, we try for a shortcut and almost get lost on an industrial estate. There is just time for tea in the Rare Breeds Centre Café before we must board the train.

On the way back I see a woman in a swimsuit by the bank of the river, which is surely not deep enough to swim in.

Then it back to the cottage, via some diversions for closed roads, to watch the England vs DR Congo.

Race Around the World - Bicton Park Botanical Gardens

Elephant Fountain near the entrance

 The Bicton Botanical Gardens have a selection of trees (mainly) from around the world.  The entrance looks like a large garden centre, but there is so much more.  There is also a formal garden (Italian), and a church on site.  Although this is no longer used, and was locked.

When the gardens were opened, the owners decided to also build a railway as the house had been separated from the estate and is now Bicton College.

We wandered around the gardens, took a trip on the train, then went inside for lunch.  The food was good, my cheese scone was one of the best I had ever had, but it was ridiculously expensive. 

Palm House

The palm house is the most impressive building on site.  Built before Kew Gardens, it is constructed so that the glass panes for part of the supporting structure, and make the dome freestanding.

 
The stream had been dammed to make the lake and various features had been built on its way down the gentle slope.  We got to Fairy Falls, and walked up the steep bank to the hermitage (locked).  We sat on the seats outside to watch the dragon flies hunting over the pond. It was warm in the bright sun, hardly a cloud in the sky, and a gentle breeze.  Lovely, until ... three or four women arrived and sat on the next seat.  I do not want to hear about your health problems, your relationship problems, or those in your family about to give birth.  The moment was ruined.  We moved down to the Japanese pagoda.  Quiet again, this time disturbed by a family taking pictures - at least that's a normal activity.

We finished by re-visiting the American garden and the giant redwoods. Then the rain began.  It was not quite light and we were soon in the car, where the rain stopped pretty quickly.

An excellent day. 

Welcome to the Wakey Races - The race to Weston

We travelled to Weston, a journey of about 4 hours 30 minutes.  Two stops were planned, at about 3 hours away, and about 1.5 hours away.  The standard of driving, particularly on the motorways was appalling, hence the title.  The standard of road management, having appropriate signage on the gantries was also poor.  As we approached Cobham services, the road ahead was beginning to slow.  It's 20 minutes early, but we stop for lunch anyway.  Cobham services was busy, but OK.  When we restarted the journey it took us 5 minutes or so to catch up with the back of the jam.  The second stop was at ??? on the A303.  One of those new type of services, with Starbucks and Greggs laid out like a retail park.  The most expensive tea in the country.  This stop was also early, so we ended up with as third stop, because biology doesn't always work as slowly as you might hope.

We arrived in Weston a little after 17:00.  Immediately, I managed to lock us in the cottage, which is really just two rooms carved off the edge of a big farmhouse. Leaning through the window I unlocked the door from the outside, it hasn't happened again.  The cottage is small, but OK.  However, there have been a few other issues.  The shower mat was covered in mould, there doesn't appear to be any hot water, and one of the towels has dark patches on it.

We drove to Tesco's to get some shopping, about £80 worth, which is much more than I was expecting.  Still, we are set for the next few days. 

Cloughton Day 7 - Friday 31/10/25 - Peasholm Park

For the last day of our holiday, we drove into Scarborough to visit Peasholm Park. We remembered this from years ago, but it has changed a lot. There is a car park at the lower end of the park.  Here I selected 4 hours on the ticket machine and was charged for 24.  This is one of the downsides of not being able to pay with cash. We walked along the path next to the woodland stream, there is considerable damage to some of the trees.  Some of that damage has been turned into these impressive carvings.
We left the park near the top, walking back along the roads.  Through the houses, Scarborough Castle is visible.  It's a ruin we didn't get to visit.
Sitting in the café, we were surrounded by gulls, with less than friendly expressions, as they tried to judge when someone would leave some item of food behind, or drop a crumb or two.  Meanwhile, they argued about the best position to watch from. The Leak and Potato soup from the café made a good lunch.  The baguette was warm, but the butter hard, as is mostly the case.
There were other birds on the lake, Canada geese, pink footed geese, and mallards, but the overwhelmingly most common were the gulls.
Here is a view of the lake from the café.
We did get a ride on a train, even if not a particularly large one.  The Scarborough North Bay Railway narrow gauge track goes from the park to the Sea Life Centre.  Not far, but far enough to satisfy our need for a train ride. We returned to the cottage after this, as rain was forecast.
In the evening, we drove to Bridlington for the Roy Orbison Tribute.  The theatre, is lovely, and the show was entertaining enough to be worth a visit.

Cloughton Day 6 - Thursday 30/10/25 - Bempton, Bridlington & Bryherstones

We drove down to RSPB Bempton Cliffs, on a beautiful sunny day.  It was lovely just to walk along the carefully made paths across the field to the cliff edge.  We initially went south.  There were not many different types of birds.  It's the wrong time of year for puffins, unfortunately.  We did see:
Pigeons (rock pigeons, they're known as) - grey on top, white underneath.  Flocks of them have adapted to live on the cliffs. I had to wonder, "what are their predators?"
Jackdaws - with a less pronounced grey than the ones that occupy our fields at home. And possibly Fieldfare, but it was difficult to tell at the distance we were at, they could have been more pigeons.
We had already done a lot of walking, for my dodgy leg, when Jo found a show in Bridlington, so as it's just a little further on we drove down there. Bridlington, was not a beautiful town, it was like a slightly down-market Southend.  We parked in a car park (that had been a demolition site) and rushed to the theatre to book for Friday Night.  There were still seats available, so our tickets were issued, and we rushed back to the car, with minutes to spare before the unforgiving cameras dealt us a penalty charge.
After returning to the cottage for a short time, we drove to the Bryherstones Country Inn for a big, end of holiday dinner.  The Inn is just across the valley, but the drive is a couple of miles.  I checked for a walking route, but it is not suitable in the dark.  The food was server properly hot and arrived quickly - we enjoyed our three-course meal and tea afterwards, and were very full on our return to the cottage.

Cloughton Day 5 - Wednesday 29/10/25 - Training

Today we visited the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR).  On arrival, it looked a bit busier than I expected, we found a place in the overflow (private) car park and paid our £7 for the privilege.  I queued at the ticket office, only to be told that today, and for a few other days this week, they have the Flying Scotsman on the line.  It is doing return trips to Whitby. Had we known, that would have been a much better place to start.  It is booked by a third party, so the NYMR cannot sell tickets.

Rather disappointed, we wandered in Pickering, and St. Peter's church. Here they have uncovered some amazing wall paintings, that were covered up by the reformation.  Although now pale, try to imagine what they would have been like when freshly painted.

We came back for the Flying Scotsman's arrival in Pickering and stood on the bridge.  (see Video above).

We also saw Locomotion 1, a replica of a very early steam engine, built in 1825 by the pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson. It was especially interesting as just a couple of days before we had watched the Guy Martin programme where they built it.

 

For lunch, we walked back into town and found a café called "Feast".  Unfortunately, our meal was more like a snack than a feast. 

Goats cheese salad = a few green leaves and a small round warmed gaots cheese. 

 

We left Pickering with plenty of time, so decided to visit the Hayburn Wyck waterfall. It's a long walk down hill to the falls, and up again, but definitely worth a visit. Most of the way the path is clearly marked, and partly paved, but there are sometimes high steps and sometimes the path is missing.   We just did it in the 1 hr of the parking ticket, perhaps we were slower than we could have been, because I was in trainers rather than walking boots.  It was muddy in places.  We had gone down from the car park, but came back up a different way, directly to the pub.  Then went in (and moved the car into the pub car park) for refreshments.

 

In the evening we visited the Blacksmiths Arms, for a drink, and found ourselves in the bar for the quiz night.  Entry was £1 each, the money is donated to charity.  The pub provided sandwiches and chips for the participants.  We came 9th out of 12, with 22/40 (55%).  I was so pleased we didn't come last.

Cloughton Day 4 - Tuesday 28/10/25 - The James Heriot Museum

Are we being CATalogued?  Opening the curtain this morning, we see minder is there, peering in. Today, we made the long drive to Thirsk to visit the James Herriot Museum.  This is the main reason we came to this area for our break.

We parked in the Long Stay car park, and walked into the town (not far).  By the time we did, it was close to lunchtime.  We spoke to the poppy seller, where we had bought poppies, and asked her where was a good place for tea and cake.   She suggested we try the White Rose Book Café, so we did.  We decided a light lunch would be in order, so selected soup and a cheese scone.  We also had tea & coffee. It was very good.

Then on to the Herriot Museum.  It's in the actual house where Alf Wight had his vetinary practice.  It is a very well worked museum, much better than I was expecting covering lots of different aspects - vetinary work, the stories and the publishing process, the TV production of the first BBC series, farms and farming at the time, life in that time and place, and the main characters in the real world.  It is well worth a visit. Jo next to a statue of Alf Wight in the garden at the Herriot Museum

Thirsk is a beautiful traditional English market town. It is currently decked-out in knitted poppies and other knitted scenes for Remembrance Day.  This kind of decoration is so much more appropriate than covering the place with flags. We bought some local cheeses, from the cheese shop, pies for dinner from the butchers shop, and vegetables - beetroot, tomatoes, cucumber - from the greengrocer. This was all select your own produce, and pay at the till.  After that, it was back to the café for traditional Wensleydale fruit cake and Wensleydale cheese, which we will keep for later.  We also found a general store, where we bought a shower mat, to reduce the slipperiness of the shower. It does the job, but gives off a strong plasticy-vinyly smell that makes the small bathroom uncomfortable.

The pond at Thornton-le-Dale, almost dusk. There are multiple routes from Cloughton to Thirsk.  We took an alternative route back, so that we could stop in Thornton-le-Dale.  We stayed in a cottage called "The Owletts" some years ago, and had a lovely holiday.  We visited it, it is currently unoccupied.  We found the path behind the main road and the strip of green where I played with Brody, back in the day, when he would run for hours and not get tired.  It bought back some lovely memories.  Use this search to read about that holiday:https://3cephas.blogspot.com/search?q=Thornton

Cloughton Day 3 - Monday 27/10/25 - Whitby, a tourist trap.

Whitby Abbey, from the car park near the Co-op

Today's trip was carefully planned.  I found a suitable car park, and put it into Google Maps.  When we got close to the car park, we were met with a 'No Entry' sign, and a sharp right turn.  So an alternate car park was found.  This is the more normal approach for me, I don't usually target a particular parking place. 

We pay the fee, and walk into town.  Straight away there is a man selling a jokes magazine, we buy one, politely listening to his jokes. Then a little further on we are accosted by the man at the Dog's Trust stand.  I'm not sure that he believed that we were already supporters, but I already know most of what he says, even if I can't remember the name of my current sponsored dog. They change so frequently, as we are always sponsoring a dog that cannot be rehomed, and is usually old and sick.

"The Black Pearl"

Then, just along the quayside, a boat called the "Black Pearl" is moored.  We take a ride on the boat, a little up river, but we can't go far because the tide is low, and a ford was made across the river in ancient times that has raised the river bed too much.  So, we go seaward, but the boat is not suitable for sea journeys. It's choppy out at sea.  The breakers are running along the inside of the harbour wall.

HMS Bark Endeavour, Cook's first ship

Next we visit the Cook Museum.  It doesn't look much from the outside, but the displays are interesting and tell the story well. It is definitely worth the visit.

Jo enjoying Cod and Chips at the Angel

After our visit, we walk back across the bridge to find a fish and chip shop for lunch.  We received a recommendation from the Jokes magazine seller, but can't remember what he said.  The Angel looks good, and we are expecting every fish and chip shop to be good here.  This time we were not disappointed. It was very good.

 

 

No longer able to complete long walks, we go to the other end of the harbour and board the tour bus to take us up to the Abbey.  Outside, there is just a single caravan that houses the booking office, with just two people serving.  We have to wait ages, then we have to wait again, because there is only one terminal working for payments.  Do better, English Heritage.

 

The Abbey, above the town,
taken from the tour bus

 

There's something being planned in the Abbey, normal paths are blocked off, and other wide pathways laid out.  It doesn't really affect our time at this awesome ruin.  We can hardly imagine what it must have been like in its day, not only does its presence dominate views from the town, but up on the hill there is an important community.

With just a few mins left, we visit the nearby church, where no photos are allowed.  Inside are the original (?) box pews, arranged so that families can sit in them facing each other. There is a three tiered pulpit away from the altar, and we are reminded of the chapel at the Chelsea Hospital we visited only a week or so ago.

 

We bought ice cream at the ice cream van, then caught the last tour bus back to the car park near the Co-op, where we had left the car, but there was still time in the day, so we drove to Robin Hood's bay.  Parkin at the top we followed the path down hill, sometimes a steep slope, sometimes steps.   At the bottom we had just a few minutes left to buy tea and cake as the sun went down.   On the long walk back up, we bought cheese at the general store.

We drove home in the dusk, and shortly after arriving went outside to see the Milky Way.  Sadly, there was a little cloud and quite a lot of light from the surrounding buildings, so although it was better than home, it wasn't that good.  We couldn't even find the plough clearly.