Yorkshire Day 2

Woke up somewhat later than yesterday, which I suppose is to be expected as we tired ourselves out with all the climbing. The second night is always better than the first.

It was cloudy, windy and overcast when we got got up and I'll confess, my heart sank a wee bit as I thought that it was going to be wash out.

After having breakfast, boiled eggs etc, we started getting ready to go out (Holly was *still* in bed at this stage) I woke Holly and pointed out that if she wanted to come out with us today, she'd better darn well get a wriggle on and get her breakfast and get dressed!

At about 1100 we were finally ready to depart for Staithes; I had thought "sod the weather, we're going anyway!

No sooner had we hit the moors the sun came out we enjoyed a beautiful drive over the open moorland towards the coast!

We arrived a Staithes at just after 1130 and found a car park at the top. I lobbed £3.50 in the meter which gave us 4 hours of sightseeing and fun.

I have to say it! Staithes is absolutely beautiful! The fact that you have to park at the top means that there are hardly any cars down in the picturesque streets at the bottom.

Holly had awoke with a headache and it had not abated during the drive so the first thing we did was find a café. Anna spotted one which looked good right at the top of the hill (I swear, she's like a bloodhound where coffee shops are concerned!)

Holly and I shared a pot of Yorkshire tea, Anna had a latte and Reuben, being Reuben, had a can of diet coke! This tea had the miraculous effect of curing Holly's headache so we set off down the 1/4 hill into the heart of Staithes.

I know that I said Staithes was beautiful earlier but the view of it from the top really didn't do it justice at all! It really is a perfectly preserved fishing village. It is like someone got Whitby, removed all of the commercialised areas, and put it through a photocopier with a scale of 10% set.

We walked around the harbour and had lunch on the harbour wall before doubling back on ourselves and heading back over the bridge and round into the main village.

We walked round the other side of the harbour and crossed over onto some flat rocks that were covered in winkles and barnacles. Unlike Whitby, there were no fossils visible on these rocks!

Reuben somehow managed to fall in a rock pool and soak his left foot.. Oh well! We just had to sit on the rocks and leave his sock and shoe in the sun whilst Holly and him played in the rock pools, now in bare feet!

Anna then left me in charge of our belongings and wandered off to join the kids. Reuben soon came back though after cutting his foot on a barnacle. Anna and Holly soon joined him and we decided to head back to the car and off to Saltburn.

Saltburn was an interesting place... Looked to be a town on the hillside with a promenade by the sea and a pier! The beach was sandy and the tide was coming in so we unloaded all the beach stuff from the car and headed to the red and yellow flags on the beach.

Holly and Reuben got changed into their swimming gear and hit the surf... On their body boards... I hadn't a bet on with Anna that they would be back in after 5 to 10 minutes and sure enough, Holly came jogging back up the beach! I was there all smug and just about to say "ha! Told you so!" when she grabbed her and Reuben's crocs from the beach bag saying "it's awesome down there, we're off surfing!" Well... That was me told and the hardy little boggas spent the best part of an hour in the sea!

Eventually they did come back.. Shivering and smiling. They had loved it.

After they had dried off and warmed up, I walked 20 yards up the beach onto the promenade and got is all fish and chips from one of the shops. The fish had just come out of the fryer and the chips had been cooked in beef tallow. One of the highlights of the Northeast!!

After this, we got back I the car for the half hour drive back to the cottage for a relaxing bath / shower and a peaceful evening!