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Tuesday 18 September 2007

Heartbeat.....

You may remember a couple of weeks ago we had yet another weekend away, well I finally got round to downlowding the photographs so you can suffer enjoy them. The main aim of the trip was to visit a place called Goathland in North Yorkshire where the series "Heartbeat" is filmed and get there via the North York Moors Railway from Pickering. Goathland station was also the setting for Hogsmead station in the first Harry Potter movie!



We went with our friends K&T setting off early on the Saturday morning heading for Scarborough , where we had booked a B&B for the night. We arrived in Scarborough about lunchtime and found a nice little cafe where we had the traditional seaside fish and chips and a pot of tea sitting outside in the sunshine - it was a beautiful day. After lunch we booked in at the B&B which was right on the front with fantastic views of the coastline like this. the B&B was quite nice, very clean and looked as though it had recently been refurbished, though the landlady was a bit stern!



We quickly unpacked - I didn't take the kitchen sink as we were only staying for one night - and set off to Whitby. Being Saturday afternoon Whitby was packed to bursting with people and we couldn't find a place to park for love nor money, so we drove up into the hills to Whitby Abbey and took some photographs of the town and surrounding countryside from the hills. Whitby Abbey was founded in 657 by St Hilda, and is said to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.







Then we decided to go to Robin Hood's Bay , what in the 18 th century was reportedly the busiest smuggling community on the Yorkshire coast. Its natural isolation, protected by marshy moorland on three sides, offered a natural aid to this well-organised business which, despite its dangers, must have paid better than fishing. After a cooling drink in the pub overlooking the bay we set off down the very steep hill to the bay itself. I took a few photographs of the cottages and little alleyways on the way down the hill but I think my camera must have been playing up because they didn't register! You can see the view of the bay from the top of the hill though in the next slide show.







We arrived back in Scarborough with enough time to have a swift drink in the pub down the road from the B&B before we went back to freshen up, get changed and go out for a meal. We found a very popular Indian Restaurant where we enjoyed a very tasty curry before turning in for the night.


The next morning we enjoyed a cooked breakfast before packing up and setting off to Pickering where we boarded the train on the North York Moors Railway , the longest steam railway in England, to Goathland. The village is better known as Aidensfield in the 1960's period TV series Heartbeat giving the area the name of Heartbeat Country. It's a very popular tourist destination and we joined the throngs taking pictures of the Aidensfield Arms, Scripps Garage, Aidensfield Stores, the various vehicles used in the filming of Heartbeat and the station which, as I said earlier, was Hogsmead Station in the first Harry Potter film.





We headed back to the station and boarded the train back to Pickering where we found a lovely pub and had some lunch. We'd been really lucky with the weather, it was sunny and hot on Saturday and dry and warm on Sunday, that was until we got about 50 yards from the car to set off home and it started raining, we just managed to get in the car before the heavens opened and it rained most of the journey home - how lucky is that? We're now planning our next trip - hopefully New Year in Spain, but it depends on the price of the flights, wish us luck.

32 comments:

Pam said...

reading this and seeing pics is like almost being there, too :) must be nice to just go away for the wknd. no can do here...still have kids lol but i guess someday when steve and i have kicked them all outta the house, eh? and spain? that would be fabulous...can you pack me into your suitcase when you go? ; )

CG said...

What a wonderful weekend; didn't you pack a lot in? I love Robin Hoods bay!

RUTH said...

Oh I feel like a know these places well...not because I've ever visited them but because blogger MrsNesbitt often mentions them. She too was in Goathland a few weeks ago! Love all you photos and they make me long to visit this part of Britain even more.
Really hope you find some plane tickets for Italy at bargain prices...are hoping to visit any particular area? Double Good Luck to you :o)
Rx

Julia Phillips Smith said...

The slide shows won't come up for me at work - I'll have to look at them at home. Your trip sounds lovely, regardless of stern B&B landladies. What would a stern woman run a B&B for, anyway?

Hearing all those placenames makes me smile - Toronto must have been settled by people from your area of the world. The Toronto area has a North York, Scarborough, Pickering and Whitby. Can you see a trend?

Cream said...

A few more miles up the coast and you would've been dining with us, Akela.
Great tour!

Akelamalu said...

We had to wait until the boys left home before we managed weekends away too Ciara, that's why we're making up for lost time now! :)

We alway try to pack a lot in CG. It's the first time any of us had been to Robin Hood's Bay and we all loved it!

Ah yes I've read about Mrs N's trips to Whitby etc Ruth. I visited Scarborough when I was about 16 but never been to the other places before. We're looking for flights to Spain (not Italy ;) to stay in Arroyo on the Costa Del Sol. We have the chance of an appartment but the flights are proving very expensive at the moment.

I think Mrs. Fawlty (the landlady) was new to it all and wanted to make sure everyone knew the rules Julia. We didn't spend much time in the B&B so it didn't really matter much. :) Yes I think you're right a Yorkshireman must have settled in Toronto. I found it strange seeing places called Liverpool and Newcastle when we were in Australia too. :)

Where exactly are you Cream? You never know it could be on our list for visiting ((wink))

Anonymous said...

Oooh... that sounds like so much fun!

Jo Beaufoix said...

I love Whitby and Robinhoods Bay Akela.

Fabulous.

Looks like you had a great time.

Heather said...

Lovely weekend! Thank you for sharing all your pictures!

Unknown said...

You've taken some lovely photos of your trip - they make me want to jump in the car and go there.
I had family that lived in Filey and I used to really enjoy visiting Yorkshire, in fact I wouldn't mind defecting to the Dales altogether. The only down side to the visits was the Motorway between there and Manchester which I can honestly say was one of the worst stretches I've driven, particularly in bad weather.

Gledwood said...

wow... the "empty abbey" photos up top remind me of an EXTREMELY vivid dream I had about 15 years ago... that I was atop one of thoes 1/2 crumbled off walls.. kind of flying from wall to wall...

hey you get around a bit I just went hopping from one blog to the next... people with odd names and pictures grabbed my attention through coments.. of course I ended up about 12 blogs removed at someone called FLOWERPOTS and then who do i find but YOU ?!??!?!?!?!?haha!

take care

gleds
xx

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

i just love that you travel and take all these lovely photos and share them! thank you so much for showing me things i would never see otherwise!

smiles, bee

buffalodick said...

You cover alot of ground! Nice to have that much history packed in one country!

GEWELS said...

You've had some lovely holidays this summer, haven't you?

You packed allot in before heading back to work.

I can't think of a better place to spend New Year's...
Ah, Spain....one of my most absolute favorite places on earth.
To heck with the price of flights- life's too short!

Lo Kelween said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lo Kelween said...

if i am not mistaken, Scarborough has a very tragic history of potato plight. love viewing all the sceneries, it brings us back into the past!:)

la bellina mammina said...

As always, you take gorgeous photos - thanks for sharing them. Good luck for Spain - I think if you make your reservations earlier, it cost cheaper.

Flowerpot said...

wonderful pictures, Ak - I've never been to your part of the world so i's fascinating for me to see!

sallywrites said...

Great pictures!

Enjoy planning your trip to Sapin!

Mark said...

Hi Akelamalu,
I remember spending an eventful week in Ravenscar, which is not fasr from there, also passed through the area when a cycled the Coast to Coast.Also done in my youth.

Cheers Mark

Dumdad said...

Ah, Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay!

I believe some months back I commented on your blog about Robin Hood's Bay and holidaying there when I was a nipper.

And, yes, that steep hill down to the bay. As I remember it as a kid, it was the steepest hill in the entire UNIVERSE. And we had to troop up and down it as our boarding house was somewhere near the top of the hill.

Happy Days.

Enjoyed the snaps, many thanks.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

wonderfull surrounding and even a better impression by this "life" video's. :)

Pig in the Kitchen said...

My grandparents lived in that area, lots of holidays were spent around the moors...beautiful! You're so flash with your moving pix!
Pigx

Jo Beaufoix said...

Akela, come over to my site for some monkey nuts.
I tried.
:D

Linda said...

I want to go! I want to go! I want to go!

One of these days I am going to get over there to see all of these wonderful sites in person but until then, I thank you for giving me the chance to visit them here.

But I so wanna go!!

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Hey, just saw your slideshows. Stunning!

mrsnesbitt said...

Hey! You should have give us a shout! We live just off the A171! So wonderful to see all these local places.We do indeed have some lovely places round here.

Denise

Akelamalu said...

It was great fun Josh,

So do I now I've been there Jo :)

You're welcome Orange Blossom Goddess I'm glad you enjoyed them.

I agree about the motorway Pauline, if I had to drive on motorways we'd never go anywhere! Thankfully our friend T drives for a living and he didn't mind at all.

LOL I do get around a bit Gleds, glad you found me again. :)

Next time you come to England Bee you will have to visit all these places, you'd love them. x

Thanks for stopping by Tara.

There is so much history in England Buffalodickdy and to my shame I've not seen nearly enough of it, but I'm desperately trying to right that wrong! :)

I certainly have packed a lot in this summer - making up for lost time! MWM says I'll have worn this new knee out in 2 years not 20!

I didn't know that about Scarborough Elween

Thanks Bella. We're trying to book flights to Spain but they're certainly not coming up cheap!

I'm so glad you're enjoying my jaunts Flowerpot. Someone else's part of the world is always more interesting than your own isn't it?

Cheers Sally :)

You cycled Coast to Coast Mark? I'm impressed!

That hill at Robin Hood's Bay looked like the biggest hill in the UNIVERSE to me too dumdad but I was determined to do it! ;)

So glad you enjoyed them JoAnn. :)

It must bring back memories for you then Pig. The slides are easy to do otherwise I wouldn't attempt them!

I'll be over shortly Jo.

When you come over Linda make it a couple of months - you'll need that long to see all these places. I do hope you get the chance honey. x

Thankyou Julia. x

You do indeed have some beautiful places in Yorkshire Mrs. Nesbitt - I loved every minute of our visit.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi , I Just wanna THANK YOU for your interest always in my blog and today my dog HUGH :)

I LOVE like Love your blog but I said that alsready.....

katie eggeman said...

When Mr Bankerchick and I go back to England, this is the England I want to see. I'll just go into your archives to make my itenerie.

Akelamalu said...

You're welcome JoAnn, it's always a pleasure to visit your blog. :)

I hope you manage to visit all the places you want to Bankerchick I'm sure you'll enjoy them all!

Cherry Trees Holiday Flats said...

Hi,
Your blog is ever so interesting! We live in Scarborough and I have learned many things that I can pass on to my guests when they're coming to stay with us.
We have some self catering appartments, feel free to contact us if you are coming back in the area.
Best wishes, Una
www.cherrytreesholidayflats.co.uk