Summer Holiday - Day twelve

August 3 – Scarborough 

This Wednesday we took the two cars and drove off to Scarborough. As before one car went to the mobility centre whilst the other drove to the Park and Ride. Although we missed the first bus, we were able to quickly meet up in Scarborough.

It is a long time since I last went to Scarborough.  It must have been when I was around six and is so long ago that I have forgotten everything about it apart from there being a cliff tramway. I think this was the very first time I ever saw one and I remember being entranced by a train, as I thought of it, going up a steep hill. My father explained that it worked by filling and emptying water tanks under each carriage to make the heaviest one pull the other up as it went down and I have been impressed by the simplicity of the idea ever since.

Scarborough has a moderately high sloping cliff and some grand old Victorian hotels overlooking the sea from the top of the cliff.

You can get down to the beach via a whole series of paths and steps or by riding the cliff tramway.

 On the beach level were all the traditional seaside activities, from amusement arcades to donkey rides.

 Towering over the sea front is Scarborough Castle, which is a steep climb from the beach level. We did not climb up to visit the castle but walked around the harbour and the sea front until lunch time when we found a cafe and had a meal.

This sign was being unfair.  The red and yellow flags were planted in the sand and it would be very difficult to follow these instructions to the letter since swimming in sand is not at all easy.

Out at sea was the, nowadays inevitable, pirate ship giving trips around the bay

I did find the old Skylark, but it was providing fishing trips, not doing trips around the bay as of yore.

After some more ambling taking in the sights of the seaside, we returned to the town centre, some of us less enthusiastic about climbing the cliff path, via the cliff tramway.

Going up.

Along the top of the cliff, everywhere you looked on almost every tall building, there were seagull nests.  I do not recall seeing so many at any other seaside resort and they have spoiled a lot of otherwise attractive old buildings.

And talking of birds, I do like the oddball solicitor's names you find around various towns. This one was in the town centre shopping area.  In the town centre we did some shopping and then left for home. 

On the way home, we took a less direct route and went via Whitby and then across the North Yorkshire Moors.

In the wide open moorland, you can see RAF Fylingdale from a long way around.  Originally built to provide early warning of Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) during the Cold War era, it continues to serve a similar purpose plus the more up to date task of tracking satellite launches.  

On the way through we stopped to admire the view and take some photos.  Where we stopped we could see the track of the NYMR railway running through a shallow valley, where you can also see Fylingdale from the train. I was hoping we might have seen a train to get some photos but we were a bit too early and would have had to wait a considerable time to catch it passing by.