Kite Flying - postscript

Kite flying in Yorkshire was not a great success (see below) but Saturday was nice and breezy back home in Leicestershire, so my birthday kite had its real maiden flight from the top of Croft Hill.

There are some more photos of the whole Yorkshire break here on Picasaweb.

A lot of running about - but not much flying

Home via Beningbrough Hall

A vintage Morgan

The fine weather was coming to an end and Mike had exhausted his CPD supplies so it was time to set off for home. We drove back along the Thirsk road stopping off in the small market town of Helmsley for an hour to have a look around. The ladies went to a craft fair while 'the blokes' checked out some the vintage cars in the market square. This seems to be a popular 'half way halt' judging by the number of bikes and bikers in the square.

Beningbrough Hall

We then drove south avoiding the steep hill at Sutton Bank to spend a few hours and have a late lunch at the NT property of Beningbrough Hall and gardens, just off the A19 near York. The hall is mostly used to display a large portrait exhibition in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery. Mike and Margaret headed home, closely followed by ourselves after a short excursion to the adjacent farm shop.

Thornton le Dale

It was another sunny day so I tried to fly my new pocket kite on the site, but there was not enough wind and too many trees. We took the bus into the popular tourist spot of Thornton-le-Dale and walked the half mile out of the village beside the brook to the Overbrook caravan park. This was a very nice site which explained why it was full when we had tried to book a pitch on two occasions. We walked back thru the woods and found a cafe with a sunny courtyard for lunch time snack.

Afterwards we took a circular walk around the village while Mike and Margaret went back into Pickering to meet an old friend who does voluntary work on the NYMR. We met them, one hour and one bus later, to return to site. We all walked over to the Black Bull pub opposite the site entrance in the evening where we dined on enormous home-made steak and mushroom pies before staggering back to the vans.

A steamy birthday treat on the NYMR

Its a long haul up to Goathland

It was my birthday on this day, so after opening the cards and enjoying a full English breakfast we caught the bus into Pickering and then spent the afternoon on the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway. We stopped first at Grosmont and had a rather large 'snack' lunch in the railway cafe while waiting for the return train to take us to Goathland. This picturesque moorland village is also famous as Aidensfield in the TV series Heartbeat.

Hogsmeade Station?

We walked up into the village, browsed the Heartbeat influenced gift shops and had an ice cream to pass the time, until our return steam train into Pickering. The station and railway at Goathland have featured in many films and TV programs, most famously now in the first Harry Potter film as Hogsmeade station - more here.. We arrived back just after the shops had closed! After another tiring day and lunch out we decided to put off my birthday dinner until the following day.

Edge of the Moors

Mike and Margaret at Haven site 

We moved on Sunday to Pickering to be close to the North Yorkshire railway and the moorland villages. We stopped on route to check out a CL at a rather bizarre craft centre before going on to our next site opposite the Black Bull inn a mile south of Pickering. A very nice commercial site with mostly long term caravans and hard standings for tourers like us. We will miss the hog roast later in the week - wrong timing again!

A Haven near Scarborough

Scarborough beach and harbour

We only pre-booked the first site for this trip and I was surprised to find that most of sites around here were full, so we ended up at a cheap and cheerful Haven Holiday camping field between Filey and Scarborough for the weekend. The field rapidly filled with week enders many with enormous tents. Mike and I took pity on a couple by helping them put up the awning on their recently acquired old caravan.

An inflatable in Funworks

We used our fun pass to have a drink in the 'Funworks' on Friday evening - and that was enough fun. However it was very convenient for the bus routes and we spent Saturday walking down to the harbour, where we indulged in a 'compulsory' fish and chip lunch, then walking along the sea front to the imposing old Grand Hotel. We came to the hotel many years ago with Mike and Margaret for a jazz weekend.


The site was very close to the Cleveland Way and a short walk along the cliff path took me to a high point from which there were views north to Scarborough and south to the cliffs at Filey.

The National Railway Museum

Mike and I went back into York and walked down to the railway museum while the ladies had a bit of retail therapy at the outlet centre close to the caravan site. Many old locomotives from around the world to browse around, the bullet train brought back memories of business trips to Japan for both of us. We took the little petrol train back up the hill with a couple of Canadian tourists who had escaped from Popes visit to Edinburgh. The ladies joined us with surprising little shopping and we had a good tapas lunch at La Tasca restaurant before returning to site again.

A day in York

Took the bus, from just outside the park entrance, into York for a site seeing day with bus pass at the ready! Walked around the Shambles and old market area and had a quick look in the Cathedral. After a late lunch in the courtyard of the old 1331 pub we went on to visit the Jorvik viking museum before returning late afternoon to Naburn. Mike and I watched Arsenal thrash another team 6-0 on TV, while Rosemary and Margaret watched a program on how to stay young.

North Yorkshire autumn break

Set off on a very blustery day for a short break in Yorkshire with Mike and Margaret. Rendezvoused at Naburn Lock caravan park which is just outside York and close to a picturesque lock that bypasses a weir on the river Ouse. The river is tidal beyond this point and is the terminus for a river boat trip to the centre of York when it sails on summer weekends. Its also handy for buses into York and the outlet shopping centre.